GST a major tax reform: Federation of Indian Exports Organisation

Vijayawada: Goods and Services Tax (GST)  is the biggest tax reform in the nation after Independence and this will increase the GDP, said assistant director of Federation of Indian Exports Organisation (FIEO) Selvanayagi. The Vijayawada Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) organised a workshop on GST which is soon going to be introduced across the nation.

Representatives from various trade sectors attended the workshop and expressed their opinion on GST.  President of VCCI Vakkalagadda Bhaskar Rao said that the proposed refund mechanism of 90% upfront and 10 balance after scrutiny of documents will lead to blockage of funds for industry which will have negative impact in the cost of doing business after the GST is introduced. He said there is good scope for bringing down the cost of digital signature, especially for MSME with the GST. Mr Bhaskar Rao suggested the government to intervene in the issue as very few players are taking the advantage of the situation.

Ms Selvanayagi said that there is huge backlog of VAT refund claims of exporters which needs to be settled immediately.  She said that the FIEO urged the government to revise refund mechanism and give instant refunds immediately on completion of exports. She said that the FIEO is planning to organise GST awareness seminars across all industrial clusters in Andhra Pradesh. Assistant commissioner, commercial taxes department K.V. Jagadeswara Rao  appreciated the industrial sector of Vijayawada for completing 90 registrations till now, which is the highest in region.