The Hindu Business Line : VAT panel to meet on Dec 5 to review implementation

STATE Finance Ministers are to meet here on December 5 to review the implementation of the State-level value-added tax (VAT) system. This meeting comes nearly two months after the previous meeting of the panel, when the State Finance Ministers agreed for a cut in ceiling rate on Central sales tax (CST) from 4 per cent to 2 per cent with effect from April 1, 2006.

"We will review the implementation of State-level VAT on December 5," Mr Ramesh Chandra, Member Secretary, VAT Panel, told Business Line.

Indications are also that the progress made on the Tax Information Exchange System (TINXSYS) would be reviewed on December 5. The VAT panel had on October 5 announced the pilot launch of the online TINXSYS portal (www.TINXSYS.com) to gather business intelligence on inter-State trade of goods.

In the pilot launch, the TINXSYS portal, which interlinks commercial tax departments of all States, allowed verification of dealer Tax Identification Number (TIN) and CST number in respect of 10 States.

Further, indications are also that the issue of availability of C-Forms to dealers would be taken up for discussion at the VAT Panel meeting of December 5.

The Centre is keen that the States should improve the availability of C-Forms to dealers in their respective States. In recent times, the Finance Ministry has been getting complaints from trade about non-availability of C-Forms at the sales tax offices of the States.

The Finance Ministry had, with effect from October 1, stipulated quarterly filing of declaration forms on inter-State transactions. Prior to this, the declaration forms were filed on an annual basis.

The States have now been told (through two separate communications, including one from the Finance Minister) that the Centre may even revert to the earlier annual system if there is no improvement at the ground level as regards the availability of the forms.

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