Himachal govt welcomes GST Council reform proposals

Shimla, Oct 8 (IANS) Himachal Pradesh government on Thursday welcomed the reforms proposed by the GST Council, saying the measures would make the tax system more taxpayer-friendly and simplify compliance procedures.

The proposed reforms, covering registration, return filing, refunds, assessment, adjudication and other processes, are expected to make Goods and Services Tax (GST) compliance simpler, more transparent and more efficient.

The 57th meeting of the GST Council was held under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi.

The Himachal Pradesh government also welcomed proposals aimed at providing relief to small taxpayers, as well as measures relating to defence establishments and CSD canteens.

A state-specific issue concerning the leasing of the right to collect tolls was also deliberated upon, and the proposed GST exemption relating to the state’s toll collection mechanism was welcomed.

While supporting measures that facilitate compliance for genuine taxpayers, the state emphasised that GST reforms must maintain an appropriate balance between ease of compliance and effective enforcement.

It said proposals that could weaken enforcement, facilitate fraudulent practices or adversely affect legitimate revenue should be carefully reviewed to ensure that taxpayer facilitation does not come at the cost of revenue protection and the prevention of tax evasion.

The state government also raised the issue of full compensation for revenue implications arising from GST implementation, with a view to safeguarding fiscal stability.

It reiterated that state revenues should be protected by ensuring 14 per cent year-on-year growth for five years and that revenue protection should continue thereafter until actual state revenue reaches the level of protected revenue determined for the fifth year.

The proposal for the constitution of a Group of Ministers (GoM) on hilly states was also reiterated to address the specific concerns and requirements of hill states.

Further, the state highlighted the need to correct the inverted duty structure in the pharmaceutical sector by reducing the tax rate on active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs).

Such rationalisation, it said, would help minimise the accumulation of input tax credit and associated refund claims while providing further impetus to domestic API manufacturing and the pharmaceutical industry.

–IANS

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