TIOL-DDT 2905
08 08 2016
Monday

IN DDT 2887 13 07 2016, I wrote

In the CBEC's Outreach Programme at Hyderabad on Monday, CBEC Member, Ram Tirath stated that assessees under the GST will have to deal with only one single authority. The fear of dual control by the State Government and the Central Government on same issues has been haunting the trade ever since GST appeared on the horizon.

Will there be a single authority for registration, SCN, adjudication, appeal, audit, investigation, summons, assessment, returns, refund and other formalities? Or will there be double trouble with both the State and Central GST authorities breathing down the necks of harried assessees?

In such a situation, the announcement by the CBEC Member is a welcome breeze of oxygen, but unfortunately he didn't elaborate. I tried to contact him and Mr. Upender Gupta, Commissioner, GST to find out if there would be really only one authority for all the above purposes, by phone, mail and SMS, but couldn't succeed.

In DDT 2891 19 07 2016, I wrote:

DDT 2887 13 07 2016 reported about CBEC Member Ram Tirath's statement in Hyderabad on 11.7.2016 that assessees under the GST will have to deal with only one single authority.  Board has neither confirmed, reiterated or denied this. They have gone into a silent mode. The silence is broken with a thud by the Revenue Secretary loudly and emphatically proclaiming that it will be dual control and it's good for you according to him.

In an article published in the edit page of the Hindu today, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia and Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian glorify the dual control as:

GST would improve - even substantially - tax governance in two ways. The first relates to the self-policing incentive inherent to a valued-added tax.

The second relates to the dual monitoring structure of the GST - one by the States and one by the Centre. Critics and taxpayers have viewed the dual structure with some anxiety, fearing two sources of interface with the tax department and hence two potential sources of harassment. But dual monitoring should also be viewed as creating desirable tax competition and cooperation between State and Central authorities. Even if one set of tax authorities overlooks and/or fails to detect evasion, there is the possibility that the other overseeing authority may not.

There seems to be no clarity even within the Revenue Department with the CBEC Member and the Revenue Secretary, not on the same page on single or dual control. It is this kind of dual confusion, which makes GST look like a monstrous devil.

Now the Revenue Secretary has taken a U-Turn. Addressing the media last week, he said, “one thing is very sure; there cannot be a dual control.”

http://www.tubechop.com/watch/8242767

Speaking to Doordarshan yesterday, Mr. Adhia said, "The states are very correct when they say we do not want small traders to be under the burden of a dual control. Certainly, it is a desirable objective that we should avoid dual control. It is not a good idea that a small trader is under the scrutiny of both the State and the Centre and they get a separate notice from the Central Government as well as the State Government and they comply with two different authorities. They file two different appeals in case if they lose. So this is not desirable. Yes, dual control is certainly not desirable."

So, Mr. Ram Tirath, the CBEC Member was correct in the first place, though he was not available to confirm it. If the Revenue Secretary does not change his opinion, we may not have dual control - but multiple confusion is assured.

CBEC Missing?

THREE weeks before the GST Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha, the CBEC embarked on a massive road show to sell GST, with the first show in Hyderabad on 11.07.2016 and after that they were not seen at all. Something seems to have happened that they seem to have been told to be off the road. Now it seems to be the Revenue Secretary's show all the way.

In the Press Meet held by the Finance Minister after the GST Bill was passed, seated on the dais were the two Ministers of State, the Chief Economic Advisor, Arvind Subramanian, all the Secretaries in the Finance Ministry including the former Revenue Secretary Shaktikanta Das and the present Revenue Secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia. But the CBEC Chairman was nowhere near.

Two years ago, the then CBEC Chairperson, Shanti Sundharam had remarked that she was not consulted on GST stating, "We did not even get the recent re-revised draft of the Constitutional Amendment Bill from the Department of Revenue."

Obviously, nothing has changed. Maybe at the stage of the Bill in Parliament, CBEC has no role to play, but finally isn't the CBEC required to implement the GST or do they have another agency in mind?

FTP - Clubbing of Advance Authorizations for Annual Requirement

DIRECTOR General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has amended paragraph 4.38(v) of Handbook of Procedures 2015-20: -

Facility of clubbing is now allowed for Advance Authorisations for Annual Requirement issued during Foreign Trade Policy period 2009-14 and 2015-20 wherever exports and imports have taken place as per Standard Input Output Norms (SION) notified (available in Handbook of Procedures).

DGFT Public Notice No. 24/2015-2020., Dated: August 04, 2016

Safeguard Duty on Steel Products

ON Friday, we reported the Government's extension of Minimum Import Price (MIP) for Iron and Steel. On the same day, the government removed the safeguard duty on 37 products imported at or above certain notified prices.

