Recommendations made by the GST Council in the 21st meeting at Hyderabad on 9th September, 2017

Yesterday I wrote :

" If need to stop the system for a month, stop and fix all issues, do not make it an Ego Issue, otherwise situation will keep getting worse. Thanks."

Glad, that it happened. First Good & Positive Result of appointment of Dr Ajay Bhushan Pande as chairman GSTN. 

Now, I wish and pray God to guide (Grant Sadbudhi ) GST Council and GSTN Leadership to form a team of Industry Experts with members from TCS, Tech Mahindra, Microsoft, Wipro etc alongwith Infosys team.  It is a national project and let everyone contribute best of his capacity. We had implemented very complex automated projects, and know, all these issues can be fixed in one month, if dedicated team work on it, free from any political pressure.

Other than extension of date, other recommendation of GST Council in today's meeting :

► GSTR-3B will continue to be filed for the months of August to December, 2017.

► Opt composition scheme till 30th September 2017.

►  FORM GST TRAN-1 can be filed by 31st October, 2017 and revised once.

►  The registration for persons liable to deduct tax at source (TDS) and collect tax at source (TCS) will commence from 18th September 2017.

for full press release please refer following link :

http://pib.nic.in/newsite/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=170642

Recommendations made by the GST Council in the 21st meeting at Hyderabad on 9th September, 2017

The GST Council, in its 21^st meeting held at Hyderabad on 9^th September 2017, has recommended the following measures to facilitate taxpayers:

a)      In view of the difficulties being faced by taxpayers in filing returns, the following revised schedule has been approved:

Sl. No.	Details / Return	Tax Period	Revised due date
1	GSTR-1	July, 2017	10-Oct-17
For registered persons with aggregate turnover of more than Rs. 100 crores, the due date shall be 3rdOctober 2017
2	GSTR-2	July, 2017	31-Oct-17
3	GSTR-3	July, 2017	10-Nov-17
4	GSTR-4	July-September, 2017	18-Oct-17 (no change)
Table-4 under GSTR-4 not to be filled for the quarter July-September 2017. Requirement of filing GSTR-4A for this quarter is dispensed with.
5	GSTR-6	July, 2017	13-Oct-17

Due dates for filing of the above mentioned returns for subsequent periods shall be notified at a later date.

b)      GSTR-3B will continue to be filed for the months of August to December, 2017.

c)      A registered person (whether migrated or new registrant), who could not opt for composition scheme, shall be given the option to avail composition till 30^th September 2017 and such registered person shall be permitted to avail the benefit of composition scheme with effect from 1^st October, 2017.

d)     Presently, any person making inter-state taxable supplies is not eligible for threshold exemption of Rs. 20 lacs (Rs. 10 lacs in special category states except J & K) and is liable for registration. It has been decided to allow an exemption from registration to persons making inter-State taxable supplies of handicraft goods upto aggregate turnover of Rs. 20 lacs as long as the person has a Permanent Account Number (PAN) and the goods move under the cover of an e-way bill, irrespective of the value of the consignment.

e)      Presently, a job worker making inter-State taxable supply of job work service is not eligible for threshold exemption of Rs. 20 lacs (Rs. 10 lacs in special category states except J & K) and is liable for registration.  It has been decided to exempt those job workers from obtaining registration who are making inter-State taxable supply of job work service to a registered person as long as the goods move under the cover of an e-way bill, irrespective of the value of the consignment. This exemption will not be available to job work in relation to jewellery, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ wares as covered under Chapter 71 which do not require e-way bill.

f)       FORM GST TRAN-1 can be revised once.

g)      The due date for submission of FORM GST TRAN-1 has been extended by one month i.e. 31^st October, 2017.

h)      The registration for persons liable to deduct tax at source (TDS) and collect tax at source (TCS) will commence from 18^th September 2017. However, the date from which TDS and TCS will be deducted or collected will be notified by the Council later.

