Migration from VAT-CENVAT to GST and pending issues of software problems!

Migration from VAT-CENVAT to GST and pending issues of software problems!

GSTN has announced the launch of its Offline Tool: For the taxpayers’ convenience, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has announced the launch of its Offline Tool, where data on invoices (business to business), exports and supplies to consumers that are required to create GSTR-1 (Outward Supply Return), can be entered in an excel sheet without being connected to the Internet[1]. Addressing a meeting with the GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs) on 10-06-2017, Saturday, the GSTN revealed that taxpayers using the Offline Tool will not require the services of any GSP[2]. Similarly, those having small number of business to business invoices, like retailers and small traders, can do the data entry on portal itself and will not require the services of GSPs[3]. At desired interval, the tool can be run to upload all such data on the portal[4]. Only while uploading the data on GST portal, Internet connectivity will be required. The Offline Tool will be provided free of cost and taxpayers will be able to download it from the GST portal from last week of June. GSTN will release the Excel format, in which businesses will start maintaining the data from July 1 for using the free offline tool for uploading the invoice and other return data.

Digital control of GST and its operations: Chaired in the presence of Arun Goyal, Additional Secretary, GST Security Council, the GSTN Chairman, during the meeting, presented the timelines of the release of updated specifications of APIs for the new GSTR forms that are to be applicable from July 1. The API specifications will be released in staggered manner for all the GSPs and their partner ASPs so that they can study and analyse the same for making changes in their software developed on old design of returns.  The GSTN will also make available live APIs on the sandbox for testing of the codes that the GSPs will modify. The requirement of the GSPs being secure and ensuring security of the GST system was also stressed during the meeting. GSPs were advised to conduct system audits as per the prevailing ISO standard on security from one of the auditors on the panel of CERT-IN before they connect with and start pushing data into the GST System. The GSTN also highlighted the need for the GSPs to constantly monitor the GSP ecosystem webpage on the GSTN webpage for all relevant updates and guidelines.

Transitional provisions worry traders and businessmen: Almost every one believes that the Goods and Services Tax, all set to come into force nation-wide from July 1, is a welcome tax reform. But given the complexities involved, they are not sure how things will pan out. Most agree there is bound to be confusion, which they hope will get sorted out quickly, even as there are those who are vehemently opposed to the new tax regime[5]. BusinessLine puts together reports from its correspondents across the country on what various players think of the switch-over to a single, nation-wide tax system that will replace a myriad number of State-level taxes and levies[6]. With the GST Council announcing the new GST rate fitments, dealers and distributors have restricted new purchases of stocks from companies. For instance, the consumer durables industry, where retailers are running discounts and special promotional schemes to dispose their existing stocks. There is confusion about the transfer of VAT / CENVAT credit for GST registrants about its refund and utilization after 01-07-2017. Similar sales are doing the rounds for branded apparel and cars. Packaging companies anticipate there will be a complete stop in primary sales in the run-up to the GST kick-off deadline. There is likely to be delays in capital good purchases for manufacturing units especially excise exempted areas such as Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand as companies will want to claim input credit on such purchases, once GST is rolled out.

Out of 84 lakh entities, 60.5 lakh have registered with the GST Network (GSTN): Amid all the lobbying in fixing goods and services tax (GST) rates and with the 1 July implementation deadline fast approaching, businesses are busy completing the migration process. Businesses have to migrate from the present value-added tax (VAT), service tax and central excise registration to a GST registration[7]. Out of 84 lakh entities, 60.5 lakh have registered with the GST Network (GSTN), said a recent finance ministry statement. The enrolment window, which was suspended on 30 April, has been reopened on 1 June for 15 days[8]. However, it should be noted that those already registered under the GST portal can migrate. Fresh registrations are yet to begin.  There have been practical problems in migration, particulaly, where, RCs were not cancelled, surrendred but kept pending, multi-locational RCs, shifting premises / business, but RCs kept alive and so on.

Dependence on the IT interface: The digital divide between big and very-very small players:  Given the very large number of assessees and the plethora of details required to be furnished, migrating to a new tax regime was never going to be a cakewalk. As anticipated, there are a slew of challenges businesses are facing, the most common being of integration and upgradation of existing IT infrastructure to make it GST compliant, tax experts pointed out. Though there is a certain level of IT enablement even today in excise and service tax, GST will significantly enhance the dependence on the IT interface. While larger organizations are better equipped to overcome this hurdle, small and medium sized enterprises are struggling. Manual invoicing will soon be a thing of past and even completion of the migration process is an additional task requiring new manpower and costs. The not-so-user-friendly migration process and inability of the GSTN to bear the load of data at certain times is giving businesses a tough time, tax experts said.

With and without GST, how small traders, manufactures could deal with big traders and manufacturers?: The government is firm about GSTN being completely prepared to deal with the sea of data, but it would be interesting to see how things pan out post 1 July. The large businesses now have to ensure that not only them, but their vendors too are registered on the GST network. “This is a key challenge while migrating because dealing with non-registered vendors would increase the compliance burden, affect ability to claim input tax credit and impact compliance ratings,” M.S. Mani, senior director-indirect tax, Deloitte Haskins & Sells LLP, said. Further, many companies may have to rework long-term contracts with customers and standardize them while migrating to GST. “This may not be acceptable to their customers and hence an elongated negotiation cycle would begin. Re-framing a large number of contacts is certainly a difficult task,” he added.

Issues between Service providers and manufacturers: Also, between service providers and manufacturers, the former are likely to face larger migration challenges than the latter, mainly because manufacturers are used to a slew of indirect taxes and registrations, but service providers in the pre-GST era were not used to dealing with state authorities, with many of them having a centralized service tax registration. Registration at multiple locations comes as a bigger hurdle for them, tax experts said. To conclude, for a country of our size, migrating to a unique and customized GST regime is nothing less than historic. Though beneficial in the long-term, a run up to GST implementation has led to near-term supply-chain disruption. Complex rules and rate structure are sure to increase the compliance burden, especially for small and medium companies and the jury is still out whether GST will really improve the ease of doing business in India.

© Vedaprakash

15-06-2017

 

[1] DNA, GSTN’s ooline tool to reduce taxpayers’ dependence on GST Suvidha Providers, Sat, 10 Jun 2017-03:04pm , ANI.

