GST mop-up on track; fisc not under threat

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A monthly collection of around ₹80,000 cr appears sufficient to meet the Centre’s and States’ needs

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for December 2017 show an increase, but despite this there are concerns that the tepid collections since July could pose a problem on the fiscal deficit front.

However, a closer look at the numbers shows that these fears are misplaced. The Centre’s tax collection, as per the CGA (Controller General of Accounts), appears to be on track to achieving the Budget estimates for 2017-18. There are, however, many trouble spots in the new regime.

The complexity of the GST, which combines many of the indirect taxes of the Centre and States, has made it quite difficult to estimate the expected monthly collection target.

At a press conference in August 2017, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the collections in July were better than the target of ₹91,000 crore for that month. This figure has been used since then as a ball-park figure for measuring monthly GST collections.

If we use this figure, GST collections in October (₹83,346 crore), November (₹80,808 crore) and December (₹86,703 crore) are well short of the target. But that may not really be the case.

To estimate the targeted monthly GST collection, we worked backward to see the projected revenue in the Budget estimate for 2017-18 from goods and services that have been put under GST. While service taxes have mostly moved under GST, only about a third of excise duty collections are under GST since the taxes on many petroleum products are still outside the new regime. Under Customs duty, almost 64 per cent of the collections are now under GST.

Using this basis, around ₹43,000 crore of GST need to be collected by the Centre monthly towards its indirect tax collections. A portion of this will devolve to the States as part of their share in the Centre’s revenue.

States totally have to be disbursed ₹43,000 crore every month, assuming 14 per cent annual growth from their 2015-16 revenue. Working with these numbers, a monthly GST collection of around ₹80,000 crore appears sufficient to meet the Centre’s and States’ needs.

Actual numbers

The fact that the Centre has not fallen short in its indirect tax collections is borne out by the numbers from the CGA. Gross tax revenue of the Centre for the period between April to November 2017 was ₹10,87,302 crore, up 16.5 per cent from the amount collected in the same period in 2016-17.

Interestingly, gross indirect tax collection of the Centre in this period was up 18.2 per cent, having risen from ₹5,08,924 crore to ₹6,01,904 crore.

While the devolution to States was 25 per cent higher, the Centre’s net tax revenue has managed to increase 12.59 per cent, showing that the Finance Minister will not have too much difficulty in balancing the fisc.

The catch

While the Centre’s collections are on track, allocations to States can pose a problem. “Due to the fact that IGST revenue is disbursed over a period of time, there is a thinking amongst States that there is a revenue shortfall,” explains Gautam Khattar, Partner, Indirect tax, PwC.

Disputes on input-tax credit claimed by businesses in the provisional GSTR 3B form are another issue that could impede calculations. “Definitely, this is the major concern for the Department because invoice matching is the backbone of GST,” says Vishal Raheja, DGM, Taxmann.

 

Source: Press Reader

 

MEFICAI Empanelment/ Bank Branch Auditors Panel for FY 2016-17

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Multipurpose Empanelment Form of ICAI (MEF-ICAI) is an online application, which is meant for allotment of Bank/ Branch Audits to the ICAI Members/ CA Firms.

a) Final Bank Branch Auditors Panel for the FY 2016-17

The ICAI has prepared the “Final Bank Branch Auditors’ Panel of Chartered Accountants/ CA Firms (MEF) for the Financial Year 2016-17” and the same is hosted at MEFICAI website till 20 Jan. 2017. Thereafter the final panel is being sent to RBI.

To view your category and remarks thereof, if any, please click on the relevant interval, as below:

Final Panel

MEF00001-05000

MEF05001-10000 

MEF10001-15000 

MEF15001-20000 

MEF20001-25000 

MEF25001-30000 

MEF30001-35000 

MEF35001-40000

MEF40001-45000 

MEF45001-50000 

MEF50001-55000 

MEF55001-60000

MEF60001-73666

For any other query/ issue, please contact  ICAI’s PDC Secretariat on 011-30110444. Also, please visit MEFICAI website for updated/ official version of Draft/ Final Panel.

b) MEF-ICAI Multipurpose Empanelment Form 2016-17

MEF 2016-17 for empanelment of Bank Branch Auditors for FY 2016-17 is hosted at MEFICAI website. MEF 2016-17 is divided into three parts, i.e. i) Part A: For Bank Branch Auditor’s panel ; ii) Part B: For Additional information for Multipurpose Empanelment; and iii) Part C: For panel of Cooperative Societies and Cooperative Banks.

In line with ICAI Notification dt. 7 April, entities are being advised to avail the Multipurpose Empanelment data available with ICAI for allotting various assignments in response to tenders, including for Cooperative Societies. Accordingly PART B & PART C has been included in MEF 2016-17.

c) Other related items

View or Download PDF Copy:

 RBI Approved Audit Firms for appointment as CSA in Banks for 2015-16

 RBI Norms on Eligibility, Empanelment, Appointment of Branch Auditors 2015-16

 Revised MEFICAI Norms for Firm Category for Allocation of Bank Branch Audit

 RBI Norms for Appointment of Bank CSA from 2016-17 onwards

CAG may audit IDS, not individual declarations

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The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) may audit the just ended black money disclosure scheme for the process followed and how well it performed, but will not get into the disclosures made.

As much as Rs 65,250 crore of undeclared assets were declared through 64,275 declarations through the one-time four-month compliance window provided under the Income Disclosure Scheme (IDS) that ended on September 30.

“The information filed under the IDS is confidential and will neither be shared with any law enforcement agency nor any enquiry be launched by the I-T department,” an official said.

But the official auditor CAG may choose to do a performance audit of the scheme as a whole, the official said.

“It can audit the process followed in going about the scheme as well as how well it did. But no specific information on declaration made will either be gone into by the auditor or shall it be given,” he said.

The CAG had previously audited the Service Tax Voluntary Compliance Encouragement Scheme for the very same purpose.

The last tax amnesty scheme of 1997 – The Voluntary Disclosure of Income Scheme (VDIS), too, was audited by the CAG.

In its August 2000 report, CAG had found gaping holes and glaring defects in the VDIS saying it was drafted “with a number of lacunae which in turn, were compounded by CBDT circulars, clarifications and press briefings that benefited the declarants”.

The implementation of VDIS, it said, left a number of gaps in the procedural matters with distinct impact on revenue realisation.

The official said no adverse action shall be taken by the Financial Intelligence Unit or the Income-Tax department solely on the basis of the declarations made under IDS.

Also, no enquiry or investigation shall be launched on undisclosed income and assets declared under the scheme even if evidence is found subsequently during search or survey proceedings.

Specific information on declarations will not be shared with anyone including investigating agencies like CBI, he added.
Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/54639314.cms