CAIT to hold 100 GST awareness workshops pan-India for traders

Mumbai: The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) on Saturday said it will organise 100 workshops on Goods and Services Tax (GST) across India to educate traders about the new tax regime. The industry body is working closely with HDFC Bank, Tally Solutions and Mastercard in its endeavour to educate over six crore traders about GST, CAIT said in a release here. The first phase of the nationwide awareness campaign will begin on July 1 to help the trading community's smooth transition from the current tax regime to GST. CAIT President B C Bhartia said the workshops will help traders understand core issues related to GST, including compliance, and end confusion and panic among them. These workshops will be held in offices of trade associations, HDFC Bank branches or in markets easily accessible to traders. GJF to launch 'Adhigam' software to help jewellers move to GST All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation (GJF) today said it is planning to hold seminars for jewellers in Mumbai on June 29 on Goods and Services Tax (GST). GJF will also launch a software, 'Adhigam', developed with support of financial and IT experts to assist jewellers migrate to the new tax regime, a release issued here said. "We, as a national trade body, have embarked upon a nationwide programme for jewellers to impart knowledge and application of GST in their business. "We urge our jeweller community to exercise utmost preparedness and start migrating to the GST regime, with the help of Adhigam and start complying with the new tax regime," GJF Chairman Nitin Khandelwal said. Meanwhile, on Saturday, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi claimed that Bihar, being the consumer state, will be the biggest beneficiary of the new indirect tax regime of GST, which will come into effect from July 1 this year. "The consumer states will be benefited in the new indirect tax regime of GST as tax would be levied on consumption. Bihar is one of the biggest consumer states and hence the poor and backward states like Bihar will be benefited the most with the introduction of new GST regime," Sushil Modi, a former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and Finance minister said. Modi was addressing a debate-cum-workshop on "GST" organised by BJP's Vanijya Manch here at Bihar Industries Association (BIA) premises. Bihar BJP president Nityanand Rai, senior party leaders Nand Kishore Yadav, Mangal Pandey, BIA president and industrialist Ram Lall Khaitan, former BIA president and industrialists K P S Keshri besides a host of industrialists traders, businessmen and others participated in the function. Bihar is expected to witness a minimum growth of 14 per cent in its tax collections, Sushil Modi said while exuding confidence that the state's tax growth could go upto around 25 per cent. The Central government would compensate states for the losses for next five years, he said. Exhorting traders and businessmen to adopt the new regime and said that there will be some teething problems for few months but it will be easier to do business under new indirect tax regime which is fully computerised. The computerisation will bring transparency into the system which will lessen human interface and in turn it will also help in taming corruption and tax evasion, said Sushil Modi who was held charge of Finance department for seven and half years during NDA regime in Bihar. He, however, said that it will be a bit difficult for those businessmen/traders who have been doing business through traditional mode instead of adopting technology. BJP leader asked the businessmen to use computer in their business dealings as it would make their work easier. Stating that there are only four slabs of tax rate of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent in GST, the former Bihar Finance minister said that prices of a number of items are expected to decline after the implementation of GST which would make the product competitive globally. He also cautioned the traders and businessmen not toindulge in profiteering and appealed to them to pass on the benefits to the ultimate consumers if the tax rate of commodities/goods is reduced under GST. If the traders/businessmen do not pass on the benefits to the consumers then cases may be lodged against them besides imposing a heavy penalty under "anti-profiteering" clause of the new tax system.