[2] http://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-gstn-s-offline-tool-to-reduce-taxpayers-dependence-on-gst-suvidha-providers-2467730

[3] Deccan Herald, GSTN’s Offline Tool to run independent of GSPs, ANI, Published: Jun 10, 2017, 3:44 pm IST; Updated: Jun 10, 2017, 3:45 pm IST.

[4] http://www.deccanchronicle.com/business/economy/100617/gstns-offline-tool-to-run-independent-of-gsps.html

[5] The Hindu Businessline, Uncertainty looms as GST roll-out just a fortnight away, published on June 14, 2017

[6] http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/policy/uncertainty-looms-as-gst-rollout-just-a-fortnight-away/article9727171.ece

[7] LiveMint, GST: India’s Great Migration challenge, Last Modified: Wed, Jun 14 2017. 08 49 AM IST.

[8] http://www.livemint.com/Money/bXWRVIwcqyApe4SVnpi62I/GST-Indias-Great-Migration-challenge.html

 

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GST Act and Rules are ready, but, dealers, service providers and manufacturers are not ready!

GST Act and Rules are ready, but, dealers, service providers and manufacturers are not ready!

July 1, 2017 date worries Industry and Chartered Accountants about multi-tier slab taxation: Setting aside politics, though, and just looking at the logistics, many observers, especially chartered accountants, believe there are too many loose ends to be tied up for the GST to go live July 1, 2017[1]. Many smaller vendors and distributors say they need more time. In Malaysia, for instance, when GST was introduced in 2015, there was an 18-month lead time and even then the birth pangs were considerable. Our seven-tier GST is far more complex than Malaysia’s two-tier one and Malaysia’s economy is smaller and less disparate. “We can’t wait for everything to be perfect. But I don’t think the smaller corporates will be ready for it,” says Crisil chief economist Dharmakirti Joshi[2]. In fact, it’s India’s seven-slab system that may cause the real headaches. (For reference, the slabs are zero, 0.25 per cent, three per cent, five per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent.) Also, the multi-tier GST is giving many industries a strong incentive to fudge prices. Take the hotel industry which has been hit with 28 per cent GST for rooms costing over ₹5,000. There’s talk of introducing room rates of ₹4,999 and then charging for other add-ons such as breakfast that’s currently included in room rates.

When GST has been there in 160 countries, why not in India?: Over 160 countries have GST regimes; that includes countries from Canada and Australia to Gambia and the Sierra Leone. The lesson from everywhere is it’s impossible to overhaul the tax code on such a large scale without major disruption. In India, under the guise democratic rights, many come to voice caried opinions, to confuse others and divert the main issue. Instead of coming to consensus or providing solution to problem, they try to create more problems. That attitude has to be changed. Countries found the switch caused inflation of up to 2 per cent, even in well-ordered economies such as Singapore, Japan and Australia. The BJP insists it’s minimised GST’s potential inflationary impact by keeping 50 per cent of products in the Consumer Price Index basket in the zero tax bracket. But the Government’s view is far from universally accepted. Some experts suggest GST could have a far greater negative impact on the economy short-term than demonetisation.

The Government is firm about July 1, 2017 for implementation: Central government officials are signalling a sweeping tax reform will go ahead as scheduled on 1 July, 2017 pushing back against speculation the government will delay amid predictions of chaos from some business groups[3]. “The rumors about GST implementation being delayed are false,” revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia said in a Twitter post on 13-06-2017, Tuesday[4]. “Please do not be misled.” A senior government official and a state tax department official, who both asked not to be identified discussing private matters, also said there were no plans to delay the roll-out and the ministry of finance tweeted preparations were in “full swing.” Adhia’s comments come as India prepares for its biggest tax overhaul since Independence, following a decade-long effort to simplify a web of taxes, regulations and border levies into a unified GST. The tax would be the most significant economic reform since Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government took power in 2014. And although many analysts expect some degree of upheaval in the short-term, officials have said GST may bolster growth as much as 2 percentage points. Still, three state government officials said there were teething problems at the state level getting ready for the tax, and they believed there was some chance of it being delayed. A final decision on whether to proceed was likely after the next GST Council meeting on 18 June, the three officials said, asking not to be identified as the discussions are private.  The state of readiness of GST Network has been questioned by some quarters but the government feels it is will be up to the test[5]. CBEC said that, along with the states, the department has increased its outreach programmes on the forthcoming indirect tax regime so as to reach even the “last trader”. CBEC has got the government’s approval to reorganise the existing Central Excise and Service Tax field formations according to the requirements of the pan-India GST regime[6].

GST in India – one Tax, but, many %s / rates of tax: GST is an attempt to turn India into a common market by folding all indirect taxes, from octroi to service tax, into one rate that would be consistent nation-wide. But the promise of “one nation one tax”, which is how the government has advertised it, has given way to various conditions, guidelines and complexities that make the final product much more confusing than originally envisioned[7].  For one, there are six tax rates ranging from no tax to 40% within which the central government is trying to fit all commodities[8]. Although it still means similar products will be taxed at the same rate all over the country, this is much more complex than a single rate of 15%-18%, as suggested by reports last year. Worryingly, GST rates are being changed by the GST council on the basis of industry representations to the fitment committee. This committee is tasked with fitting all goods and services into relevant tax brackets based on the rates and additional duties, such as excise, that they attracted earlier. In principle, this sounds fairly intuitive as one might expect commodities to be taxed at more or less the same rates as before. In reality, however, the GST has turned out to be a complex web of conditions instead of a clean tax regime like that of New Zealand, where a flat rate of 15% is applied to all goods and services. In India, the effective number of rates will rise to 10 (plus zero tax), if one includes the addition cesses that will be levied for certain commodities.

Some industries want the July 1 date to be postponed: Separately, two federal government officials said the finance ministry may not be fully prepared for the roll-out on 1 July while discussions about granting flexibility around tax filings for a few months were also underway. They cited internal discussions and also asked not to be identified. Various industry groups representing India’s millions of small-and-medium sized businesses are still hoping for a delay or lenience on tax compliance. The All India Manufacturers Association (AIMO), which represents almost 100,000 small- and medium-sized businesses, said it has sought three more months from the finance ministry on behalf of its members. “It is impossible for any industry to suddenly change their tax structures and pricing modifications,” K.E. Raghunathan, AIMO’s president, said over phone from Chennai. “It will only subject us to chaotic situations, confusion and losses.” The Confederation of All India Traders said the government shouldn’t penalize traders for procedural lapses for nine months after the new tax is introduced. The organization’s secretary general, Praveen Khandelwal, said it will be difficult for small businesses to comply with GST as about 60% of 57 million small businesses are yet to adopt technology which is a prerequisite for complying with the new tax system. Even “the rules are not ready,” said Khandelwal. “Some issues need to be sorted out.” There is a possibility that the government will delay the rollout, though it “seems quite firm” on its July 1 deadline at the moment, said Pratik Jain, a partner at PwC and the national leader of the firm’s indirect tax group in India.

