Service Tax monitoring: use ACES/EDW data, pursue non filers/stop filers, send fortnightly progress reports with collection and penalty details.
The Directorate General of Systems has identified Non-Filers, Stop-Filers and Late-Filers of ST-3 returns via ACES and EDW, sent bulk emails to those groups, and circulated zone/commissionerate lists for scrutiny. Field formations must take prompt persuasive action and submit fortnightly progress reports (capturing opening/closing balances, returns filed, late fees, tax, interest and penalties) in the ANNEXURE-B format starting 15 February 2017. Technical guidance for generating required reports via EDW and ACES and definitions of filing categories are provided.

GST integration will consolidate multiple indirect taxes into one assessment while preserving jobs and roles in tax service.
Introduction of the Goods and Services Tax will replace multiple central and state indirect levies and consolidate assessment into a single national framework, changing the nature of tax administration but preserving overall demand for revenue administration and opportunities for revenue officers despite altered duties.

Demonetisation and GST promote formalisation and stronger tax compliance, consolidating indirect taxes into a single market framework.
Demonetisation is presented as a measure to disrupt large-value cash holdings and integrate shadow, parallel and informal economies into the formal economy, increasing banking and digital transactions and improving tax compliance. The Goods and Services Tax is framed as a consolidated indirect tax creating a single market by subsuming excise, service tax, VAT and local levies, eliminating multiple assessments, checking evasion and increasing revenues, with most contentious issues reportedly resolved through the GST Council and implementation in advanced stages.

GST revenue uncertainty may constrain budget planning and limit reliable indirect tax projections for the upcoming fiscal year.
Anticipated tax reductions to stimulate consumption are complicated by the unavailability of reliable central indirect-tax revenue projections because the Goods and Services Tax will subsume excise, service tax and state VAT and the GST Council has not yet fixed rates or taxable classifications; customs receipts may be projected but excise and service-tax bases cannot, disrupting the Centre's usual budgeting around projected shares of nationwide indirect-tax revenues and creating uncertainty for fiscal commitments.

PAN-based registration requirement: single provisional GST ID per PAN state combination, allocated by legacy registration priority.
Provisional GST IDs are issued only to PAN based Central Excise and Service Tax registrations, with a single provisional ID per State PAN combination assigned to the first registration in alphabetical order; CE allocations follow the priority XM, EM, XD, ED, EI and may yield two IDs if head office and business premise are in different states; ST allocations process Non Centralized categories SD, ST, SE then Centralized, and any ST entries duplicating CE State PAN combinations are excluded.

GST administration reform: allocation of taxpayer control and single-assessment guarantee enable revised rollout date.
Consensus on GST administration assigns primary control of smaller taxpayers to states while the Centre retains authority over a smaller share; larger taxpayers above the turnover threshold will be jointly administered by Centre and states with a guarantee of a single assessment by one authority. The Centre agreed to coastal-state taxation within territorial waters, a four-rate tax structure was agreed, and drafts of IGST, SGST and CGST will be finalised to enable a revised rollout date of July 1.

Territorial waters GST: Council nearing consensus on dual control and levy powers ahead of planned implementation.
The Goods and Services Tax framework is moving toward finalising intergovernmental arrangements, with the Council reported to be converging on contentious administrative and territorial issues. The primary operative developments are a prospective consensus on Dual Control between tax authorities and agreement to vest the power to levy GST on transactions within Territorial Waters, presented as prerequisites to commencement of the GST regime.

GST administration powers deadlock risks delaying rollout unless allocation, audit structure and compensation mechanisms are resolved.
Deadlock concerns the distribution of GST administration powers between the Union and states, with the GST Council confronting whether states should have sole jurisdiction over taxpayers below a specified turnover threshold and whether a horizontal split of administrative competence is appropriate. The Centre opposes a broad horizontal allocation and resists dual auditing authorities on grounds that overlapping agencies could act at cross-purposes. The Council will also address taxation of trade in territorial waters and the design of a compensation corpus to offset state revenue losses, while finalising IGST clauses and securing enactment of CGST and SGST laws remain prerequisites for rollout.

GST migration: provisional GSTIN issued to prior registrants with PAN; furnish prescribed information to obtain final registration.
Issuance of a provisional certificate of registration with GSTIN is required for persons registered under earlier laws with a valid PAN; such provisional registration is valid for six months (subject to extension) and must be converted into final registration by electronically submitting prescribed information and documents (FORM GST REG 20) on the Common Portal, with final registration issued in FORM GST REG 06 if particulars are correct and cancellation procedures (notice, hearing, FORM GST REG 22) applying where information is missing or incorrect.

