“Given the mammoth task of giving rates to so many goods and services, there has not been a serious repercussion,” says Vanaja N Sarna, Chairperson of the Central Board of Excise and Customs. Sarna, who took over as the chief of the indirect tax board in April, when the preparation for GST was in full swing, believes the rollout of the new levy has been quite smooth. In an interview with BusinessLine , she also says the pending issues of dual control and an Anti Profiteering Authority will be finalised soon. Excerpts:

Are most States and sectors happy with GST now?

I would think so. The opposition came mostly from the textile sector in the beginning and a little bit in Tamil Nadu on entertainment tax, which was a locally imposed tax and not much to do with GST. But given the mammoth task of giving rates to so many goods and services, there has not been a very serious repercussion. The effort was to have revenue neutral rates as far as possible. We will always correct any anomaly in the rate.

At the ground level, officials of Centre and State GST seem to be not sure about division of powers?

The GST Council has already decided that under dual control 90 per cent of all assessees with a turnover of up to ₹1.5 crore would be assessed by the State and the remaining 10 per cent by the Centre. That is the parameter for working of officers. But how the division within the 90:10 and 50:50 is done, is still under discussion. I have had a meeting with some officers of the State. There is a lot of camaraderie between officials and I don’t think this will be an issue. We have told our officers that if any State official seeks advice on service tax or services, they must provide it. There will be a lot of give and take in the spirit of cooperative federalism. There were some initial concerns about work allocation but we have got 10 lakh new registrations, so everyone will get a lot of new assessees.

What is your expectation on revenue collection under GST?

It is too early right now. The only payments that have come in are for Integrated GST. We will have to wait until the returns are filed. Even then, estimating the revenue collection will take about three months before a trend emerges.

The GST Council has decided to set up the Screening Committees. But by when will the Anti Profiteering Authority be fully functional?

It is a three-tier system. For the National Anti Profiteering Authority, a selection committee led by the Cabinet Secretary is already working. We have also called for names from within CBEC and States are doing the same. The second level is the Standing Committee, which would also sift through complaints. It is in the process of formation and we are working with States to suggest names. For the ease of convenience, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has suggested that the four members — two each from the Centre and the States, should be from Delhi and Haryana because they are close in location. This way it will be able to have meetings at short notice without people having to come from far. The Screening Committee is also in the process of being set up. So hopefully, in the next two to three weeks, the whole structure will be formed.

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