Considering the revenue fall in the recent times, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has decided to remove approximately 12 lakh assessees who have fallen off the tax ma, from the ambit of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) assessees.
“The CBIC has communicated to field officers to take the process further. Now, field officers will issue show-cause notices, which is just a formality but a requirement under the law, and then complete the process for deregistration,” a Finance Ministry official told BusinessLine.
Though there are over 1 crore registered assessees on the GST Nework (GSTN) at present, the number of those who file returns is much less.
Under GST rules, any entity registered under the previous Sales Tax–VAT (Value-Added Tax), Central Excise Duty of Service Tax regulations was required to be enrolled under the GST and get provisional certificates.
However, if the turnover of the entity is less than the GST threshold and he/she is not willing to go for voluntary registrations, such assessees had the option to get the provisional registration cancelled and move out of the GST net. However, many assessees fail to complete the process, and so they continued to be a part of the GST-assessee base.
Under the GST, the assessees having turnover of Rs 20 lakh (or Rs10 lakh in some States), have to obtain registration and shall file returns accordingly.
Another Finance Ministry official said that while a wider tax base is good, there is also a need to ensure an ‘effective’ tax base; the latest initiative will help achieve that. This kind of a tax base will serve two purposes: it will lighten the burden on the GSTN, and it will give a real picture of the indirect tax regime.
