Yesterday, two bills which were pending to be passed were cleared at the GST meeting headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, who pioneered perhaps the grandest transformation in Indian finance.
In a meeting on Thursday, GST officials rolled out new tax rates for a myriad of items like tobacco and luxury cars, among many others.
The July rollout of GST is highly likely, as the expeditious clearance of GST bills suggest. This is an app market; a multitude of apps have emerged to help all individuals, especially Indians to comprehend the concept and nuances of the new concept.
“We saw a gap in awareness and education when it comes to GST. Questions like what constitutes sale, how does one value goods moving between two branches need to be addressed. The app is meant to be a guide to content that can be consumed on the go,” informed Archit Gupta, co-founder and CEO, ClearTax.
The app has a slew of webinars (web-seminars) hosted by industry experts on various aspects of GST. “Case studies will be discussed. Participants can ask questions as well. We are already seeing 400-500 attendees per webinar,” Gupta added.
Making GST compliances mobile driven is a core part of our GST roadmap. We are looking to engage with 5-6 lakh businesses in the first year of GST rollout, Gupta said.
Accounting firm Tally Solutions was among the first to release its mobile solution in December 2016. Tally is one of the 34 GST Suvidha Providers, agencies which will provide front-end services such as tax filing, registrations and refunds for taxpayers.
Big 4 companies like PwC and Deloitte have also launched dedicated apps as well. Even CBEC has launched an app in this regard called CBEC GST.
“At the cusp of the biggest ever tax reform in India, it is ever more important for businesses to stay abreast of the fast evolving GST transition,” said Pratik Jain of PwC India
The app is a specialized app to disseminate information in nexus with GST related developments. It gives PwC’s point of view, including insights from our work on GST across the globe”.
In tandem to the various facilities, this app also has a set of frequently asked questions for businesses related to registration, payment of tax, valuation, input tax credit, refunds, appeal forum and search and seizures.
Moreover, the app also has a toll free helpline number. It also boasts of an email ID which will act as a rescue for taxpayers.
