World Trade Center in association with Institute of Cost Accountants
of India (ICAI) organized a webinar “Key Open Issues Under GST Law” on
the occasion of 5 years of implementation of GST. Dr. Tiju Thomas IRS,
Commissioner of GST (Audit), Customs and Central Excise, Kerala &
Lakshadweep was the chief guest. Rajitha Boorugu, Partner - Indirect
Tax and Deepthi Alexander, Associate Director - Indirect Tax, BDO India
spoke on the subject.
Dr. Tiju Thomas IRS, in his keynote address, spoke about India's
GST system that came into effect in 2017. Despite various hurdles and
challenges faced, India had successfully implemented the system whereas
numerous other countries had to roll back in a similar situation. GST
helped overcome the fragmented tax base, multiple taxes levied, complex
tax structure and cascading. He stated that GST is not just a tax reform
but a business reform as well helping the businesses acquire optimal
scale and efficiency by eliminating tax arbitrage. It helped multiply
logistics & supply chain efficiency, enlarge customer base and
minimise compliance burdens. Owing to this, the taxpayer base more than
doubled and gross revenue grew by 1.6 times in five years.
Ms. Rajitha Boorugu gave an overview of GST revenue, advance
rulings and notifications since its inception. She spoke on the policy
issues related to GST that are under deliberation such as appellate
tribunal, crypto currency, interstate utilisation of ITC, online gaming
taxability etc. Ms. Deepthi Alexander discussed ITC on business
promotion and CSR expenditure. She also explained the compliance issues.
This was also an opportunity for participants to clear their queries.
Mr. Vivek George, Sr. Manager, World Trade Center, Ms. Renjini
R., Treasurer, ICAI and Mr. Sandeep Raj, Coordinator, WTC Kochi also
spoke.
