Ministerial panel to take stock of GSTN, new software for returns tomorrow

A ministerial panel headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi will on Saturday take stock of the functioning of the GST Network (GSTN) and the new software that is proposed to be used for return filing once the new forms are introduced next year.

The meeting of the Group of Ministers (GoM), set up in September 2017 to look into the technical issues faced by the GSTN, would be held in Bengaluru.

Most of the issues flagged by the GoM so far with regard to technical aspect of the GSTN has been resolved, an official said.

With the stabilisation of the current return filing format under the GST, the focus of the GoM meeting would be on preparedness to shift to a new format for GST return filing.

The revenue department in July-end put up in public domain draft GST returns forms -- Sahaj and Sugam -- for seeking comments from stakeholders.

With comments coming in, the law committee is reading into the comments to see whether any modification is required in the draft form.

In the meanwhile, the GSTN is also readying the software for the new return filing format.

The returns form was cleared by the Goods and Services Tax Council in its last meeting on July 21 and a pilot on the new format is expected to begin on January 1, 2019.

Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac, Chhattisgarh Minister of Commercial Taxes Amar Agrawal, Karnataka Agriculture Minister Krishna Byre Gowda and Telangana Finance Minister Etela Rajender are other members of the GoM on the GSTN.