As the new indirect tax law, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is all set to roll out on July 1st, the government shut down the GSTN enrollment of tax payers for technical reasons.
However, the closing is temporary due to technical reasons. Not specifying a new date for reopening of the enrolment, the CBEC chairman Vanaja N Sarna said the window will reopen soon for migration of tax assessees who haven’t enrolled on GSTN so far.
“The window for GST enrolment on GSTN portal has been closed for now due to beta testing being conducted by GSTN. However, for assessees who have not yet migrated, the window will open again soon,” the CBEC chairman wrote in her weekly newsletter dated May 6.
Reportedly, 87 per cent of central excise assessees and 84 per cent of service tax assessees have migrated to the new payment portal, as on April 30. The enrolment figures include central excise and service tax assessees who have migrated through state VAT. The latest enrolment figure of service tax assessees shows a marked improvement from last week, when only 34 per cent of the existing service tax assessees had migrated on the new portal.
The News letter dated 06.05.2017 directed the officials to assist all such taxpayers who are yet to migrate to the new portal. It was also emphasized that officers should conclude their refresher training for GST by middle of June.
The process of migration of more than 80 lakh VAT, excise and service tax assessees to the GST network started in November 2017, with a phased enrolment plan for each state. More than 60 lakh taxpayers enrolled on the GST portal between November 8, 2016 and April 30 this year. The government had earlier set March 31 as the migration deadline, which was later extended to April 30.
After the GST rollout, all traders would require a 15-digit GST ID number based on their income tax permanent account number (PAN). The GSTN is coordinating with states to link information on traders and issue them tax identification numbers (TIN).
The GST Council has finalised four rate categories of 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent. Along with finalisation of pending set of rules, the fitment of various goods and services into the GST slabs will be discussed in the next meeting of the GST Council on May 18-19.
