PwC suggests timebound dispute resolution under GST

Global accountancy firm PwC has suggested "timebound" resolution of disputes under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to make the new indirect tax regime more business friendly.

One-time dispute resolution schemes were introduced under the erstwhile regime, but industry has been rigid about adopting such measures for various reasons, PwC said in a report.

The government should "seriously look" look at business-friendly measures to put to rest long pending litigations, it said.

India rolled out GST on July 1 last year thus subsuming most of the other indirect taxes both at the central as well as states' level.

PwC also said the government needs to focus on strengthening the advance ruling process to ensure minimal litigation and improved tax regime.

"...there is a need for a mandate to ensure that disputes under the GST are closed in a timebound manner," it said.

The report noted that the implementation of GST is a "truly a remarkable" achievement for India and all the stakeholders, and the government, industry and consumers deserve "to be applauded for this".

"It's now time to consolidate and let the regime stabilise, while continuing to explore structural changes to bring it closer to what we had all visualised," the report said.

It further said that 2018 may see the expansion of the tax base in India with real estate and petroleum products being brought under the ambit of the GST.

As per the report, inclusion of real estate under the GST may be more difficult and require a constitutional amendment.

On bringing petroleum products under the GST, PwC said the real bottleneck is in building a consensus among the states.