By PTI
GUWAHATI: Assam Finance Minister Ajanta Neog on Monday tabled the Assam Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2021 following certain changes made in the GST Act which received Presidential Assent in March this year.
The GST Council has requested that the requisite changes and modifications be made in the state, so that uniformity of decision and applicability is maintained, Neog said while tabling the Bill to amend the Act.
The proposed legislation seeks to amend Section 7 of the Principal Act with retrospective effect from July one, 2017 by inserting a new clause, so as to ensure levy of tax on activities or transactions involving supply of goods or sevices by any person, other than an individual, to its members or constituents or vice versa, for cash, deferred payment or other valuable consideration.
It is also proposed to insert an explanation to clarify that the person or its members or constituents shall be deemed to be two separate persons and the supply of activities or transactions shall be deemed to take place from one person to another.
Another amendment is to insert a new clause to provide that input tax credit on invoice or debit note may be availed only when the details of such invoice or debit note have been furnished by the supplier in the statement of outward supplies and such details have been communicated to the recipient of such invoice or debit note.
The amended legislation will remove the mandatory requirement of getting annual accounts audited and the reconciliation statement submitted by a specified professional.
It has substituted this with filing of annual return on self-certification basis and it will further empower the Commissioner to exempt a class of tax-payers from the requirement of filing the annual return.
The Act will be amended to make seizure and confiscation of goods and conveyances in transit a separate proceeding from the recovery of tax.
An explanation will be included to clarify that “self-assessed tax” shall include the tax payable in respect of details of outward supplies furnished under Section 37 but not included in the return furnished under Section 39.
A new provision will be included to provide that no appeal shall be filed against an order, unless 25 per cent of the penalty has been paid by the appellant.
The Act will be further amended to empower the jurisdictional commissioner to call for information from any person related to any matters in connection with the Act.
Neog in her statement said that based on various representations and suggestions received, it was felt by the GST Council that certain amendments in the GST laws need to be carried out.
Based on the recommendations of the GST Council, various decisions that require amendments had been examined by the Law Committee and consequential amendments were recommended.
The GST Council approved the changes and the same were incorporated in the Finance (No 2) Bill 2021 and got the Presidential assent in March this year.
Subsequently, the GST Council requested to have the requisite changes and modifications in the state Act to maintain uniformity.