Politicization has also coupled with GST implementation: The government may push ahead with the July implementation, but relax initial filing requirements, he said. “The question is, are the smaller businesses as ready as they could be?” he asked. “The answer is obviously no.” Indian television channel ET Now tweeted 8 June, 2017 that the government may treat the timeframe between 1 July to March as a “transition period,” citing people aware of the issue, while West Bengal has called for a delay to ensure everyone is prepared. Politically, it makes the most sense for Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to implement the GST as soon as possible, said Reshmi Khurana, head of South Asia for Kroll, a risk consultancy. The implementation in India of such a large reform will result in short-term pain regardless of any delay or minor tinkering, Khurana said, and it makes sense for the government to deal with complications long before India’s next general election in 2019. “There will be a lot of chaos,” Khurana said, adding that she doubted it would tarnish the BJP’s reputation. “I don’t think India will ever be ready until this is actually pushed out and people are forced to come into the tax net.”

© Vedaprakash

15-06-2017

[1] The Hindu Businessline, Rushing to get last mile delivery right, by Paran Balakrishnan, published on June 13, 2017

[2] http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/opinion/much-remains-to-be-done-before-the-gst-is-rolled-out-on-july-1/article9726265.ece

[3] LiveMint, Govt says GST rollout on track, scotches delay rumours, Last Modified: Wed, Jun 14 2017. 03 19 AM IST

[4] http://www.livemint.com/Politics/zdBSmKmNltpETA3r6n4SLN/GST-rollout-from-1-July-dont-be-misled-by-delay-rumours-G.html

[5] Times of India, Centre nixes speculation of delay in GST rollout, Jun 14, 2017, 04.44 AM IST.

[6] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/centre-nixes-speculation-of-delay-in-gst-rollout/articleshow/59136061.cms

[7] Scroll.in, Complex web: Why too many tax slabs could defeat the very idea of the Goods and Services Tax, by Mayank Jain, 14-06-2017, 1.35 PM, IST.

[8] https://scroll.in/article/840458/complex-web-why-too-many-tax-slabs-could-defeat-the-very-idea-of-the-goods-and-services-tax

 

Are E-way bill, no-check posts and Logistics for Tax compliance, tax avoidance or tax evasion?

Are E-way bill, no-check posts and Logistics for Tax compliance, tax avoidance or tax evasion?

For the transport of goods more than Rs. 50,000/- e-way bill is must: Weeks before Goods and Services (GST) rolls out, the Government on Sunday 12-06-2017, revised the rate of tax on 66 items. However, the failure to address provisions around way bills or e­way bills has raised very serious concern among business and industry owner. With just a few days left for the rollout of the goods and services tax (GST), the centre is in favour of postponing by a few months the implementation of the e-way bill, which requires movement of goods above Rs 50,000 to be pre-registered online[1]. However, with states unwilling to defer the provision, the GST Council agreed to rope in the National Informatics Centre (NIC) to work along with the GST-Network (GSTN) to assess if an all India e-way bill system can be created in a short time-frame, an official told PTI[2]. The GST Council, headed by finance minister and comprising representatives of all states, had in April 2017 come out with the draft e-way bill rules that made it necessary for any movement of goods, within or outside the state, having value of more than R s 50,000 to be registered with the GSTN website[3].

Validity of e-way bill, distance and practical difficulties: As per the draft, GSTN would generate e-way bills that will be valid for 1-15 days, depending on distance to be travelled—one day for 100 km and 15 days for more than 1,000 km transit[4]. The tax officials can inspect the ‘e-way bill’ anytime during the transit to check tax evasion. Industry, however, has expressed concerns over this saying that the Rs 50,000 limit was too low and that the timeline for completion of transport operation was “impractical and removed from reality” [5]. They also felt that the e-way bill would be applicable to movement of all kinds of goods without making any distinction between goods that were evasion prone or not[6]. For example, if the distance to be covered is between 500­ – 1000 km, the number of days the e­way bill is valid is for 10 days[7]. This table shows the validity of a bill, according to kilometer (km) travelled. “Possibly, we do not need a prescription on when goods should reach from point A to Point B. This is the function of various other functions like type of goods, infrastructure available, logistics capabilities,” says M.S. Mani, Senior Director, Deloitte India[8]. If, for example, you have to transport heavy machinery like a Boiler on a specialized truck, the number of days it may take for it to cover 500 km can be much more than 10 day. According to KPMG, Indirect Tax Partner, Priyajit Ghosh, the specific validity of way bills is a huge problem. “The stringent requirements will make things difficult,” he says. Ghosh also flags off another issue. “The way bills will be a significant challenge in terms of the IT infrastructure for companies. Unlike a return, a way bill needs to be generated in real time along with the invoice. Unless a company has the IT system to support and generate way bills in real time, it will be a huge issue. We have very less time to get the necessary infrastructure up,” says Ghosh.

e-way bill when different modes of transport is used: There are then issues like, a new e­way bill should be generated whenever the mode of transport of a consignment is changed. This can be a serious problem for ecommerce companies that use various modes of transport for delivery of the same item. Another provision says e­way bills generated for goods not transported must be cancelled within 24 hours. They cannot be cancelled if verified during transit. Such issues have not been tackled and left for the June 18 meeting. Touch and go According to Mani, we find ourselves in a touch and go situation. “This has both a good and a bad side. The good side is that all changes that we are seeing now will benefit the business. The bad side is that each of these changes will lead to a major overhaul of businesses, which take time to implement. This will make it very difficult and there is no doubt we have a challenging time implementing these decisions,” says Mani. So is deferring GST to September the answer?

