India has vaulted substantially a jump of 30 ranks to occupy the 100th place this year in the World Bank’s `Doing Business’ report, bringing it closer to the target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be in the top-50 countries. Ramesh Abhishek, secretary, Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the nodal department for the ease of doing business study, told that the jump in ranking proves that with strong political commitment and a motivated bureaucracy, things can happen. Edited excerpts:
India has jumped 30 places in the `Ease of Doing Business’ ranking. What does this mean for India?
This sends a huge message to the investor community. It is a real breakthrough in terms of ease of doing business in India. Insolvency and Bankruptcy code was always a major concern for investors, both international and domestic, where we have improved. When some cases get resolved, the full impact of the Code will be felt in next year’s rankings. World Bank has recognised improvement in the time taken and costs for trading across borders, though rank has not improved.
GST Invoicing Norms for Retailers Eased
Retailers won’t have to issue long invoices detailing prices and taxes for each item under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, further easing the billing and compliance burden on them. They will also not have to issue separate invoices for exempted items taxed at the 0% rate and can club all purchases in one bill.
The GST Council has approved these changes based on the recommendations of the law committee set up to review demands by stakeholders. The two changes will make invoicing and filing easier for retailers.
They can issue invoices clubbing all goods taxed at one rate and mention just the total tax, facilitating smaller and less cumbersome invoices. Under the earlier arrangement, all items had to be mentioned separately along with their prices and taxes.
Retailers had argued that the end-customer is concerned with the net sale price and didn’t need a detailed tax breakup, but this was rejected by the committee.
Small traders set to get fresh GST relief
A high-level panel on the goods and services tax (GST) in its meeting on Sunday recommended major changes in the new indirect tax system that may ease the compliance burden for all assessees and make the composition scheme more attractive.
It also proposed further easing the burden for restaurant owners.
The group of state finance ministers (GoM), led by Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, recommended that all GST payers be allowed to file quarterly returns, even as those with an annual turnover of above Rs 1.5 crore had to pay the tax every month, sources said.
The GST Council in its previous meeting had decided to allow taxpayers with a turnover of up to Rs 1.5 lakh to file quarterly tax payment and return filing.
If you have any query regarding this Contact Us