New simpler GST return forms likely April 1, says Revenue secy AB Pandey

Ajay Bhushan Pandey exuded confidence that the government will achieve the budgeted target for GST collection

The new simplified GST return forms will be rolled out from April 1, 2019, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said Tuesday.

He exuded confidence that the government will achieve the budgeted target for Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection and said the revenue department is getting inputs about entities which are evading taxes.

In the first eight months (April-November) of the current fiscal, the government has mopped up over Rs 7.76 trillion from GST. The 2018-19 budget had estimated annual GST collection at Rs 13.48 trillion, which means a monthly target of Rs 1.12 lakh crore.

"We are short by Rs 40 billion this month (November). To arrive at any conclusion we have to have some more months' data. But we are confident that we will be able to achieve our target. Our monthly target is around Rs 1 trillion. This we want to increase to Rs 1.10 trillion," Pandey said. GST collection in November was Rs 976.37 billion.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) Foundation Day, the secretary said the refund process is being further streamlined to make it completely online and taxpayer friendly.

When asked about the rollout of the simplified return forms, Pandey said, "we are targeting from April 1".

In July, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had put up in public domain draft GST return forms 'Sahaj' and 'Sugam' and sought public comments. These forms would replace GSTR-3B (summary sales return form) and GSTR-1 (final sales returns form).

Pandey further said the next meeting of the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister and comprising state counterparts, will be held this month.