The implementation of the ‘e-way bill’ system could be postponed by a few month: The official said that at the 3 June 2017 meeting of the GST Council, the centre contended that GSTN will be busy in the first three months of GST rollout as it has to ensure that technology backbone for the new indirect tax regime is working fine, and hence, would take about six months to build the platform for ‘e-way bill’. The centre also said that feedback from the industry was yet to be examined by the law committee, and hence, finalisation of rules would take sometime. Stating that the GSTN can start developing the software only after finalisation of rules and forms, the centre suggested that the “implementation of the ‘e-way bill’ system could be postponed by a few month”, the official said. However, states like West Bengal, Kerala, Bihar, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh stated that they already had a robust e-way bill system, which should be continued as reverting to hand bills would lead to “considerable loss of revenue”.  The Electronic e-way bill Rules can be seen / downloaded from here[9].

Software to develop e-way bill: The official said that the centre told the council that the GSTN has already floated tender inviting companies for developing the software for ‘e-way bill’ system and the process for selection of bidders would take about two months. The selected bidder would then take further about three months to develop the software which will be tested and then rolled out. The GST Council then decided to defer a decision on the e-way bill system and entrusted the GSTN to check from the NIC whether they could develop a e-way bill system in a short time-frame, the official added. During the last three decades, NIC has implemented many network-centric application softwares for programme implementation in various ministries and departments. The draft e-way bill rules provide that the person in-charge of conveyance will be required to carry the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, and a copy of the e-way bill or the e-way bill number, either physically or mapped to a radio frequency identification device (RFID) embedded on to the conveyance[10]. The rules authorise the tax commissioner or an officer empowered by him on his behalf to intercept any conveyance to verify the e-way bill or the number in physical form for all inter-state and intra-state movement of goods[11]. Physical verification of conveyances can be carried out on specific information of evasion of tax, as per the rules. The officer will be required to submit a summary report of every inspection of goods in transit within 24 hours and the final report within three days of inspection.

Check posts would go from 01-07-2017 except that of State Excise: State level check posts which collect taxes on movement of goods would not be required under the GST regime that will take effect from July 1, 2017 although excise collection points may remain as they relate to taxation on alcohol, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said[12]. The rates will be common under the Goods and Services Tax and for the movement of goods in or outside a state, there is no need to check whether goods have moved physically out of the state or not, he said[13]. “So, as far as taxation is concerned, the check posts will go. There are couple of other check posts like the state excise check posts. State excise is the state duty on liquor/alcohol, now these things may remain,” he said at the concluding day of ‘India Integrated Transport & Logistics Summit 2017’ held at New Delhi in the first week of May 2017[14]. Petroleum and alcohol products are not covered under the new indirect tax regime until the GST Council decides to impose a rate on them[15]. Adhia said the government is also in talks with various states to remove the check posts falling under road transport. On the issue of service tax rate, he said it is yet to be decided by the GST Council but it may differ for the transportation sector. “Initial expectation of the market is that it should go to about 18 per cent for service tax. As far as transportation sector is concerned, because we are not able to give you the input tax credit that is given on petrol and diesel, the rate will be different,” he said. “What that rate will be, I cannot say, but it will be different for transportation sector,” he added. Thus, the Government introduced e-way bill to check the movement of goods.

Logistics: how it has to work for the Government and taxpayers: For the last 10 years, many companies have come up floating logistics companies catering to the needs of transporting men and goods from one place to another. Actually, the manufacturing companies separated their transport, stores and inventory activities with utilization of GPS [Global Positioning System] to reduce / manipulate their manufacturing cost. However, such services were brought under Service Tax. Now, under GST, all are covered with differing percentages of taxation. The draft e-way bill rules provide that the person in-charge of conveyance will be required to carry the invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, and a copy of the e-way bill or the e-way bill number, either physically or mapped to a radio frequency identification device (RFID) embedded on to the conveyance[16]. In other words, the Government is also trying to tack the vehicles. As the check posts are removed, the government is required to monitor the goods removed and going on roads to different destinations, as they may reach or may not reach the consumers, but, intermediaries or anybody for tax manipulation. When technology changes, the ingenuity of tax avoidance, tax evasion and other manipulative methods are also changed with sophistication. Ultimately, the consumers would be suffering, because of all these strategies, as all such manipulations would be converted into price loaded and dumped on their heads. He cannot talk about double or triple taxation, cascading effects and all, as they have to consume.

.

© Vedaprakash

13-06-2017

[1] The Hindu, Centre seeks to defer e-way bill,PTI, NEW DELHI, JUNE 12, 2017 21:11 IST; UPDATED: JUNE 12, 2017 21:56 IS.UPDATED: JUNE 12, 2017 21:56 IST

[2] http://www.thehindu.com/business/Industry/centre-seeks-to-defer-e-way-bill/article18966630.ece

[3] Business Standard, GST: Govt likely to defer E-Way Bill due to lack of software, Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi June 12, 2017 Last Updated at 17:02 IST.

[4] http://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/gst-govt-likely-to-defer-e-way-bill-due-to-lack-of-software-117061200567_1.html

[5] LiveMint, GST: Centre proposes to postpone e-way bill citing lack of software, Last Modified: Mon, Jun 12 2017. 06 22 PM IST.

[6] http://www.livemint.com/Politics/npSARlYI4qSHdKhRf4mslK/GST-Centre-proposes-to-postpone-eway-bill-citing-lack-of-s.html

[7] Economics Times, E-way bill concern: Why moving goods under GST can come to a grinding halt,, BY , ECONOMICTIMES.COM | JUN 12, 2017, 02.41 PM IST.

[8] http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/policy-trends/e-way-bill-concern-why-moving-goods-under-gst-can-come-to-a-grinding-halt/articleshow/59106238.cms

[9] the “implementation of the ‘e-way bill’ system could be postponed by a few month”,

[10] ZeeNews, GST rollout: Centre proposes to defer e-way bill citing lack of software, PTI| Last Updated: Monday, June 12, 2017 – 15:56

[11] http://zeenews.india.com/economy/gst-rollout-centre-proposes-to-defer-e-way-bill-citing-lack-of-software-2014521.html?pfrom=article-next-story

[12] Times of India, ‘State check posts will go under GST; excise point may stay’, PTI | May 6, 2017, 07.05. AM IST

[13] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/state-check-posts-will-go-under-gst-excise-point-may-stay/articleshow/58543487.cms

[14] Business Today, State check posts will go under GST; excise point may stay: Hasmukh Adhia, PTI   New Delhi     Last Updated: May 6, 2017  | 11:06 IST

[15] http://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/state-check-posts-will-go-under-gst-excise-point-may-stay-hasmukh-adhia/story/251570.html

[16] ZeeNews, GST rollout: Centre proposes to defer e-way bill citing lack of software, PTI| Last Updated: Monday, June 12, 2017 – 15:56

GST – Implementation from July 1, 2017 – How to tackle the reality of situation with the dealers with limited facilities?