2.         The GST Council has decided to set up a committee consisting of officers from both the Centre and the States under the chairmanship of the Revenue Secretary to examine the issues related to exports.

3.         The GST Council has also decided to constitute a Group of Ministers to monitor and resolve the IT challenges faced during GST implementation.

Dr Ajay Bhushan Pande will hold charge of chairman GSTN in place of Navin Kumar who retired recently.

Dr Ajay Bhushan Pande will hold charge of chairman GSTN in place of Navin Kumar who retired recently. He is DG UIDAI (Aadhar).

He brings with him his vast experience of implementing complex IT projects. I welcome him to the Team GST of Revenue department.

- Dr Hasmukh Adhia (Revenue ecreatary, MoF, Govt of India) 

Why not hire an expert from Industry. UIDAI is also not performing great, but since no time line attached, so no one notices, but GST is a different level ? Two days left for filing GSTR-1 and Server is making people sitting around for hours, testing their patience. Even people with super fast connections are unable to file their return, just leave an average or slow connection. If Govt truly wants to make GST Implementation a success, let professionals from Industry handle it, who are expert. It was not a rocket science, Face Book is used by more than 200 Crore users, Twitter by 33 Crore, Instagram by 70 Crore, Youtube by 150 Crore every month and here we are struggling to design and implement a system just for 1 Crore users. If need to stop the system for a month, stop and fix all issues, do not make it an Ego Issue, otherwise situation will keep getting worse. Thanks.

Step by step guide on downloading Error file from GST Portal and making corrections

Step by step guide on downloading Error file from GST Portal and making corrections as issued by CBEC. It reminds me error files while processing batch files for bulk payments uploading at bank's portal. Almost similar process. But, It is also true, not all companies are tech savvy. And not all companies use E-Banking, This is not, that they can't do, but their owners do not want any one else to touch their bank account or have access on banking detail of company, they do not trust even the senior most employees of the company. Anyway, Initially there would be happening so many errors, but every time, it would be a lesson. So Keep Learning, Growing and Enjoying #GST. Thanks.  

Tips for taxpayers while Creating New GSTR1 using Offline Tool on the GST portal

Tips for taxpayers while Creating New GSTR1 using Offline Tool on the GST portal, as issued by CBEC. Thanks.

BS (Business Standard) Round Table on GST : Summary #BSRoundTable

BS (Business Standard) Round Table on GST : Summary :
► The maximum capacity of GST servers is 80,000 people per hour. If over 80,000 people log in together, people are asked to wait and be in queue. (Is this capacity enough for approx 1 Crore Taxpayers ? Do not understand what GSTN did in last six months, situation is same, 80K per hour is nothing.) ► Businesses should stop complaining too much and get ready to adapt to the GST regime. (But How, Many CA firms are working like 24*7 call centres, now a days.) ► Number of rates in GST will come down to one in 2-3 years from now. ► Our small traders are much smarter than the Big 4 accounting firms. (Could not understand it was about praising small traders or making fun of Big4 ?) ► We cannot allow simultaneous filing of GSTR 1 & GSTR 2 forms. ► In some time. these 1.1 million people will get calls from Tax authorities. (Threatening the non-filers of Returns). ► File GST returns on time and plan your vacation. (How Cute :) ). ► People will no longer talk about GST problems as they will get used to them. ► We're passing through the initial six phase of glitches. ►There is clamour for extension of deadline for return filing. ► Number of rates in GST will come down to one in 2-3 years from now. Arrogance & Over-Confidence. How things will get better ?

GST return filing stumps millions of taxpayers, filing portal keeps throwing tantrums : ET

Some people say, I keep criticizing GSTN (May be they have not gone thru my posts, where I have appreciated their teams for good work), but there is a reason, the way this all mess was created.

