Differences surface in GST implementation

SHILLONG: Taxation and Excise Minister Zenith Sangma said on Friday a conflict arose over various issues at the council meet on the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which is in the final stage of implementation.
Speaking to reporters, he said, “If the total turnover is up to Rs 1.5 crore it will be in control of the State government and if the turnover is above Rs 1.5 crore there should be dual control engaging both the Centre and the State government, which is the demand from the states.”
“On the other hand the opinion of the Centre that for the goods sector, if the turnover is up to Rs 1.5 crore it will be under the control of the State government but for service sector even if the turnover is up to Rs 1.5 crore, it should be under the control of the Centre, which is not agreed by the State governments, hence the item cannot be disposed of,” he added.
Commenting on the threshold limit, Sangma said it has remained at Rs 1 lakh and has not increased over the years and discussions are on with other northeastern states to increase the limit to Rs 10 lakh.
In this connection, he is optimistic that with the increase in the threshold limit, other unregistered dealers will be prompted to get themselves registered.
“The state has currently 30,000 registered dealers and with the increased in threshold limit it will encourage other unregistered dealers to come forward as no purchaser will buy from an unregistered dealer,” he added.  Sangma informed that the State is gearing up to implement the GST.
He added, “We have imparted three rounds of training to officers and staff to enable them to acclimatise to the new system.”