GST – Implementation from July 1, 2017 – How to tackle the reality of situation with the dealers with limited facilities?

The Government may have to be soft with the dealers, as they are bound to commit mistakes and violate provisions of GST Act and Rules[1]: In the implementation of GST covering crores of dealers of various transactions, many assumptions and presumptions have been made, as if, all would be sitting at computers and handling with their commercial dealings only on-line always. The Government has not perhaps, realized the digital gap existing between the big and small taxpayers under the GST regime.

1. The powerful federal indirect tax body, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, would instruct field officers at the central and state levels to be lenient with traders for procedural lapses in the first year of implementation of the new indirect tax regime from 1 July, 2017[2].
2. There is a confusion about the jurisdiction of the dealers and as well as the law-implementing officers. This confusion prevails between the Central and the State and also amomh themselves internally.
3. In the first year they have to handhold them rather than penalize them for procedural infractions. Everyone in the council is sensitive about it. Major offences such as clearing of goods without invoices, however, is a different matter.
4. The decision comes in the wake of apprehensions of the trade and business community about an anti-profiteering provision in the GST law intended to be a deterrent against not passing on the benefits of any reduced indirect tax liability to the ultimate consumer.
5. The Confederation of All India Traders, a traders’ body with 60 million members, said in a representation to PM on 8 June, 2017 that a period of nine months beginning 1 July should be declared a transition period [up to 31-03-2018] during which traders will be given immunity from prosecution for procedural lapses.
6. While businesses and large traders will be prepared for the GST roll-out with their IT systems, small traders, especially those in villages and remote areas, may take time to become part of the GST network on account of lack of awareness and infrastructure constraints.
7. As everyone imagines, the internet connection and related issues are going to create many practical probles, coupled with frequent power cuts at rural and village areas.
8. Another official in the government, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said that the last point of sale—trader to consumer—in villages has always been the weakest link in the state-level value-added tax system.
9. Important issues – addressing concerns relating to tax rates brought up by the industry and finalizing how the anti-profiteering mechanism, “advance ruling” and search and arrests, etc. Advance ruling is a facility available for taxpayers to get an idea of what the tax liability on certain transactions will be in advance.

SSI has to file 37 returns instead of 13; if they have units in more than one state, the returns increase accordingly[3]: A small­scale manufacturing company with operations in only one state will have to file a minimum of 37 returns instead of the current 13 once the goods and services tax (GST) goes live from July 1, 2017 increasing work for industry, accountants and banks, according to an IndiaSpend analysis. With the deadline for the GST less than a month away, finance professionals, banks and industry seem unprepared for the challenges of implementing the one nation­one tax idea, work towards which began 13 years ago. “The entire ecosystem needs to be changed to accept GST,” K. Raghu, former president, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, told IndiaSpend. “An ideal date for implementation would be September 1.” The Indian Banks Association has informed a parliamentary panel that their members were unprepared to implement the new indirect tax regime. “Everything will now be online and will need to be updated regularly. A business will have to file 37 returns in a year (three returns per month and one annual return) per state,” the Economic Times reported on June 5, 2017.

Business in three states means, he has to file 3 x 37 = 111 returns per annum[4]: “If it does business from offices in more than one state, the number of returns will go up accordingly. A business with offices in three states will have to file 111 tax returns in a year.” With the government announcing GST for four tax rates ­­ 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent ­­ industry will face implementation challenges that include system upgrades, manpower training and understanding new taxes. Every transaction ­­ sale or purchase ­­ will now have to be recorded online to benefit from the tax paid earlier India is implementing a dual GST with the Centre and states together levying it on a common tax base. “The GST to be levied by the centre on intra­state supply of goods and/or services would be called the Central GST (CGST) and that to be levied by the states would be called the State GST (SGST),” according to the FAQs published by the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), the central body of indirect taxes. “Similarly, Integrated GST (IGST) will be levied and administered by centre on every inter­state supply of goods and services.” A dual GST adheres to the constitutional requirement of fiscal federalism, since both the Centre and states have the powers to levy and collect taxes. “The central GST and the state GST would be levied simultaneously on every transaction of supply of goods and services except the exempted goods and services, goods which are outside the purview of GST and the transactions which are below the prescribed threshold limits,” the CBEC FAQ noted.

Meghalaya, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal – have not passed GST[5]: While 24 states have passed state GST acts, seven have not ­ as yet. They are: Meghalaya, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu and Kashmir and West Bengal. While the location of the supplier and the customer within the country is immaterial for the purpose of CGST, SGST would be charged only when the supplier and the customer are within the state. An illustration from the FAQ published by the government: Suppose the CGST rate is 10 per cent and the SGST is 10 per cent. When a wholesale steel dealer in Uttar Pradesh supplies bars and rods to a construction company within the state for, say, Rs 100, the dealer would charge CGST of Rs 10 and SGST of Rs 10, in addition to the basic price of the goods. The wholesaler would be required to deposit the CGST into a central government account and the SGST into the account of the state government. “Of course, he need not actually pay Rs 20 (Rs 10 + Rs 10) in cash, as he would be entitled to set­off this liability against CGST or SGST paid on his purchases (say, inputs),” said the FAQ This is where implementation challenges arise, as former ICWAI president Raghu explained. Every invoice from buyers and sellers must be entered in the GST system correctly to ensure that benefits accrue down the chain. “We have a system today across a majority of small units where an accountant comes (in) once a month, makes vouchers and inputs details for taxes,” said Raghu. “That will have to end now because we are moving to an online, almost real­time system that will need a lot of manpower.” The finance industry is ready by training its professionals, said Raghu, who predicted many job opportunities over the next 5­6 years. But, as he added, it would take at least 12 to 18 months for the system to “settle down”. “I do see a lot of CAs and other finance professionals being trained for indirect taxes in the coming years,” he said.

