PANJIM: The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) has submitted GST reform proposals to Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for taking up in the GST council meeting which is scheduled on Saturday, June 22.
The proposal, aimed at refining and improving the GST framework, has encompassed macro-level reforms, new registration procedures, and sector-specific suggestions to alleviate current challenges and foster economic growth.
The trade body has suggested minimising multiple GST Tax rates to avoid classification disputes. It has recommended amending Section 16(4) to extend the time limit for availing ITC and suggested an amnesty scheme to reduce litigation and financial burden on MSMEs.
It has also suggested benefits for compliant taxpayers such as faster processing of refunds, consideration of past compliance before issuing notices, and quicker processing of new branch registrations. It has advocated the ability to revise GST returns to rectify unintentional mistakes and reduce litigation.
The Chamber has proposed a standard SOP for GST registration and issuing welcome letters to new taxpayers to ensure seamless registration and verification.
It has suggested a unified registration process for PAN, TAN, CIN, and GST to streamline the registration process.
For tourism sector, the trade body has recommended reducing of GST on all accommodation services to 12 per cent.
The GCCI has proposed amending Section 12(3)(a) and (b) of the IGST Act to allow hotels to charge IGST, facilitating seamless credit availability for businesses.
The trade body has recommended allowing ITC to reduce tax burden on developers and lower end-user prices.
Recently the State government had nominated Chief Minister Pramod Sawant, who is also the Finance Minister, as permanent member of the GST Council, replacing Minister MauvinGodinho, who had been representing the State as its member on GST Council for last six years since the tenure of then Chief Minister ManoharParrikar.