GST : Export Shipment Clearance Issues

GST: Export Shipment Clearance Issues

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No doubt that GST is a Landmark mark tax reform and reform of this magnitude has never been carried out in past in any country impacting life of more than 1 billion plus population. Extensive consultation has been done in past more than a decade by all political parties to give India "One Tax" which is GST. Government and all Political parties should be appreciated to overcome the differences in the Interest of development of India. Now, Subsequent Implementation will be a key factor in a successful implementation of the world's largest tax reform. GST will bring transparency through a robust IT system. It will no doubt broaden the base and tax collections not only under Indirect Tax but under direct taxes, too. The general perception by some is that under GST prices will come down whereas some other thinks that prices will increase. Even GST practitioners might not have clear picture as GST law is very new, under implementation and too big to understand. Government will need to be on people’s side and address every problem in GST implementation with fairness and persistence. Government officers will need to show respect for both authority and towards assessees. Impetus should on detecting and dealing with taxpayers who will deliberately avoid their GST obligations.

It is not unexpected at all. Since the GST coming into force beginning this month, in fact, much before than that, everybody —  despite admitting that the new tax regime is a long-term opportunity — has been talking about possible disruptions, which now seem to be slowly rearing their heads, and like many other sectors our exporters are also facing the heat. Reports have poured in over the past few weeks of export consignments lying at ports or factory gates as custom officials are yet not clear about the new rules. Needless to say, the sooner these concerns are sorted out, the better it is for the sector.

Earlier this month, the Finance Ministry relaxed rules for exporters allowing them to continue shipments under existing bonds and letters of undertaking till July 31 and submit bonds or LUTs in the revised format for GST by the end of the month. This was a welcome step, but several new reports suggest that the situation has changed hardly and there is still a lot of confusion at the ground level as custom officials are interpreting this notification any way they want. Some exporters have also pointed out that there is no time-limit prescribed by the CBEC within which LUTs and bonds have to be accepted, and so custom officials are showing no eagerness to prevent delays.

Meanwhile, several industrial sectors have raised their concerns about the challenges and irritants they are facing after the rollout of GST. Textile traders, particularly in Surat, are staging massive protest demanding roll-back of the 5 percent GST levy on the sector, which was earlier exempt under the previous indirect tax regime. The Carpet Export Promotion Council has claimed that shipments of handmade carpets and other floor coverings have been hit badly due to imposition of high tax on job works. Handicraft merchants of Udaipur and the plywood industry in UP are raising similar concerns.



According to latest foreign trade data released, exports grew by 4.39% to $23.56 billion in June. While these figures are encouraging, it is difficult to ignore the fact that 15 out of 30 major product groups showed negative growth in the month while in May, 21 out of 30 of these product groups registered positive growths. The situation may worsen further considering the challenges being faced by our exporters and the sectors which are of great importance from exports and employment perspectives.  The next GST Council meeting is scheduled on August 5. It will be interesting to see how the council addresses these issues.

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