E-governance firms shine bright ahead of rollout

Visakhapatnam: As the July 1 GST roll out draws closer, Vizag-based Steel City Securities Ltd (SCCL), like other e-governance service providers in the country, is stepping on the gas to expand its footprint across India.  The reason: GST-related services will now be added to their existing bouquet of offerings.

SCCL, which raised Rs 27 crore through an initial public offering (IPO) and got listed on the national stock exchanges in February last, is spending Rs 15 crore from the IPO proceeds to almost double its pan-India network in the next 12-18 months.

“We see huge potential in GST-related services, as over 80 lakh traders and dealers in the country, who are currently under VAT, are migrating to the new tax regime,” Dr Satish Kumar Arya, Director of the company, told this newspaper.

The company, which has about 4000 e-governance service centres across India, intends to cross the 7,000 mark in the next 12-18 months.  As it already has a strong presence in the South, it plans to focus on the North in its expansion programme.

Expecting significant economic gains after the GST roll-out, SCCL, which notched up Rs 5.95 crore revenue from its e-governance vertical alone last fiscal, expects a 80-100 per cent growth this fiscal.

It currently offers 13 e-governance products, including services related to PAN, Aadhar and Form 24G. Launched in 1995, it primarily provides a trading platform for Capital Market, futures and options, commodities and currency derivatives products.