In a communication sent to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today, the Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) candidly accepted that over almost 4 years of GST implementation in India, the current registration of dealers under GST is almost 1.30 crore is much less than the volume of people engaged in business activities pertaining to goods & services whereas the current accrued revenue of Rs 1.15 lakh crore per month through GST is also highly insufficient. These figures of both tax base and revenue can be increased substantially provided both Central & State Governments should work closely to provide ease of doing business and widening the tax base and earning more revenue .
CAIT National President B C Bhartia & Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal in communication to Mrs Sitharaman said that there are about 8 crore traders, 1 crore transporters and 1.25 crore small Industries in the Country beside having a large corporate structure and large number of service providers engaged in business activities pertaining to sale & purchase of goods & services in the Country and large number of other sectors providing taxable services in India. Under such a vast spectrum of trade, industry and services that exists as on today, it is strange that so far only 1.30 crore people have obtain GST Registration. Even if it assumed that might be half of this huge number might be under the prescribed threshold limit, yet there exists quite huge number which should come under ambit of GST.
Both Mr Bhartia & Mr Khandelwal said that over last 4 years of GST implementation in the Country, the tax base should have been at leat 2.5 crore and the accrued revenue should be above Rs 2 lakh crore per month. Therefore, a serious discussion should be held between stakeholders and the Government that whether there are genuine roadblocks in adopting GST as a taxation system and what are the core areas where large number of people are avoiding registration under GST.
Mr Bhartia & Mr Khandelwal said that though traders and people of other vertical of trade & industry etc are more willing to join the ambit of GST because of its nature which is giving every trader in the system to avail facility of input credit. However, no step was taken in last 4 years to launch neither a statewide nor a nationwide drive to enroll people in GST and any awakening drive and in the meantime, the system has become complicated.
The CAIT has suggested that the GST Council should take assistance of more than 40 thousand trade organisation of trading community in widening the tax base and generation of more substantial revenue to both Central & State Governments but the Government and GST Council will have to take an initiative.
