Government Speed Track - GST - CBEC Releases Draft Rules and Formats
GST is on Speed Track. Yesterday the CBEC released
1. Draft Registration Rules
2. Draft Formats for Registration
3. Draft Payment Rules
4. Draft Format for payment
5. Draft Invoice Rules
6. Draft Formats for invoice
The Revenue Secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia tweeted:
The draft rules for registration, payments, invoice, etc for GST are uploaded on CBEC website. Business community may view them and give quick comments, if any, by 28th night on gst-cbec@gov.in. We intend to have these rules approved by GST council in its meeting on 30th September. So that business systems can be modified by all.
The Draft Registration Rules have 17 Rules and 26 Forms; the Draft Payment Rules have 4 Rules with many sub-rules and 7 Forms and the Draft Invoice Rules have 5 Rules with many sub-rules and 1 Form. And you have all of two days to read, understand and send in your comments. This is how laws should be made; you tell the people what you are going to do, but don't give them time to react. Even if you send in your comments, do you think the babus are going to waste their time reading your comments and redrafting all these rules and forms? As such by habit they don't admit mistakes or accept suggestions. GST is here at high speed and we will have to learn to live with it.
Once upon a time there was a rule that you had to exhibit your registration certificate in a conspicuous place in the registered premises. They have brought it back in the GST Registration Rules. Rule 7 of the draft rules stipulates:
(1) Every registered taxable person shall display his certificate of registration in a prominent location at his principal place of business and at every additional place or places of business.
(2) Every registered taxable person shall display his GSTIN in the name board exhibited at the entry of his principal place of business and at every additional place or places of business.
Pray, why? Where are we going? Why do you want to bring back the primitive relics of an illogical tax regime?
The Registration application is very lengthy and complex - Draft Rule 14 stipulates all existing registrations are treated as provisional and they have to file forms to get GST registration. This was not what the trade was made to believe; they were made to understand that the migration would be automatic.
Doesn't modern taxation assume a mandatory courtesy to the taxpayer? The Babu's arrogance! It is difficult to write a law and hide your arrogance. There is a Form GST REG-03 which is a Notice for Seeking Additional Information / Clarification / Documents relating to Application for Registration / Amendment / Cancellation.
The notice majestically states,
The Department has examined your application and is not satisfied with it for the following reasons:
You are directed to submit your reply by …… (DD/MM/YYYY)
You are hereby directed to appear before the undersigned authority on ……… (DD/MM/YYYY) at…….(HH:MM)
Can't you request your assessee to submit his reply and to come and see you. And why submit? Why can't he just send it? Are we still under the East India Company? Is the assessee supposed to crawl to the divine presence of the exalted officer and humbly submit his reply to the satisfaction of the mighty officer? Modiji, this is too much of government and hardly any governance.