Brace yourself, A GST on Petrol soon!

Bengaluru: The Central government is contemplating to bring Petroleum products under the GST ambit, though the decisionwas deferred at the moment, a senior official said today. Delivering the Keynote Address at a Seminar on GST organised bythe Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce (BCIC) here, D P Nagendra Kumar, Director General, GST Intelligence said that the Petroleum products which are currently not covered under GST, could be brought under GST on a future date, subject to the approval of the GST Council as provided in the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2016.

The GST Council is also examining the issue regarding inclusion of Reality sector under GST subject to consensus from all State Governments.The rate rationalisation undertaken by the Government both at the Centre and the State on the recommendations of the GST Council is an ongoing exercise based on the impact on business, feedback received from stake holders and revenue considerations. The revision of rate on wide spectrum of goods decided in the recent meeting of the GST Council at Guwahati is a pointer to this trend, Mr Nagendra Kumar said.

With regard to simplification of procedures and ease of filing returns, Mr Nagendra Kumar mentioned that the Government is sensitive and responsive to the needs of the trade and industry and extended the time limit for filing GSTR-1 returns for the quarter July-September to December 31, 2017.

Similarly, filing of the simplified GSTR-3B return has been extended upto March, 2018. Efforts are being made to address the difficulties experienced in filing returns and other declarations both by extending the time limits and removing the technical glitches. (UNI)