Second Year of GST:::

Not so smooth: Challenges you should brace for in the second year of GST:::

Without doubt, GST is a landmark reform in the history of indirect taxes in India. Implementation of GST meant overhauling a plethora of taxes and duties and the coming together of all states for a unified tax structure. A reform of such magnitude came with its own complications and saw a tumultuous first year, which is now well behind us. As India prepares for the second year of GST, several challenges remain and must be addressed in due course. Let's take a look at them.

Further simplification of GST return filing
The GST Council has committed itself to further simplification of GST returns, at the same time improving compliance and collections is of high priority. The original return filing via matching could not take off and was kept on hold for the purpose of simplification. However, easier means to claim credit and faster refund process itself would increase compliance. This would mean placing heavy reliance on technology at the same time making sure interests of buyers are not impacted due to non-compliance of sellers. Keeping return formats easy and brief while making sure all relevant data is available will be challenging. Design of the monthly single summary return must be supported by the designated fields for auto-population of details from the Invoices uploaded and accepted by the supplier and recipient respectively, wherever necessary to avoid the errors. Further, smart tools for vendor-buyer reconciliations are necessary.