Notification No. 02/2016-Customs(SG)., Dated: August 05, 2016

Anti Dumping Duty on Sewing Machine Needles - Resurrection - Again

YES, there is an anti dumping duty on sewing machine needles originating in, or exported from, People's Republic of China, imposed by Notification No. 50/2011-Customs, dated the 22nd June, 2011. This expired on 21st June 2016. Now, the government has extended it till 21st day of June, 2017.

This is patently illegal. Government cannot bring back to life a dead notification. The Government had stopped this reprehensive practice of retrospective validation. They are at it again.

Why do they show such contempt for Court orders and their own Finance Minister's solemn statements?

What is the message they are sending?

Notification No. 37/2016-Customs (ADD), Dated: August 04, 2016

Anti Dumping Duty on Opal Glassware

GOVERNMENT had imposed anti dumping duty on Opal Glassware originating in, or exported from, People's Republic of China and UAE by Notification No. 103/2011-Customs, dated the 23rd November, 2011, with effect from 09.08.2011. This expires on 08.08.2016.

Now, the Government has extended it till 08.08.2017 - a Just In Time extension.

Notification No. 38/2016-Customs (ADD), Dated: August 04, 2016

Risky Building For Service Tax Office

THE Additional Commissioner of Service Tax, Audit-III at Mumbai has issued an advisory note. The note, as they say, is self explanatory.

PM's Relief Fund - Blatant Disregard for PMO's Directive

THE  Prime Minister's Office in a letter dated 20.08.2014 to the Secretaries of various Departments in the Government had directed that  arrangements may be made to display a caption in their websites "All donations towards the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) are notified for 100% deduction from taxable income under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961."

Not many departments have cared to obey the directives from the PM's Office. In the Revenue Department, neither the CBEC nor the CBDT websites carry this. Even the Fin Min website does not show this. This is the kind of response the babus give to a letter from the PMO - what can the poor Prime Minister do? Babus are full time into government - governance is a far cry.

100 Crores for Publicity for Income Tax Disclosure Scheme

THE Government is to spend a hundred crore rupees for advertisement and publicity of Income Disclosure Scheme, 2016 and Disputes Resolution Scheme, 2016. This was passed by the Lok Sabha last week in First Batch of Supplementary Demands for Grants, for 2016-2017.

One More Step to GST - Bill in Lok Sabha Today

THE Finance Minister is to move the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty Second Amendment) Bill, 2014 (The GST Bill) in the Lok Sabha today. The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on the 6th May, 2015 and transmitted to Rajya Sabha for concurrence. Rajya Sabha passed the Bill with amendments at its sitting held on the 3rd August, 2016 and returned it to Lok Sabha on 4th August, 2016.

No Complaints Against Customs Officials

A question was asked in the Lok Sabha as:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has received complaints particularly from foreign diplomats against custom officials posted at domestic/international airports across the country during the last three years and the current year and if so, the details thereof, airport-wise;

(b) the action taken by the Government against each of such complaints, airport-wise; and 

(c) the steps taken by the Government to check such complaints in future? 

The Minister of State (Finance) Mr. Santosh Kumar Gangwar replied on Friday:

(a) No complaints have been received from foreign diplomats against custom officials posted at domestic/ international airports across the country during the last three years and the current year.

(b) & (c) Nil in view of (a) above.

No Customs Commissionerate for Cochin Airport

A question asked in the Lok Sabha:

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the Government has taken note of the acute shortage of Customs personnel due to increase in passengers as well as cargo movement in Cochin International Airport;

(b) if so, the action taken/proposed to be taken by the Government to meet this issue;

(c) whether the Government is ready to institute a Commissionerate of Customs exclusively for CIAL to make a quicker and faster passenger clearance and cargo management and if so, the details thereof; and 

(d) if not, the reasons therefor? 

The Minister replied on Friday:

a) There is no acute shortage of Customs Personnel in Cochin International Airport. Adequate staff is posted for handling passenger clearance as well as cargo movement smoothly.

b) Taking into account an increase of about 7.63% in the number of passengers handled at Cochin International Airport in 2015-16 as compared to 2014-15, the staff posted to the Airport has been increased about 10.2%.

c) There is already a Commissionerate of Customs at Cochin which has jurisdiction over Cochin International Airport (CIAL) as well as International Seaport. There is no proposal to create an exclusive Commissionerate of Customs for CIAL.

d) Reorganization of the field formations under CBEC has recently taken place. During formulation of the said reorganization, no justification in terms of workload and functional requirements was found to create a Commissionerate of Customs exclusively for CIAL.

Our Laws are changed on the assumption that there is no intelligent life outside North Block. The arrogance of power is such that amendments are made without considering public suggestions or criticisms which are presumed to represent ranting of vested interests. We have now reached the danger point when the laws are made almost by bureaucracy and parliament has only a formal role to play in law making. Nani Palkhiwala

Until Tomorrow with more DDT

Have a nice day.

Mail your comments to vijaywrite@tiol.in