Make paperwork under GST simple, says advocates’ body

NEW DELHI: A body of tax advocates today asked Finance Minister Arun Jaitley to make procedures and paperwork related to the upcoming Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime simple and less cumbersome.

“The draft GST rules have prescribed detailed paperwork for maintenance of records for GST purposes, which are highly complex and cumbersome. This will cause immense problem and hardships to assesees, especially small traders and businessmen,” All India Tax Advocates Forum President MK Gandhi said.

Under the draft rules, detailed records are to be kept not only by suppliers of goods or services, but also by intermediaries such as warehouse owners, transporters and agents, he said.

In addition to goods sold, they have to also track stocks given as free sample or gifts, Gandhi said in a statement.

“Even as concepts of manufacture or trading are no longer relevant under GST, the cumbersome record keeping requirements will continue to be bases on these lines. This will put unwarranted burden and botheration to assessees,” the forum said.

Gandhi further said that under the new tax regime no deletion or overwriting of entries will be allowed in registers, accounts and documents.

Such complicated paperwork will be too much for small time traders and businessmen to cope up with, he added.

The government plans to roll out the GST from July 1, which will subsume host of indirect taxes.