PANJIM: The Department of State Tax has clarified that the rent-a-bike and rent-a-car operators are not evading paying Goods and Services Tax (GST) as for GST registration their annual income must be more than Rs 20 lakh per annum.
Speaking to O Heraldo, an official of the Department of State Tax said, “If their annual turnover is less than Rs 20 lakh, then they do not have to pay GST. However, if they are having another business and their annual income crosses Rs 20 lakh slab then they will have to pay GST because PAN is same.”
The official, however, said till date no complaint has been lodged with the department regarding GST being evaded by the operators.
“If anybody brings to our notice then we can initiate action. Till date there is no complaint,” the officer reiterated.
“If somebody has two cars or a few bikes, then they may not earn Rs 20 lakh and hence they do not apply for a GST number,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the Department of Transport stated that there is less possibility that the rent-a-bike or car operators are leasing the bikes or cars to the so-called franchise owners. “However, there is a possibility that rent-a-bike or cab owners are collaborating with tour operators or hotels for providing add-on services to the tourists,” an official of the Department of Transport said.
On rent-a-bike owners parking the bikes in public parking spaces, the official accepted that it has become a menace especially in the urban areas where there is a crunch of parking spaces.
“There are demarcated parking areas for rent-a-bike or cabs. We issue licences based on availability of parking areas only. But what is happening is that in interior areas of the State, there is no shortage of availability of space for parking but the problem is in the urban areas such as in the city like Panjim,” he said.
Presently there are only nine licence holders in the rent-a-cab business across the State and there are allegations that most of them are evading taxes amounting to crores of rupees and causing revenue loss to the State exchequer.
