Traders, businesses learn the ABC of GST as roll-out deadline nears

Industry bodies are organising nationwide classes to teach people the nitty-gritty of GST

With just three weeks left for the roll-out of the goods and services tax (GST) from July 1, millions of traders and businesses, including big and small, are making a beeline for classes to learn the ABC of the new tax system.

Industry bodies, such as the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) and the Retailers Association of India (RAI), are organising nationwide classes to teach people the nitty-gritty of the GST and how to become GST-compliant.

According to industry experts, while the value added tax (VAT) was not a tech-heavy tax regime and did not have many implications for businesses, the GST is based on technology and has a complex structure. “For traders who might not be very tech savvy and have problems understanding the tax intricacies, it is important we provide them with some hand-holding,” said Praveen Khandelwal, secretary general, CAIT.

The classes elaborate the various rules affecting a particular sector under the new regime, offer on-ground guidance from GST consultants and provide information on software to be used for filing taxes, among other things. 

The trader body, which is going to organise as many as six “mega classes” all over the country over the next month, plans to make at least one lakh traders GST-compliant. “We will organise one class each in north, south, west, east, centre and northeast. We already have sponsors lined up to finance these events. The classes are divided into theoretical training and crash course in software, among other things. Not only that, we will teach them how to incorporate use of digital payments in the GST regime,” Khandelwal said.

CAIT, in association with Acer India and Tally Solutions, launched on Tuesday ‘BIZGURU’, a plug-and-play business solution for seamless transition to the GST.

RAI is also organising interactive sessions on the GST in Mumbai and Delhi, with a view to educate the retail fraternity. The sessions will help retailers eliminate hurdles in compliance of the GST rules. It has also started providing help via its official website. 

“Members of RAI deal with a variety of goods and services as they represent various retail formats. As they move into a new and complex regime, a help desk, with seasoned experts on the panel, will help extract collective wisdom and ease the move towards GST,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive officer, RAI.

Many industry bodies are also organising sector-specific GST workshops to ensure that any ambiguity attached to a particular business is addressed. The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) and Videocon recently organised a GST summit for retailers and traders dealing in consumer durables and electronics. Assocham plans to take this programme to various cities in the next few weeks.