Industry and Banks are not ready for GST implementation[6]: India’s industry and its banking system will have to change systems, train personnel and accept the extra workload for the new taxation system. The banking system has clearly said it is not yet ready. Industry is ambivalent. “Nearly 50 per cent of Indian businesses are not aware of the changes that GST will usher in,” Bharat Goenka, Managing Director, Tally Solutions, was quoted as saying in the Economic Times on June 5. Tally accounting software is widely used by Indian companies. The company is waiting for the GST rules to be finalised, so that it can roll out its GST software for Indian companies. A senior official of Federation of the Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), requesting anonymity because the launch date was close, said GST was “now a fact”, and industry was trying to adapt. FICCI has been conducting awareness sessions among industry verticals to help understand the new structure, he added The industrial sector, especially the services sector, is waiting for more clarity on tax rates, processes and the time frame for the systems to settle down. “What we still don’t know is which tax slab we fall in,” a marine service provider operating in Goa told IndiaSpend, on condition of anonymity. “While it is good that the taxation system will be streamlined and we will not have to deal with multiple tax payments like excise, service tax and value added tax, we still don’t know how much time it will take for everybody to be on board.” (In arrangement with IndiaSpend.org, a data­driven, non­profit, public interest journalism platform. The views expressed are those of IndiaSpend. Feedback at respond@indiaspend.org).

© Vedaprakash

11-06-2017

[1] Livemint.com, Govt may be lenient with traders on procedural lapses in GST’s first year, Last Modified: Sat, Jun 10 2017. 12 51 AM IST.

[2] http://www.livemint.com/Politics/PMFLgTOxEezhEPIt9FEqgL/Govt-may-be-lenient-with-traders-on-procedural-lapses-in-GST.html

[3] http://www.hindustantimes.com/business-news/businessman-or-professional-you-may-need-to-fill-37-forms-to-be-gst-compliant/story-DI8IOTQi5qS0c20PkDoTNO.html

[4] http://navbharattimes.indiatimes.com/business/business-news/37-returns-instead-of-13-one-of-the-many-challenges-threatening-gst-rollout/articleshow/59085127.cms

[5] http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/37-returns-instead-of-13-one-of-the-many-challenges-threatening-gst-rollout/articleshow/59082648.cms

[6] Economics Times, 37 returns instead of 13: One of the many challenges threatening GST rollout, BY IANS | JUN 10, 2017, 02.33 PM IST.

 

GST – Revenue data and information handling, Cyber Security and preparedness of dealers!

GST – Revenue data and information handling, Cyber Security and preparedness of dealers!

GST Network has security solutions to ensure that the IT backbone for GST regime is protected from cyber attacks: GST Network has used ‘best in class’ security solutions to ensure that the IT backbone for the new indirect tax regime is protected from cyber attacks, its CEO Prakash Kumar said 0n 30-05-2017[1]. The comment assumes significance as the country is gearing up for an overhaul of its indirect tax regime and thousands of businesses will upload their purchase-sale invoices on the GST Network (GSTN) on a daily basis. GSTN is a company that provides technology backbone for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) which is expected to be rolled out from July 1. “We are ready for July 1 and we have put the best-in- class security solution and the best methodology while developing software codes,” Kumar told PTI. The GSTN system has been functional since November 2016 and over 60.5 lakh existing excise, service tax and VAT assessees have already migrated to the GSTN portal[2].

The security features are embedded into the GSTN software at the code level itself and the data is encrypted: Reports of cyber attacks have been hogging headlines this month (May 2017) with nearly 100 countries, including India, being hit by massive ransomware that infected over 2 lakh systems that were running on old version of Microsoft softwares like Windows XP[3].  But GSTN did not face any issues as its system operates on Linux software[4]. Kumar said that the security features are embedded into the GSTN software at the code level itself and the data is encrypted[5]. “The access is role based and the network has firewalls and adequate safety and security features to protect from cyber attack,” he said. Kumar said multiple layers of security have been put in place at the data centre level where the entire information will be stored[6]. Billed as the single biggest tax reform since independence, the GST will unify 16 different taxes and will transform India into a single market[7]. Companies will now have to rejig their IT strategy to comply with the tax filing, refund and return norms under the GST regime[8]. In all, there are 11 different types of tax return forms under the GST regime and the entire information will be stored in the GSTN database. These information include a trader’s outward and inward supplies of taxable goods and/or services, monthly and quarterly returns and return for non-resident foreign taxable person as well as details of supplies channelised through e- commerce operators.

GSTN process 3.5 billion invoices each month from July, with 8 million direct taxpayers requiring to file up to 37 tax returns in a year: The success of India’s biggest tax reform hinges on a trouble­free show from the technology that will run it. When GST finally comes to play in July, there will be much pressure on the GSTN or the goods and services tax network, the IT backbone of the landmark tax reform, that promises to make India a uniform tax country. The task won’t be easy, considering the fact that GSTN, according to a Bloomberg report, will be processing as many as 3.5 billion invoices each month from July, with 8 million direct taxpayers requiring to file up to 37 tax returns in a year[9]. Built over the last two years (2015-17), the GSTN is designed to be the common interface for Centre and state governments, taxpayers, tax authorities and banks[10]. “India’s GST is the most complex of all the countries which have implemented GST,” chairman of the GSTN Navin Kumar told Bloomberg, noting that work on the system began two years ago when the only available guidance available was draft laws. “Despite not having all the input, we have been working on it and we will be ready by July.” But not many share Kumar’s confidence.

Cautions against Cyber security and related issues: Skeptics fear of a demonetisation­like situation triggered by a poorly prepared IT system.

1. “After July 1, half of the people will fail to comply with the new system, especially small units and services industry as they won’t be ready,” says Sachin Menon, partner and head of indirect taxes at KPMG India.
2. Veerappa Moily of the Congress, which initially proposed the tax in 2006 when it held power, has cautioned the government that rushing the GST roll out could create a “technological nightmare” for businesses.
3. Invoices are not the only challenge With the impending GST rollout, there are several cyber threats to GSTN.
4. Concerns have heightened after the recent ransomware attack and Legion hacking of social media data a few months ago. The attack and subsequent plans to build a cyber security unit was confirmed by two sources.
5. “There were attempts from countries such as Pakistan and China to swarm the system with a DDOS attack and bring it down. GSTN was able to ensure the system was not disrupted,” one source aware of the development told ET.
6. Experts feel GSTN can expect hacking attempts, given the importance of commercial data it will handle. “Regarding the threat landscape, it is as bad as it’s ever been, if not worse.
7. Cyber crime is big business and is growing at an exponential rate,” said Rajesh Maurya, regional vice­president, India & SAARC, at Fortinet , a global cyber security solutions company.

