GST Draft Laws - Casual and Irresponsible Law Making - Sub-section 0?
I get mad when my junior colleagues in TIOL make simple avoidable mistakes while we upload the tons of law churned out by various authorities. But I feel guilty that when the highly intellectual overpaid pampered babus can make silly mistakes, I am expecting the moon and more from my simple boys and girls.
Look at this Section 47 in the Draft GST Law:
47. Transfer of input tax credit
On utilization of input tax credit availed under the CGST Act for payment of tax dues under the IGST Act as per sub-section Error! Reference source not found. of section 44, the amount collected as CGST shall stand reduced by an amount equal to the credit so utilized and the Central Government shall transfer an amount equal to the amount so reduced from the CGST account to the IGST account in the manner and time as may be prescribed.
CGST Act
On utilization of input tax credit availed under the SGST Act for payment of tax dues under the IGST Act as per sub-section Error! Reference source not found. of section 44, the amount collected as SGST shall stand reduced by an amount equal to the credit so utilized and shall be apportioned to the Central Government and the State Government shall transfer an amount equal to the amount so apportioned to the IGST account in the manner and time as may be prescribed.
SGST Act
Similar bloomers are also seen at -
143. (in contents) Test purchase of goods and/or services...................................... Error! Bookmark not defined.
7. [Powers of SGST/CGST officers under the Act (Draft I)
(2) Where any proper officer issues an order or acts under any one or more sections................ of this Act, he shall also issue an order or take action, as he may deem fit, under the corresponding section of the {SGST/CGST} Act as being the proper officer under sub-section Error! Reference source not found. of the SGST/CGST Act as a part of his order or action under this Act, under intimation to the jurisdictional SGST/CGST officer.
85. Offences and penalties
(vi) fails to collect tax in terms of sub-section Error! Reference source not found. of section 56, or collects an amount which is less than the amount required to be collected under the said sub-section, or where he fails to pay to the credit of the appropriate Government under sub- section 0 thereof, the amount collected as tax;
And what is sub-section 0?
This is a Micro Soft Word error message when a book marked reference is deleted. The point is - it is boring to read the same draft again and again and then these mistakes creep in - fortunately nobody is bothered and you have a licence to make as many mistakes as you want - you always have an option of correcting them anytime you want. I only hope that somebody does the proofreading before the Bills are sent to Parliament and the State Legislatures.
Actually the Model GST Law is a combination of two laws - the Central GST Act and the State GST Act. They could have at least made two copies and separate Bills for the Centre and States. Anyway, this model cannot go to the legislatures; they could have made the copies that go to the legislature.
The very first sentence of the Model Law reads as:
This Act may be called the Central / State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2016.
The second sentence is - It extends to the whole of India / State's name.
And some of the provisions are exclusively for CGST and some for SGST.