CAIT demands relook of items under 28 pc GST slab

Traders' body CAIT today said that the GST Council needs to re-look at the 28 per cent slab as many of the items placed in this bracket ought to be brought under lower rates of the new tax regime.
The body claimed that there are still "anomalies, disparities and contradictions" in various tax slabs under GST that should be addressed by the council.
"Anomalies, disparities and contradictions do exist in various tax slabs under GST and as such it needs to be reconciled by the GST Council.
"Moreover, the slab of 28 per cent requires a re-look as many of the items falling under this slab ought to be placed under other lower tax slabs," the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) said in a statement.

While the government has been pro-active in clearing the air of confusion through Twitter, Town Halls etc., there is still lack of awareness and clarity about basic fundamentals of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and its compliance obligations remained the major factor for various procedural lapses on part of the stakeholders, the statement said.
On completion of one month of GST rollout, the CAIT said that despite some difficulties the new tax regime witnessed smooth adoption by the country's trading community.

The government rolled out the new tax reform from July 1 to subsume a host of central and state levies like excise and sales tax into a single unified GST.

A lot of confusion prevailed among traders over GST rates, applicability of HSN Codes, implications of reverse charge and claiming of input tax credit during the first month of the roll out, it said.
While CAIT is satisfied with the broader aspects of GST, it has been making representations regarding rationalisation and simplification of procedures, a major demand coming from the traders across the country, the statement said.
It said a major campaign by the government for direct interaction with the traders at district level is the need of the hour to dispel confusion and provide authentic answers to their queries to facilitate compliance of GST procedures.

"It will be pertinent if GST Committees are formed in each district comprising of tax officials and representatives of trade to monitor its adoption at respective district level," suggested CAIT Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.