Reports of scams and frauds by wrongly availing Input-Tax-Credit ITC under Goods and Service Tax GST indicate that already 3600 cases involving GST evasion of rupees 15000 crores due to wrongly availing ITC have been detected. It has become a common practice to sell GST-invoices to those availing false ITC when consumers do not insist on taking invoices or leave these invoices by getting some petty discount. These unused GST invoices are purchased by manufacturers to avail false ITC further leading to creation of unaccounted money thus evading even Income Tax also. To avoid this, a total overhaul of GST-system is of utmost necessity which has already undergone numerous amendments ever since it was introduced on 01.07.2018.
ITC should be available only for trading purpose, and not for manufacturing and service sector. Instead GST slabs can be reduced to compensate those who avail ITC honestly. For this GST in manufacturing and service sector may be kept at lower slab of 12-percent, even though best is to have a common lower slab of 10-percent abolishing slabs of 0, 3, 5 and 12-percent. Such a common 10-percent slab will give added revenue to public-exchequers with even commoners ultimately being relieved even though gimmick slabs of 0, 3 and 5 percent may be abolished.
Another higher slab of 30-percent may be for luxury and other goods of long-time use like even including air-conditioners, refrigerators, TV sets, washing-machines, cars etc where in some cases GST-slab was recently reduced from 28-percent to 18-percent. Even cess-culture on extra-luxurious items should be replaced by higher GST slabs in multiples of 50-percent.
SUBHASH CHANDRA AGRAWAL