‘23.9 lakh new assessees registered under GST’

Madras Management Association, in association with Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, recently organised a seminar titled GST – A Reality Check which included an interactive session for businessmen and consumers with members of the GST administration. 

In his address, Gurumurthy (in picture) spoke about demonetisation and the GST implementation in India and the consequent bouquets and brickbats government has been facing every day. 

“No measures taken are either human or inhuman. It is the duty of the government to protect the interests of the state and their subjects and this singular thought is the trigger mechanism for both demonetisation as also introduction of GST,” he remarked. 

S Kannan, Commissioner – GST & Central Excise, Government of India, stated the Centre has set up outreach programmes to spread awareness of GST and seek feedback from the trade and the public like never before – over 2,000 mass contact programmes since the introduction of GST. For example, he cited the example of 3 such programmes in Namakkal … home to the largest trucking hub in entire South Asia and the place where 3 crore eggs are collected and distributed every day. “More programmes have been conducted in major and minor trade centres of India and the assessees feedback obtained,” he noted. 

Santosh Dalvi, Head – Indirect Tax Practice, KPMG India highlighted the measures and performance of 150 days of implementation of GST. “Though awareness creation has been high and the implementation quick, there are certain hurdles, challenges and unfinished agenda in this regard”, he said. 

“During 150 days, 72 lakh assesses migrated to the GST regime and 23.9 lakh new assessees registered for GST; Rs 94,000 crore was collected in July, Rs 91,000 crore in August, Rs 93,141 crore in September and Rs 83,346 crore in October,” Dalvi pointed out to the attendees.