GST - Full of Promises - Top Brass of North Block - but where is CBEC?

By Vijay Kumar

YESTERDAY, the top four secretaries of the Finance Ministry were at a meeting organised by CNBC TV 18 explaining the niceties of GST. Pearls of wisdom from the Big Four:

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia:

++ Fully Geared to Imp lement GST From April 1, 2017, from Govt Side

++ Worried About Corporates not being Prepared for GST

++ Corporates need to clarify with Govt if GST timeframe is enough

++ The government will grandfather exemptions in some cases

++ Adjudication will be handled by either State or Centre

Finance Secretary Ashok Lavasa:

++ There is a concerted effort to address concerns on GST & to meet deadline

++ Resolution of GST issues is work in progress

++ Govt is committed to compensate states for any losses post GST

CEA Arvind Subramanian:

++ Aim to ensure that tax incidence is same as before GST implementation

++ RNR will depend on if compensation comes from GST Rate Or Budget

++ The GST Rate will depend upon a lot of policy choices

++ Hope that as efficiency increases, there will be more job creation

++ The higher the taxes, the greater the distortion

Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das:

++ Central & State govts well positioned to rollout GST from April 2017

++ Appeal to industry to come forward with their problems about GST

++ Consuming States will be net gainers with GST

++ Looking at a Very Small Exemption List

++ List of Exemptions will have to be Short for a Low Neutral Rate

++ Manufacturing States will see a lot of revenue buoyancy post GST

But where is CBEC?, maybe CNBC and the rest of the country is not aware that CBEC will be the agency that will administer GST.