New Delhi: GST (Goods and Service Tax) crossed a remarkable million i.e. 10 lakh GST registrations milestone. This would bring cheer to the policy makers who had been hoping for an increase in the tax base after the roll out of the new tax regime from 1st July 2017.
The GST registrations crossed a million mark with approximately 2 lakh applications still pending in a process. This expected to increase the tax revenue collections as if even 8-9 lakh also file returns that would help the direct tax side and help check evasion.
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These are the new registrations that have happened with GSTN (Goods and Service Tax Network) registering approximately 86 lakh existing business and service providers earlier. Out of these 86 Lakhs, 71 Lakh already have an activated GSTIN number.
Finance minister, Arun Jaitley was of the view that if the tax base widens, the government can plan to lower the tax in future. The good thing is that the overall registration process has been very smooth and has adjusted well to the flow of the applications.11
Even businesses with a turnover below Rs 20 Lakh have been registering to avail the benefit of input tax credit. GST has been made compulsory for businesses over Rs 20 Lakh annual turnover. The government is of the view that it would be able to increase its tax base by as much as 25% in the coming future regarding indirect tax collections.
Though the government officials are in a wait and watch mode considering that the businesses might have registered multiple times as well. The increase in the new registrations is a good sign for the country as this shows that they have come under the purview of tax collection base.
Maharashtra, Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh have been the best states that have had the maximum number of new registrations under the newly launched GST. Out of the 10 lakh registrations, Maharashtra had approximately 1.3 lakh applications with Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh over 90,000 and 87,000 applications respectively. The GST registrations from north eastern states have slightly been a bit on the lower end.
When a particular business registers for the first time, it is provided with a provisional GSTIN number, which the business has to use in the second stage to log in to the GSTN portal. The registration completes after furnishing details of the business such as the primary place of business, additional place, directors and bank account details.
The government has set up 12-hour help lines that operate from 8 am to 8 pm, helping merchants in uploading their invoices and other relevant queries.