About “migration”, now, newspapers have started giving coverage, of curse, taking material from the government website[11]. The Times of India[12] starts characteristically as, “With the government finalising on rolling out the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime from July 1, is your business ready for the transition? Well, if you have created an email or Facebook account for yourself, the migration process should be a breeze for you. Here is your 10-step guide for the same:……”

The infrastructure problems with the GSTN[13]: The practical issues that are to be understood and implemented have been identified as follows[14]:

1. The GSTN have done trial runs on only 100-200 companies and even during those trial runs, many challenges were faced in uploading invoices.
2. The GSTN has so far given approval to only 34 GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs), which would help mostly smaller companies and traders uploading data on GST network.
3. Given the millions of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) in the country, many of which would come under the tax net for the first time, 34 GSPs is a very small number to begin with.
4. GSTN has done one trial run in May with 3,200 tax payers  across the country and found out that there were minor issues raised by the users and they had already resolved those issues.
5. The GSTN testing group was given an offline tool, which did not work on older 32-bit computers. They had to take care of that so that it worked on machines which were 4-5 years old. There was another issue pointed out by users with the excel sheet on GSTN portal.
6. In excel, where a 8-digit date — 01/04/2017 — was getting converted to 1/4/2017 and the system would not accept a 6-digit date. So that was a problem which we have fixed, …….there were other minor suggestions regarding placement of icons, etc, which they had already implemented.
7. the purpose of the beta testing was not to test the load of the systems but to resolve functional issues, if any, and take suggestions from users.
8. They have a different test for the load, where we simulate the same size or quantity of load hitting the system. That is done separately and that is called stress testing.
9. Typically, the thumb rule is to test the systems for load on the last day of, say, filing returns or uploading invoices.
10. The testing was done with the system on 60% load assuming that those many people would file their returns on the last day.
11. The number of people logged in at a time is different from the  number of people hitting the system at a time. May be 10 lakh or 15 lakh people are logged in at a time but only some of them are pressing a command.
12. The systems can take 50,000 such commands every second and that is a huge number.
13. On the issue of GSPs, they had received application from 160 more players for GSPs. However, approval to new GSPs would only be possible after 1 July.
14. Meanwhile, 62 lakh taxpayers out of 80 lakh, registered for VAT, central excise and service tax, have also registered with GSTN.

© Vedaprakash

10-06-2017

[1] Indian Express, GSTN IT system fully secure against any cyber attack: CEO, By PTI  |   Published: 31st May 2017 04:16 PM; Last Updated: 31st May 2017 04:16 PM

[2] http://www.newindianexpress.com/business/2017/may/31/gstn-it-system-fully-secure-against-any-cyber-attack-ceo-1611247.html

[3] Financial Express, GSTN IT system fully secure against any cyber attack: CEO Prakash Kumar, By: PTI | New Delhi | Published: May 31, 2017 3:57 PM

[4] http://www.financialexpress.com/economy/gstn-it-system-fully-secure-against-any-cyber-attack-ceo-prakash-kumar/694607/

[5] India Today, GSTN IT system fully secure against any cyber attack: CEO, PTI, May 31, 2017 | UPDATED 15:20 IST.

[6] http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/gstn-it-system-fully-secure-against-any-cyber-attack-ceo/1/967282.html

[7] DNA, GSTN IT System fully secure against any cyber attack: CEO, PTI-feed, Wed, 31 May 2017-03:13pm , PTI.

[8] http://www.dnaindia.com/business/report-gstn-it-system-fully-secure-against-any-cyber-attack-ceo-2456774

[9] Economics Times, 3.5 billion invoices every month! All about the technology that GST will bank on from July, by Economictimes.com, May.30, 2017, 04.55 PM IST.

[10] http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/3-5-billion-invoices-every-month-all-about-the-technology-that-gst-will-bank-on-from-july/articleshow/58907708.cms

[11] Times of India, Have a business? Here is your 10 -step guide for migrating to GST, Abhik Deb| TIMESOFINDIA.COM | Updated: Jun 9, 2017, 06.42 PM IST

[12] http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/business/india-business/have-a-business-here-is-your-10-step-guide-for-migrating-to-gst/articleshow/59049481.cms

[13] Business Today, GST: IT infrastructure for new tax system remains a concern ahead of July 1 roll out, Dipak Mondal   New Delhi     Last Updated: June 8, 2017  | 15:04 IST

[14] http://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/gst-it-infrastructure-for-new-tax-system-remains-a-concern-ahead-of-july-1-roll-out/story/253954.html

GST – IT Infrastructure – Implementation, Revenue data and information handling, Cyber Security and related issues

GST – IT Infrastructure – Implementation, Revenue data and information handling, Cyber Security and related issues

Modi worries about Cyber security in the GST context[1]: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 05-06-2017, Monday asked officials involved in rolling out the goods and service tax (GST) from 1 July 2017 to pay maximum attention to cyber security issues of the IT systems supporting the new indirect tax regime, an official statement said here in New Delhi. At a meeting here to review the preparedness of implementing GST from 1 July, Modi discussed with senior officials the IT and human resources readiness as well as the extent of training given to officers on query handling and monitoring. Finance minister Arun Jaitley was also present at the meeting. Officials informed the prime minister that[2] –

1. the IT infrastructure,
2. training of officials,
3. integration with banks, and
4. enrolment of existing taxpayers –

will be in readiness in time for the 1 July roll-out. The statement said quoting Modi that GST roll-out will be an unprecedented turning point for the economy, which will greatly benefit the common man. In a separate informal meeting on Monday 05-06-2017, Modi met all secretaries of government departments and urged them to identify concrete goals to be achieved by 2022 – the 75th anniversary of independence. Modi said top civil servants in the country have an opportunity to transform the lives of one-sixth of humanity and urged them to work beyond the silos of their respective ministries. Modi also called for a mission mode approach to develop 100 most backward districts in India. A Twitter handle, @askGst_GOI, has been started for real time answering of queries. An all-India toll-free phone, 1800-1200-232, has also been activated for this purpose[3]. The PM further told the officials that the creation of ‘One Nation, One Market, One Tax’ will greatly benefit the common man. Maximum attention should be paid to cyber security, he was quoted as saying by the release[4]. The GST Council, chaired by Jaitley and comprising his state counterparts, has already finalised tax rates on most items[5].

