merits and demerits of GST

[Ramakrishnan T H]

Sir,

Please provide the details about the merits and demerits of Goods and Services Tax provisions.

Ramakrishnan.T.H

Palakkad

[KASTURI SETHI]

Sh.Ramakrishnan.T.H,

Destination is far away. So many changes are likely to take place. In this forum, Experts, namely, Dr.Sanjiv Agarwal, Dr.Bimal Jain have written so many articles on GST covering all the aspects. These are very useful.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Yes as said by Sri Kasturi Sir there are so many changes being incorporated in the GST draft based on the Committee Study. And more will be done till it is passed through the upper house. However, to brief, the benefits are that after introduction of GST the compliances will now have to be done under single law. The assessment will be under single law. The liasioning will be for single law. These are boons of GST. Further the input tax credit will be seamlessly allowed and thereby reducing the cost in long run. Further if you have any suggestions or expectations from GST you can share with us or https://mygov.in. Thanks.

[CSSANJAY MALHOTRA]

Respected Sh. Ganeshan ji / Sh. Kasturi ji,

Endorse the views as shared by both of you. Lot needs to be worked upon by the GST Council members representing Members from State Govt and Central Govt, hence nothing can be concluded as of now in respects of Merits and Demerits.

[DR.MARIAPPAN GOVINDARAJAN]

The merits and demerits could be determined only it comes in effect. Till such times assumptions may be there.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

You may please refer issue id 108821 where Sri Mahir Sir has elaborated the merits. Thanks.

[AJAY JAIN]

Though it is not sure in what form ultimately the GST law would come into play, however, some inherent benefits may be envisaged at this stage like compliance under Single law instead of multiple Central & State laws, broadly all transaction would attract GST, so litigations in respect of determination whether process amounts to 'Manufacture' or not will set at rest, as of now there is both Service Tax & State VAT is attracted on various things like Software and Works Contracts etc such issues would be addressed, expected to have smooth availment of Cenvat /ITC across transactions, share of organised trade is expected to increase due to ease of tax laws.

However, in respect of Oil Industry, it has been proposed to keep certain products out of GST like Petrol, Diesel, etc. In this scenario, there are lot of uncertainlty about availment of Cenvat/ITC when some of the products out of the entire lot would be kept outside GST, moreover, it appears that for Oil industry both existing law & GST law would co-exist which would become more complex for compliance.

[KASTURI SETHI]

SH.AJAY JAIN JI,

Sir, Thanks for useful preliminary information on the issue. I think still it is not high time even for raring to go inasmuch as the situation is fluid.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Sir, whether GST is possible to be implemented this year ???

The Congress has given its support with the condition set earlier. They were I) 1% additional tax ii) 18% fixing a cap iii) an independent judge for GST dispute. BJP has accepted on the terms except fixing of 18% tax rate as a higher rate.

Will this year be a dawn for GST ? Let's toss...

[YAGAY andSUN]

Merits

1. Shall bring growth in GDP.
2. Tax Compliance would be better.
3. FII shall increase.
4. Tax Collection Cost shall go south ward
5. Consultants/CA/CA/ICWAs/Lawyers/Advocate would get lots of business
6. Waybills/Statutory Forms menace shall come to an end.

Demerits:

1. for couple of years inflation will increase.
2. Lots of confusion will scroll up/down regarding compliances
3. Trade/Business's compliance cost for initial stage will go up due to training/investment in infrastructure etc.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Sir, kudos to present brief of merit and demarit.

Sir, the compliance part is going to be tough for the assessee especially company because of huge number of transaction. For government ofcourse the cost of administration will be reduced.

Sure in long run the benefit is there. The cost of procurement would be uniform across states. Thus anywhere and everywhere the procurement can take place. Only transport cost may differ because of distance, availability and demand.

Price would come down due to seemless credit. But have wait and see how these things fall in place. Thanks.

AI Summary

Single law GST implementation promises seamless input tax credit and simplified compliance but raises transitional compliance costs and industry uncertainties. A unified GST regime would replace multiple central and state laws, enabling seamless input tax credit, simplified compliance and assessment, reduced classification disputes, and uniform procurement costs, yielding long term efficiency gains. Short term risks include higher compliance costs for businesses, implementation confusion, possible inflationary effects, and sectoral complications where certain products remain outside GST, creating uncertainty over input tax credit and coexistence with legacy laws.