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According
to the new modified draft circulated to state governments,
there would also be a single dispute resolution mechanism
at the federal level. This mechanism will be set by the
Centre as well as the states, sources told ET.
The
issue also figured in the discussions at the meeting of
the empowered committee on Thursday. Sources said the
proposal for providing advance rulings has also found
favour with state governments. This system would make the
GST setup more taxpayer-friendly and take it one step
ahead of the present value-added tax system.
The draft also seeks to limit deviations in the rates and
items under the proposed tax regime in various states.
While the value-added tax regime allows for deviations up
to 1%, most state governments are not adhering to this
limit. State governments have been asked to firm up their
views on deviations to maintain uniformity.
It has been decided that there would be two slabs for
taxes on goods but one slab for services. Also, state
governments would be able to levy tax only on intra-state
services. Inter-state services would be taxed by the
Centre.
The report submitted by the joint working group on GST was
accepted by the empowered committee in November. However,
some modifications were made in the draft before
Thursday’s meeting after taking into account state
governments’ responses.
The discussions held on Thursday will also be reflected in
the final draft, which would be taken up for discussions
on January 24. If the draft is approved by the empowered
committee, it would be recommended to the Centre.
Source
: Economic Times - Gurgaon, Haryana, India, dated
22/12/2007
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