Study Team for Common Code for Excise and Service Tax
GOVERNMENT has appointed a Study Team under the leadership of former Chief Commissioner MK Gupta “to examine the possibility of a common tax code for service tax and central excise, which could be adopted to harmonize the two legislations”. Government has not announced the other Members of the Team. The Team will also suggest a draft Common Tax Code for service tax and central excise that can be implemented under the present Constitutional scheme, keeping in view the challenges in the context of impending Goods and Service Tax (GST).
What we really need is not another code or Act, but clarity and consistency. Every Tax Law is drafted by the taxmen on the assumption that all taxpayers are evaders and they should somehow be fixed – in the process, life is made miserable and tremendous scope for litigation is provided.
Let us hope the new code does not become another fiasco like the CENVAT Credit Rules.
Actually, why do we need a common code for excise and Service Tax? What is wrong with two separate enactments for the two taxes? A Common Code will be good, but can we really make a simple code with little scope for litigation?
How much time, money and paper have we wasted on GST! Now this common code will be the new mantra for all experts, seminarists and news media. Ultimately the taxpayer pays!.