The service tax department has undertaken the massive exercise of training about 60,000 officers as part of its readiness for the proposed GST rollout.
“The department is presently going through a massive training exercise. About 60,000 officers are getting trained. The National Academy of Customs Excise and Narcotics (NACN) has taken the major role as a resource organisation in this matter,” CP Rao, Chief Commissioner, Service Tax, Chennai Zone, said while addressing a session on GST, organised by Assocham, here.
Both the Central and State government officials are being trained on the GST tax system.
Meanwhile, NACN has also released a set of FAQs (frequently asked questions) on GST related topics on its Web site. “The FAQs generally address most of the concerns raised by the trade and other organisations,” Rao said.
M Ponnusamy, Chairman, Assocham Taxation Committee, pointed out that GST was more than a management issue and called it a civilisation issue as the framework was destination and consumption-based compared to the current origin-based approach.
Vinod Surana, Co-Chairman, Assocham Southern Region, observed that ushering in of GST, coupled with infrastructural efficiencies such as integrated logistics hubs and cluster-based industrial development, will result in an addition of up to five per cent to the GDP (direct and indirect benefits), in the long run.