Coimbatore : The 31st GST council held in New Delhi on Saturday has evoked mixed response from the small and micro industries. The welcome move being the council's decision to do away with penalty and fine levied on the delay in filing of returns till March 2019. On the other side, the request to cut tax rates for job works from 18% to 5% remains unaddressed and has left the industry associations disappointed.
Coimbatore : The 31st GST council held in New Delhi on Saturday has evoked mixed response from the small and micro industries. The welcome move being the council's decision to do away with penalty and fine levied on the delay in filing of returns till March 2019. On the other side, the request to cut tax rates for job works from 18% to 5% remains unaddressed and has left the industry associations disappointed.
Speaking on this TamilNadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises (TACT) President, J.James said, " We are relieved that the GST council has suspended the fine levied on the delay in GST filing, that was turning out to be a huge burden on micro industries. As far as micro industries are concerned, many a time it will be one or two people working and mostly it will be the owner who will have to manage everything from purchase to delivery. Amidst every job, they find it extremely difficult to file these returns since the whole process of filing is a little complex. Moreover, the industries for which we carry out job orders make payments only after two to three months. In such a scenario it becomes tough to file returns and pay GST on time. Now this decision of the GST council has come as a big relief".
Coimbatore SIDCO Industrial Estate Manufacturers Welfare Association( COSIEMA) President S Surulivel shares the same opinion. "The decision to cut down the fine on delayed GST filing is a welcome move. But there are other demands which were not met. We have been requesting to cut down the tax rates for job works from 18% to 5% but the council has not considered it. Also, we have asked the ceiling to file GST be raised from 20 lakhs but no decision has not been taken yet. As of now, suspending penalty has brought huge relief to small and micro industries".
The associations in general, opine that the GST council has not really understood the hardships faced by small, micro and tiny industries."Right from the day our constitution came into effect, no government has levied taxes on job works. But, after GST this has become really tiring to file returns every month. We also need expert help to do this because most of our micro and small industries are run by owners who are not equipped enough to complete the process. We also have to shell out a fee to those experts from our margins which is not very high. We have requested for a quarterly filing. The government should look into our problems seriously and consider a tax rate cut", added James.
The other grievance voiced by the industrialists being the complex process involved in filing GST and they are counting on the council's decision to consider simplifying GSTR 9 filing.
Speaking on this TamilNadu Association of Cottage and Micro Enterprises (TACT) President, J.James said, " We are relieved that the GST council has suspended the fine levied on the delay in GST filing, that was turning out to be a huge burden on micro industries. As far as micro industries are concerned, many a time it will be one or two people working and mostly it will be the owner who will have to manage everything from purchase to delivery. Amidst every job, they find it extremely difficult to file these returns since the whole process of filing is a little complex. Moreover, the industries for which we carry out job orders make payments only after two to three months. In such a scenario it becomes tough to file returns and pay GST on time. Now this decision of the GST council has come as a big relief".
Coimbatore SIDCO Industrial Estate Manufacturers Welfare Association( COSIEMA) President S Surulivel shares the same opinion. "The decision to cut down the fine on delayed GST filing is a welcome move. But there are other demands which were not met. We have been requesting to cut down the tax rates for job works from 18% to 5% but the council has not considered it. Also, we have asked the ceiling to file GST be raised from 20 lakhs but no decision has not been taken yet. As of now, suspending penalty has brought huge relief to small and micro industries".
The associations in general, opine that the GST council has not really understood the hardships faced by small, micro and tiny industries."Right from the day our constitution came into effect, no government has levied taxes on job works. But, after GST this has become really tiring to file returns every month. We also need expert help to do this because most of our micro and small industries are run by owners who are not equipped enough to complete the process. We also have to shell out a fee to those experts from our margins which is not very high. We have requested for a quarterly filing. The government should look into our problems seriously and consider a tax rate cut", added James.
The other grievance voiced by the industrialists being the complex process involved in filing GST and they are counting on the council's decision to consider simplifying GSTR 9 filing.