Gujarat sales tax lawyers meet FinMin over 'glitches' in GSTN

Delegation urges simplification of compliance procedures in filing GST returns and forms, ahead of Gujarat polls next month

Trade bodies and sales tax lawyers have taken up with the Finance Ministry the problems they are facing on account of "glitches" in the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Network.

A delegation of the Gujarat Sales Tax Bar Association (GSTBA), Ahmedabad, met Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday. The delegation said it had met the FM on the "recommendations of the Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani".

According to a statement from GSTBA, the delegation drew the FM's attention to the "glitches and non-working" of GSTN, and other related issues that tax payers and tax professionals have faced with the GST regime. It requested simplification of compliance procedures in filing various GST returns and forms. Gujarat votes next month and there have been protests in the wake of the GST implementation. The association said Jaitley met them for 30-minutes.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), a body that represents traders and small businesses, today demanded the Centre order a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry against companies entrusted with running the GST portal.

"The GST portal is a work in progress even four months after the rollout of the GST. It has caused mental torture to traders," CAIT's secretary general Praveen Khandelwal said. He said the failure is evident since the deadline for filing of GST return for the month of July is now extended to November 30. The July return was to be filed by August 10, Khandelwal said.

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