Tax rate, exemption and related issues to be resolved in the 14^th GST Meeting: While the digital related issues are concerning implementation, there are other legal issues to be tackled. Items like salt, milk, gur, egg, curd, unpacked foodgrain and paneer, fresh vegetables, unbranded atta, maida, besan, honey, besides education and health services, have all been exempted from GST[6]. Tea, sugar, coffee beans, edible oil, packed paneer, milk powder, brooms, domestic LPG and kerosene have been put in the 5 per cent bracket[7]. However, the GST group will have to meet on June 11 to discuss some pending issues and take up tax rate for lottery and other pending rules of e-way bill and accounts and records. Also, the Council will review tax rates of items based on industry representations in case the fitment committee finds that there is a substantial increase from the present tax incidence. Jaitley has said the GST could add as much as 2 percentage points to economic growth[8]. Whatever claims made, assurances given and publicity made, when the goods and services reach commom men, then, only, the facts can be known.

Cyber threats to GSTN portal: When GST Network (GSTN), in charge of technological infrastructure for the new goods and services tax regime, opened its portal to taxpayer registration in November, 2016, it saw “Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS)” ­a cyber attack aimed at disrupting services and bringing down the host system[9]. With the impending GST rollout, there are several cyber threats to GSTN, which is preparing to ward them off. Concerns have heightened after the recent ransomware attack and Legion hacking of social media data a few months ago[10]. The attack and subsequent plans to build a cyber security unit were confirmed by two sources. “There were attempts from countries such as Pakistan and China to swarm the system with a DDOS attack and bring it down. GSTN was able to ensure the system was not disrupted,” said one source aware of the development. Another attack the GSTN system has seen is the “Cross­Site Request Forgery (CSRF)”, an attack wherein a malware creates a Trojan, which can execute unwanted actions from the user’s end. The source cited above said GSTN has also put in place systems to prevent such malware attacks. The network did not respond to specific queries about cyber security threats. Experts feel GSTN can expect hacking attempts, given the importance of commercial data it will handle.

Will the common men really get the benefits of GST?: When crores of traders, shop-owners, small businessmen at one side and big industrialists, business giants and others at other side, all coming to GSTN portal, to get registered, by uploading their documents, after getting password for e-mail etc., how they are going to pay through e-mode, file two dozen formatted retuns online and perform other rituals make them thinking bewildrered. While, the latter groups have no problem, the former group has been plagued with all problems. Though less then Rs One crore turnover dealers need not get registered, if their buyers or end users want credit facility, then, such small players also might follow the suit facing digital mirage or heaven. In the value added accounting and tax adjustment, it is not known as to how many are actually willing to pass on the tax benefits to consumers or simply adjusted with their profit margins, as done earlier. Thus, how, the consumers are going to be made aware about the GST benefits etc.

CBEC, GSTN – one side and private operators at otherside: During the Congress / UPA regime, the GST e-work was entrusted to Nandan Nilakeni[11], and he started a GST portal operative till 2016 with a lot of details. As the present Government entrusted to Wipro and other handlers, that site was removed stage by stage. Now new players have appeared like LegalRaasta, obviously earlier associated with the connected companies. Thus, comments come from them. “It’s also important that companies offering GST solutions ensure SSL pinning (meant for encryption of data) to their GST applications to prevent MITM attacks,” said Akshat Jain of cybersecurity firm Cyware[12]. Himanshu Jain, the CEO of LegalRaasta[13] which is building a GST solution and has also applied to become a GST Suvidha Provider (GSP), said it has integrated SSL in both its website and app[14]. Cyware’s Jain said Clickjacking, wherein a user is tricked into clicking on a false link, may not be a major concern for GST. He said proper awareness by GSTN and GSPs about their correct website links could help prevent taxpayers from being misled into wrong URLs.

© Vedaprakash

10-06-2017

[1] livemint.com, Narendra Modi asks officials to focus on cyber security of GST infrastructure, Gireesh Chandra Prasad, Last Modified: Tue, Jun 06 2017. 01 28 AM IST

[2] http://www.livemint.com/Politics/JLcuWKAHjroEP5CwhNxxvJ/Narendra-Modi-asks-officials-to-focus-on-cyber-security-of-G.html

[3] The Hindu Businessline, PM reviews GST progress, says cyber security is critical, by K.R. Srivats, published on June 5, 2017

[4] http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/policy/pm-modi-reviews-progress-towards-gst-implementation/article9720449.ece

[5] ndtv.com, Ahead Of GST Launch, PM Modi’s Review, And A Warning On Cyber Security, Edited by Anindita Sanyal | Updated: June 05, 2017 16:47 IST.

[6] Indian Express, PM Modi reviews GST preparedness, calls it ‘turning point’ for nation,

By: ENS Economic Bureau | New Delhi | Published:June 6, 2017 2:00 am

[7] http://indianexpress.com/article/business/economy/pm-modi-reviews-gst-preparedness-calls-it-turning-point-for-nation-4690745/

[8] http://www.ndtv.com/india-news/prime-minister-narendra-modi-reviews-progress-of-gst-ahead-of-its-july-1-launch-1708089

[9] Economic Times, GST Network strenthens security system, by Mugdha Variyar, ET Bureau, May 31, 2017, 11.22 AM IST.

[10] http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/internet/gst-network-strengthens-its-cyber-security-system/articleshow/58923242.cms

[11] Nandan Nilekani (born 2 June 1955) is an Indian entrepreneur, bureaucrat and politician. He was the Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI). After a successful career at Infosys, he headed the Government of India’s technology committee, TAGUP. He is a member of Indian National Congress but not active in politics as of 2015. As chair of the UIDAI he is responsible for implementing the envisioned Multipurpose National Identity Card, or Unique Identity card (UID Card) project in India.

[12] tech.economictimes, GSTN strengthens walls to keep out cyber criminals, Mugdha Variyar  |  ET Bureau  |  May 30, 2017, 09:07 IST

[13] https://www.legalraasta.com/

[14] http://tech.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/technology/gstn-strengthens-walls-to-keep-out-cyber-criminals/58904977