GST Council is Born - Board Not on Board - IRS Protests
THE GST Council is to make recommendations to the Union and the States on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws, principles that govern Place of Supply, threshold limits, GST rates including the floor rates with bands, special rates for raising additional resources during natural calamities/disasters, special provisions for certain States, etc.
The Union Cabinet on 12th September approved the setting up of the GST Council, which is scheduled to have its first meeting on 22nd of this month in New Delhi. The Council consists of the Union Finance Minister as Chairman, the Union Minister of State, Revenue and the Finance Ministers of the States as Members. The Central Revenue Secretary is the Ex-officio Secretary to the GST Council.
The IRS (All India Association of IRS Customs & Central Excise Officers) is not amused. In a resolution submitted to the Finance Minister and Revenue Secretary, the Association states,
Considering that the officers of IRS (C&CE) service have requisite expertise of performing various functions of Indirect Tax Administration such as administrative functions, quasi judicial role, technical knowhow, enforcement work and audit and are successfully implementing indirect tax administration in the country in a wholesome and comprehensive manner, it is the responsibility and determination of the service to successfully and smoothly implement the GST in the country without any hurdles.
The Association wants that:
1) No post of the organization should be reduced considering the huge workload and revenue collection challenges ahead.
2) If any posts are diverted outside CBEC, it should be encadred to the IRS (C&CE) service and to be filled by IRS (C&CE) officers only.
3) Since revenue collection of CGST & IGST is to be handled by IRS (C&CE), the following posts in the GST Council Secretariat should be from IRS (C&CE) by encadrement:
(i) Secretary to the GST Council (to be held by an officer of the rank of Member, CBEC).
(ii) Addl. Secy. to the Council be filled in by an officer of CBEC in the HAG pay scare.
(iii) 50% posts at the level of Joint Secretary, Directors & Under Secretary should be held by IRS(C&CE) Officials.
Some 15 months ago, I asked a Principal Additional Director General in the Directorate of Systems of CBEC about what they were doing about GST. He said, "We are GST ready" and the Government created a Private Limited Company GSTN to manage GST.
The IRS Association says,
Management of GSTN be entrusted to DG systems of CBEC, as GSTN is a newly created SPV, which does not have any experience in implementing any IT project or domain knowledge in Indirect Tax laws. Since GSTN is funded by the Central and state Government, there is no justification in entrusting the management of GSTN to private individuals with heavy salary and allowances. DG systems has experience of implementing Mega Pan-India IT projects for over twenty years and has the necessary domain knowledge and expertise to manage GSTN.
The CBEC Chairman is a permanent invitee to all the proceedings of the GST Council. Has the IAS stolen the GST thunder from the IRS?
The IRS Association General Secretary Shrawan Kumar Bansal says that his Association consists of a rare dedicated talented pool which has to be used by the Nation. He says the GST Council needs the expertise of the IRS more than the co-ordination of the Revenue Secretary. He promises a successful, efficient and hassle-free GST - only handover the entire GST to the IRS.
Will the CBEC become irrelevant in the GST regime?