Even tax officers left foxed by GST form

A few weeks ago, amid the furore over a massive rise in compliance burden due to GST, the government decided to do a reality check. It set up a few computers and asked several indirect tax officers involved with conceptualisation and implementation of the new regime to try filling up the forms themselves. While there were a few who managed to complete the task, there were several who had difficulty doing what they had been asking businesses to do all over the country. "Those who were computer-savvy managed to do it but there were some who took time," said a source, confirming the development. Suddenly, officers seemed to become aware of complications with the three-stage filing process. "It seemed there was a sudden change of heart, officers became sympathetic to something they were refusing to acknowledge for months despite complaints," said a revenue service officer. The change in mood in the government is apparent with the revenue department and the Central Board of Excise and Customs becoming more responsive to change. But before the officers took the test, the feedback in an internal survey wasn't too favourable either. A survey of businessmen was limited to Gujarat and Haryana and the overwhelming impression was that the process was too cumbersome. Small traders are complaining that GST has resulted in a split between fathers and sons and between brothers - with one of them taking care of the business, while the other handles compliance. The culprit is seen to be requirement to upload elaborate returns every month, then match the invoices uploaded by sellers before the final returns are filed and tax is paid. While the GST Council, comprising state finance ministers and headed by union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, has allowed quarterly filing of returns by businesses with annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore, a panel of five state finance ministers has recommended that change should be extended to all companies. The Economic Times, 9th November 2017

India moves into future at an unprecedented rate

India has opted for a digital pathway to move at an unprecedented rate into the future, but the country still has a long way to go to reach its full potential, according to an article published in a leading US-based management magazine. The write up carried in the 'Harvard Business Review' yesterday said that India was a unique story of government-led digital disruption and is building a digitally-empowered society. "Rather than seek to slow that process to reduce those challenges, India has taken the opposite approach: to not only embrace, but to accelerate digital disruption to ensure that it realises its full potential for economic and social inclusion," said the article titled 'How India is moving toward a digital-first economy'. India's development was inequitable and inconsistent for far too long, said the two scholars - Arvind Gupta and Philip Auerswald - who wrote the article, adding that the country still has a long way to go to reach its full potential. Gupta, head of technology for BJP party, is Eisenhower Innovation Fellow, and member of World Economic Forum's Digital Economy & Society Futures Council. Auerswald is an Associate Professor at the Schar School for Policy and Government, George Mason University. They said the process of digital disruption, whether or not led by the government, creates numerous, significant social challenges. The societal challenges created by digital disruption, both expected and unintended, are real, they wrote. "They will only be addressed with a combination of administrative humility and entrepreneurial determination. But the long-term benefits are real as well," it said. The Economic Times, 9th November 2017 .

Shiv Sena to contest Gujarat polls on its own

Mumbai, thumbing its nose at ally Bharatiya Janata Party, the Shiv Sena plans to contest between 50-60 seats in the Gujarat Assembly polls on its own, a senior party official said here on Thursday. A high-level team of the party, led by Gujarati Wing Coordinator and senior municipal corporator from Oshiwara Rajul Patel and another leader Hemraj Shah, is currently camping in the neighbouring state to finalise its candidates and political strategy. "We shall put up candidates in these constituencies, spread mainly between Surat to Ahmedabad, which has a large Maharashtrian-origin population, and even extending to pockets beyond upto Rajkot," Patel told IANS. This is because a large number of people originating from north Maharashtra, where the Shiv Sena has a significant stronghold, are either living or working in different parts of south Gujarat and other areas. "They are strong believers of our Hindutva agenda and we are going to concentrate on this large chunk in the elections. "However, Shiv Sena will not enter into any alliance with any party, though the final decision will be taken only by our President Uddhav Thacker. she explained. Party officials in Mumbai said that Sena - an ally of the BJP both at the Centre and in Maharashtra - has contested in Gujarat in the past and managed to dent the ruling BJP in at least three assemblies. The decision to contest independently in Gujarat is part of a long-term strategy to arrest "the twin influence of BJP President Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi" though it had stayed away in 2012, ostensibly to avoid "split in the Hindu votes", a party source said. This time around, the situation is drastically different and given the current sentiments in Gujarat and other parts of the country, the Sena is hopeful of making its influence felt there. As part of the strategy in the past few days, Thackeray has met Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) President Sharad Pawar and West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee. It had even invited the young leader of the PatidarBSE 0.08 % Anamat Andolan Samiti, Hardik Patel for a meeting in Mumbai in February. The Sena is likely to make an announcement of its entry into the Gujarat elections at a media gathering later on Thursday evening. In the 1960s, known for its anti-Gujarati plank, the party over the years softened its approach and even rewarded several Gujaratis with top posts including in the party, as municipal corporators, legislators and even in Parliament. The Economic Times, 9th November2017

JD (U), BJP natural allies, will fight 2019 polls together: Sushil Modi

The JD (U) and the BJP are "natural" allies and the two parties will fight the 2019 polls together, Bihar deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said. "When the time comes, we will sit together and divide the seats. We will fight together and Narendra Modi will be again the prime minister in 2019," he said at the India Today Conclave East here last night. He was replying to a question on whether the BJP might not feel the need for JD(U)'s support in the elections in 2019. The BJP in alliance with the Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) and the Hindustani Awam Party accounts for 32 out of 40 Lok Sabha seats in Bihar. "Alliance is a give and take. When both the partners feel they will benefit from it then only it will work. We will fight together," he said, hinting at his party playing a long inning with Nitish Kumar once again after the BJP-JD(U) reunion in July this year. His remarks assume significance as there were some discordant voices from leaders of both the parties on seat sharing for the next general elections earlier. After a meeting with MPs from Bihar, BJP chief Amit Shah had asked partymen to strengthen it down to the booth level in all 40 Lok Sabha seats in the state. The JD(U) also appealed to its workers to brace for contest on all the 40 seats. RJD supremo Lalu Prasad and other opposition party’s leaders had used the occasion to attack Nitish Kumar, claiming that he was marginalised by the saffron party to avenge an incident in 2010 when he had cancelled a dinner for BJP leaders over a tiff with Narendra Modi, the then chief minister of Gujarat. "The JD(U) and the BJP are made for each other," Sushil Modi said. "Nitish Kumar has been our partner for 17 years and again the JD(U) and the BJP have come together, it is a natural alliance," said the senior BJP leader, who also served as the deputy chief minister in the earlier NDA government. The JD(U) had severe ties with the BJP in June 2013 over elevation of Narendra Modi as the prime ministerial candidate. After collapse of an alliance comprising the JD (U), the RJD and the Congress in July this year, Nitish Kumar and the BJP once again joined hands after four years to form a coalition in the politically sensitive state. Sushil Modi's allegations against Lalu Prasad and his family of acquiring benami properties had played an important role in the disintegration of the alliance comprising the JD (U), the Congress and the RJD. When the JD(U) and the BJP coalition was sworn in again on July 27 this year, Sushil Modi was made the deputy chief minister. The Times of India 25th November 2017

Modi leads tributes to Sardar Patel on birth anniversary

'His momentous service and monumental contribution to India can never be forgotten' It was a day of tributes as Tuesday marked the 142nd birth anniversary of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Deputy Prime Minister of India. A leader of the Indian National Congress, Patel was one of the pioneering figures in India's freedom struggle. It also coincided with the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Prime Minister Narendra Modi of the BJP has never hid his admiration for the Congressman Patel. The Hindu 31th November 2017