Fear of the unknown is the biggest challenge, says GST network chief

Communication on the new tax structure has been an issue and the law was passed only recently, so there was little time. However, the preparation for the switchover started much earlier.

The fear of the unknown is the biggest challenge among businesses in switching over to the goods and services tax (GST), GST Network chief Navin Kumar said, hours before its rollout. “There is no worry otherwise, we are fully prepared, and our systems are geared up for the switch over to the new system...the only problem is the fear of the unknown,” Kumar told HT.

The GSTN chief added that the new tax regime was unlikely to have any major problems on the ground. The misinformation about the new tax structure has added to the confusion, he said.

“Communication on the new tax structure has been an issue and the law was passed only recently, so there was little time,” Kumar said. “However, the preparation for the switch-over started much earlier.”

The four bills related to the GST tax structure — the Central Goods and Services Tax Bill, the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill, the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, and the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill were approved by the Rajya Sabha only in April.

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed concern over the way the new tax is being rolled out. “After #demonetisation, this unnecessary disastrous hurry is another epic blunder of the Centre”, she posted on Facebook.

GSTN will provide the entire I-T support for the new tax structure. “I am confident that there will be no glitch in the new system,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Confederation of All India Traders said that more than 50% of small and midsized businesses do not have access to computers.

“Those who have been filing value added tax, central excise or service tax have been doing so online, so to say that small businesses are not ready with online filing system is a false claim,” Kumar said. He Kumar said that as many as 1.6 lakh businesses that were previously not registered for either VAT, service tax or excise duty have enrolled for GST in the past four days.

The new tax, to be launched on the midnight of June 30, is the biggest reform since Independence. It will subsume all indirect taxes making and make India a single market.