GST Council fails to fix simpler filing process

New Delhi: The GST Council, a constitutional body of the Centre and state governments, on Saturday decided to roll out the e-way bill for inter-state movement of goods across the country from April 1, but it failed to arrive at a consensus on simplification of tax-returning filing procedure for businesses.

As no decision could be reached on the simplification of the return filing process, it was decided that the present system of filing of GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 be extended for another three months to June 2018 till the new return system is finalised. A new model was discussed extensively and a group of ministers on IT has been tasked to finalise it. “There was a detailed discussion. The council felt that there should be a single return every month, it should be simple, not prone to evasion, and (there was a need to discuss) how to simplify it further. So no decision was taken today. The existing system was extended by three months,” said Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, who heads the GST Council.

It was decided that there would be a phased rollout of the e-way bill for intra-state movement of goods from April 15, but not later than June 1, 2018.

Wary of the system collapsing like it happened when the e-way bill was first introduced on February 1, the GST Council decided to roll out the requirement of carrying the permit for intra-state movement in a staggered manner.

It was decided that the e-way bill is required to be generated only where the value of the consignment exceeds `50,000. For smaller value consignments, no e-way bill is required. Public conveyance has also been included as a mode of transport and the responsibility of generating the e-way bill in case of movement of goods by public transport would be that of the consignor or consignee. Once verified by any tax officer, the same conveyance will not be subject to a second check in any state or Union territory, unless and until specific information is received.

It was decided that the liability to pay tax on reverse charge basis be deferred till June 30. In the meantime, a group of ministers will look into the modalities of its implementation to ensure that no inconvenience is caused to trade and industry.

The GST Council decided to implement the e-wallet scheme for giving refunds to exporters under GST by October 1, 2018 — the date till which exporters can continue to claim tax exemptions given by the council at its October 6 meeting.