Record of goods lost, stolen, gifts will be maintained under GST regime

A record of goods lost, stolen or destroyed as well as those given as free sample and gifts will have to be maintained under the new goods and services tax regime, which kicks in from July 1.

Also, each volume of books of account will have to be maintained with serial numbers and any entry in registers, accounts and documents will not be erased, effaced or overwritten, say draft rules for maintaining record under the GST.

The rules, released by the CBEC, provide for maintaining separate account or records for each activity, including manufacturing, trading and provision of services. "A true and correct account of the goods or services" with relevant documents, including invoices, bills of supply, delivery challans, credit notes, debit notes, receipt, payment and refund vouchers and e-way bills will have to be maintained under the new GST regime that is scheduled to kick in from July 1.

GST is being hailed as the biggest tax reform since Independence and is supposed to make it easier to do business by reducing compliance requirements. The rules stipulate maintaining of accounts of stock for each commodity received and supplied with clear details of "the opening balance, receipt, supply, goods lost, stolen, destroyed, written off or disposed of by way of gift or free samples and balance of stock including raw materials, finished goods, scrap and wastage thereof".

Also, a separate account of advances received, paid and

adjustments will have to be maintained. Alongside, details of tax payable, tax collected and paid, input tax, input tax credit claimed, together with a register of tax invoice, credit note, debit note, delivery challan issued or received during any tax period will have to be maintained.