Goods and Services Tax rollout contingent on resolving centre-state control and compensation issues before constitutional deadline.
The Finance Minister reiterated the objective to implement the Goods and Services Tax from April if outstanding design and administrative issues are resolved, emphasising a constitutional requirement to enact the regime by a fixed deadline. Key obstacles include Centre-state disputes over dual control of taxpayers and compensation for state revenue shortfalls; the GST Council is identified as the forum to resolve these governance and compensation issues. The Minister linked GST and ongoing digitisation efforts to simplification of levies, reduction of evasion, expansion of the formal economy, and strengthened revenue mobilisation.

Goods and Services Tax simplifies compliance as a single tax with input tax credit and interim IGST mechanism.
Goods and Services Tax creates a unified indirect tax replacing multiple levies to form a single market, simplify compliance, and broaden access to input tax credit; it operates as a single tax with streamlined payment methods and includes an interim Integrated GST for cross-border supplies while implementation issues such as jurisdictional allocation remain to be resolved by the GST Council, which has also provided for a multi-tier rate architecture and a targeted cess on specified goods.

Migration to GST: provisional registration issued; furnishing prescribed information converts it to final registration, otherwise provisional registration may be cancelled.
Persons with a valid PAN registered under earlier laws receive a provisional certificate of registration with GSTIN on the Common Portal; they must electronically furnish prescribed information and documents within the stipulated period. If particulars are correct and complete, the provisional certificate is converted into a final registration; if not furnished or found incorrect, the provisional registration may be cancelled after notice and opportunity to be heard. Persons not liable to register may apply to cancel the provisional registration, and eligible registrants may opt between tax mechanisms within prescribed timelines.

GST migration: existing central excise and service taxpayers must complete migration to access provisional GST credentials and portals.
CBEC initiated migration of existing Central Excise and Service Tax assessees to GST so taxpayers can retrieve provisional GST credentials via the ACES portal and use them on the GST portal to complete registration and upload required documents; PAN is mandatory for migration and must be obtained and updated on ACES if absent. A 24x7 helpdesk, outreach workshops, training and user guides are available to assist assessees.

GST enrolment requires provisional ID and password, PAN validation, and submission of Form 20 on the GST portal.
CBEC will issue Provisional ID and provisional password to Central Excise and Service Tax assessees with a valid PAN for migration to GST; provisional credentials are withheld if the PAN is invalid, already linked to a State tax authority's provisional ID, or where multiple registrations exist on the same PAN (only one Provisional ID issued in alphabetical order). Assessees must use the Provisional ID and password to log into the GST common portal and complete enrolment by submitting Form 20 with supporting documents.

Migration to GST requires provisional IDs via ACES, PAN validation, portal registration, ARN issuance and provisional GST certificates.
Existing Central Excise and Service Tax assessees with valid PANs will receive provisional IDs and passwords from GSTN via ACES and must use them to complete registration on the GSTN portal, obtain an ARN, and thereby migrate to GST with issuance of a provisional certificate and subsequent GSTIN; those without PANs must obtain and update PAN on ACES before migration.

GST registration urged: traders to enroll on GSTN portal using temporary credentials provided and attend state training camps.
The State directed traders to register for GST on the GSTN portal (www.gst.gov.in), providing temporary user names and passwords via the State website to enable portal access, and organising special camps to educate and assist traders in the registration process; traders were urged to register online and attend the camps.

Exporters' GST refund: 90% within seven days, verification holdback and interest if delayed beyond the outer period.
The Department of Revenue will make 90 percent of exporters' GST refunds within seven days, retain 10 percent for verification, and apply interest where refunds are delayed beyond an outer period that the Department will specify, with the Commerce Secretary indicating interest would apply after two weeks; operational details for refund timing, verification and interest will be finalized by the revenue department.

Territorial jurisdiction over high sea sales stalls GST finalisation, prolonging IGST and assessees' jurisdiction disputes.
A stalemate persists over GST because unresolved territorial jurisdiction over high sea sales and assessees' control remain open; while initial IGST chapters were approved, constitutional tension-whether areas within 12 nautical miles permit state taxation or fall under Union competence-requires legal resolution. Parallel operational concerns on funding state compensation and state participation in the Integrated GST (IGST) regime delay finalisation and the rollout timetable.

Tax jurisdiction dispute threatens GST rollout; Council to address taxpayer control, high-seas taxation and revenue sharing.
The GST deadlock arises from Centre-state disagreement over tax jurisdiction (dual control), taxation of high-seas/territorial waters transactions, and revenue allocation from the highest tax bracket. The Council has deferred decisions and will reconvene to determine jurisdictional rules, high-seas taxation treatment, revenue-sharing formulas, mechanisms to fund state compensation, and state participation in the Integrated GST framework, affecting the rollout timetable.

GST implementation: Council consults key sectors on rollout hurdles while markets react to infrastructure data.
GST Council consultations constituted the principal regulatory development: a two-day Council meeting convened representatives from six critical sectors - including information technology, telecommunications, banking and insurance - to identify and assess implementation hurdles under the new Goods and Services Tax regime and address sector-specific operational issues affecting rollout and compliance readiness.