Defeating TCS, Wipro, Tech Mahindra & Microsoft, Infosys won this contract of Rs. 1380 Crore in September -2015 to build IT Infra for GSTN by March-2016. We all accountants who have worked in fully automated environment know, it was not a tough task, could be achieved with a complete plan. But, instead of choosing the best, they choose Infosys, complete political decision.

and then began controversy, they appointed Dr. Punita Sinha (wife of Minister of State Finance Jayant Sinha) as director. Just before implementation GSTN was in talk with Infosys for 5 years agreement to take care of Network. and at that time, Infosys informed system is not ready for E-bill process and asked for 3 more months.

GSTN was formed with the aim to work professionally (Free from Political interference), to work in time-lines and to give a tested system before implementation, but it did not happen and result now millions of tax payers and professionals are victim of this professional mismanagement. Who is responsible for all this from GSTN and GST Council Side ?

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/policy-trends/gst-return-filing-stumps-millions-of-taxpayers-filing-portal-keeps-throwing-tantrums/articleshow/60372889.cms

Happy Teachers Day - 2017

गुरु ब्रह्मा, गुरु विष्णु गुरु देवो महेश्वर, गुरु साक्षात् परमं ब्रह्मा तस्मै श्री गुरुवे नम: 

Happy Teachers Day, Friends !

इस जगत में सबसे महान कोई सम्बन्ध है तो वो है गुरु और शिष्य का। भारतीय संस्कृति मे तो यहाँ तक कहा जाता है, कि बिना गुरु के मोक्ष भी सम्भव नहीं है। एक गुरु आपका जीवन तक बदलने की सामर्थ्य रखता है, इसका एक छोटा सा उदहारण देना चाहूँगा, बचपन से ही गणित अच्छा लगता था, पर इतिहास और बड़े होने पर टैक्स तो जैसे काटते थे, सोचा करता था कि टैक्स जैसे boring subject में जरा मन नहीं लगता, क्या एक अच्छा accountant बन पाउँगा ? फिर एक दिन एक मित्र ने कहा कि Prof. Lal से पढ़ते हैं, पहली बार जिंदगी मे non-stop छे घंटे की class attend की, उनका explain करने का तरीका इतना अच्छा था की bore लगने वाला Income Tax भी interested लगने लगा। फिर क्या, न जाने कितनी किताबें पढ़ डालीं, कौटिल्य के system से लेकर, US, Europe  and Asia के Tax System तक, और ये सब संभव हुआ, सिर्फ एक Teacher की वजह से। 

यदि हम अपनी जिंदगी को गौर से देखें तो पायेंगे बहुत सी ऐसी चीजें हैं जिसके पीछे किसी न किसी की प्रेरणा या योगदान है और हम उन चीजों को Granted लेकर चलते हैं।

मैंने कई Professionals देखे हैं जो अपने Juniors को सिर्फ उतना बताते हैं कि उनका काम चलता रहे, जो कि गलत है, पूछने पर कहते हैं, की अगर वो सब सीख गए तो हमें कौन पूछेगा ? मै बस इतना कहना चाहूंगा कि ज्ञान बांटने से बढ़ता है, जब हम किसी को एक चीज सिखाते हैं तो खुद दो सीखते हैं। इसलिए कभी भी ज्ञान बाँटने में संकोच न करें।  धन्यवाद। 

GSTR-1, 2 and 3 for July and August'17, filing date extended

GIC decides to extend Date of GSTR 1, GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 for the month of July to 10th, 25th and 30th September 2017 respectively. GIC decides to extend Date of GSTR 1, GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 for the month of August to 5th, 10th and 15th October 2017 respectively. Suitable notification to be issued shortly.

Beware before posting your personal GST information on Twitter

Tomorrow is last day to submit GSTR-1 for July'17. As usual, so many technical glitches, in between Circuit breaker was applied for Ten minutes on 1 lakh concurrency, and the professionals/taxpayers who were uploading their Return started getting error messages, and scared people immediately started sending screen shots of error messages to GSTN's Tech Handle on Twitter. 

