“Yes, we are prepared for GST,” asserted AV Vijaykumar, Managing Director of Chennai-based freight company Paramount Shipping Services. “As of now, I don’t anticipate many problems as all the systems are in place,” he said.

The logistics sector more or less appears geared to migrate to the new taxation system.

Most stakeholders in the international transport sector are well-prepared, but a few are not adequately informed about the new laws, said G Raghu Sankar of International Clearing and Shipping Agency, a Custom House agency and freight-forwarding company.

The Customs Department has modified its software to comply with the GST regime and, in Chennai, the department has taken precautions for any eventuality. A team of officers will be available round-the-clock to meet any concern.

In international transport, under GST, the most crucial aspect at the moment is the e-portal of Customs, which will be tested tonight, Sankar said.

Other players, including carriers (ocean and air), custodians (ports, airports, container terminals and container freight stations) and Customs brokers, have been preparing for the transition and it should be a smooth sailing, he said.

‘Unpredictable’ situation

Pushkar Singh, co-founder of LetsTransport, a last-mile logistics solution provider, said the situation was fairly unpredictable.

But demand-centric warehouse hubs will come in the sector, which can optimise transportation cost. Tax management will no longer be the focal point in supply-chain planning, and efficieny will improve, he said.

Even though there is a refund mechanism available for exporters, the time lag will impact working capital requirements. This is especially so for IATA agents, said J Krishnan of freight company Natesa Iyer & Co.

SME staff ill-prepared

Efforts to persuade many small unregistered vendors to come into the GST net and obtain registration have yielded at best limited results.

Also, lower rung staff of clients, particularly in the SME export sector, do not have adequate knowledge of GST-compliant work, he said.

Input supply

Southern Railways said that under the new regime, outward supply of goods and services by the Railways will attract GST.

All input supply of goods and services will also attract GST for supply of goods and services made with effect from Saturday.

All suppliers and contractors must ensure that the GSTIN number of the company/organisation is quoted in all tenders, supply orders and contracts, and bills must be submitted for payment.

They will also be required to quote the relevant Harmonised System Nomenclature (HSN) code for the goods supplied and the appropriate Service Accounting Code (SAC) for services rendered to Railways, the SR said in a release.

Published on June 30, 2017