Now Coming on the point, Be Patient while working on GST Portal. Do not just take screen shot and throw on any public platform or social media. The information shared by many contain Name of Tax Payer, GSTIN, their Sales Figures and other details. While sharing any sensitive information even with a closed vendor in many cases, with auditors and lawyers, we demand first NDA (Non Disclosure Agreement) to be signed and here sharing all sensitive information with world.

So, I'll request or advise all GST Professionals or Taxpayers, Do Not get panic, if there is any technical issue. If you need to share full detail send on their helpdesk mail id (few days back, their mail box also exceed the limit and mail started bouncing back, but I believe by now, they must have got limit of their mail box exceeded.). But, if you need to share on twitter, take screen shot and remove all personal information before publishing the same. One method is, You can use insert shapes in word/excel/powepoint and cover it with black box. Thanks.

RIP to My Beloved Grand Mother

पिछले हफ्ते मेरी नानी जी का निधन हो गया। बड़े बजुर्गों की जीवन मे क्या अहमियत होती है, ये तो वही समझ सकता है, जिसने उनके साथ जीवन गुजारा हो। जो अनुभव 10 किताबों को पढ़ कर भी नहीं मिलता वो किसी सयाने बजुर्ग के साथ 10 मिनट बात कर के मिल जाता है। कई बार लगता है जिंदगी में कई बार इतना बुरा वक़्त आने पर भी अगर हम हताश या निराश नहीं होते, तो शायद इसके पीछे बड़े बजुर्गों की सीख और उनका आशीर्वाद ही है। मेरी नानी जी कई बातें कही करती थी जैसे :

1. जो भी जीवन मे हुआ, हो रहा है या होगा, वो सब तुम्हारे अपने कर्मों का ही नतीजा है, इसके लिए किसी और को दोष मत दो। 

2. कभी जीवन मे बुरा वक़्त आये तो खूब मेहनत करो और साथ में भगवान के आगे अरदास, कि वो इस विपत्ति का संयम से सामना करने में मदद करे और अच्छा समय जल्दी आये, याद रखो, कि बिना मेहनत की भक्ति और बिना भक्ति की मेहनत का असर जल्दी और अधिक नहीं होता। 

3. सदा खुश रहो,अपने दुखों और परेशानियों का ढिंढोरा मत पीटते रहो, सँसार में हर कोई किसी न किसी बात से परेशान है, अगर लगता है सच मे कोई मदद कर सकता है, तो विनम्र होकर विनती करो मगर बिना किसी अपेक्षा के।

4. ईश्वर को किसी खास अवसर पर ही याद मत करो, बल्कि जब भी समय मिले क्यूंकि जिंदगी के बाद दो ही चीजें हमारे साथ जाती हैं, पहली जब हमने किसी जरूरतमंद की मदद की हो और दूसरी जब प्रेम के साथ ईश्वर का स्मरण किया हो। आपकी शिक्षा, नाम, पहचान, धन, सम्पत्ति का ईश्वर की नज़रों में कोई मोल नही। 

कई बार सोचता हूँ कि लोग अपनी समस्याओं को लेकर ढोंगी और पाखंडी बाबाओं के डेरों के चक्कर काटने की जग़ह अपने ही घर के या आस पास के सयाने और अनुभवी बजुर्ग से समाधान मांगें तो जल्दी लाभ होगा। 

इसमें कोई शक नही, जैसे जैसे उम्र बढ़ती जाती है वैसे वैसे ही जिंदगी का तजुर्बा। बहुत सारे अनसुलझे सवालों का जवाब मिलने लगता है, दूसरों के द्वारा किये गए बहुत सारे कार्य और लिए गए निर्णयों का कारण पता चलने लगता है। 

सभी मित्रों को यही सलाह दूंगा कि whatsapp या facebook की virtual और fake दुनिया की जगह, थोड़ा समय अपने बड़े बजुर्गों को भी दें क्यूँकि ये मौका बार बार नहीं मिलता। धन्यवाद।