Tax professionals protest over GST returns filing in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD/ SURAT/ VADODARA: Little over a month before Gujarat goes to polls, tax professionals across the state are up in arms against the government over the problems faced by them in filing goods and services tax (GST) returns. As part of their protests, chartered accounts, advocates, tax practitioners and traders on Friday thronged GST helpdesks (suvidha kendras) in 25 cities and asked the authorities to file GST returns on their behalf.

"None of the officials were able to successfully submit even a single return, despite trying for a couple of hours.We have been facing various issues right from generation of arbitrary errors to penalties, among others," said Varis Isani, president, Gujarat Sales Tax Bar Association (GSTBA). Ahmedabad, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat, Bhavnagar and Junagadh were among cities where protests were held.

Commercial tax department officials said they are making their best attempts to resolve the issues related to filing of GST returns.

However, they denied claims of tax professionals who alleged that none of the GST returns could be uploaded successfully. Friday's protest was part of many programmes chalked out by tax professionals with the support of trading and business community to voice their concerns over the problems faced by them in filing GST returns. Teething problems in uploading GST seem to be snowballing into a political issue ahead of crucial polls in the state.

"Many tax professionals did not even know how to file the return and that indicates the lack of preparedness to address the GST-related issues," said Harnish Modh, a tax professional based in Ahmedabad.

"This is a very clear message for all those who believe GST will benefit consumers and poor.When the GST Suvidha Kendra, having highly qualified staff and equipped with latest updated software infrastructure, were unable to file the GSTR-2. How can the government expect compliance from a small trader or consultant?" questioned president of South Gujarat Commercial Tax Bar Association (SGCTBA), Prashant Shah.

A number of traders also joined the protest.President of Gujarat chapter of Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), Pramod Bhagat said, "Traders across the country are agitated due to the technical glitches and non-performance of the GST portal. We have asked the traders to boycott filing the GST return, till the government does not rectify the errors and technical problems in its own portal."

To further step up its pressure on government, Gujarat Sales Tax Bar Association (GSTBA) has also organised a mega rally and dharnas over the next couple of weeks. SGCTBA has decided to burn the GST effigy in the city on November 8. Despite repeated attempts, Commercial Tax Commissioner could not be reached for comment.

by via Surat News, Latest Surat News Headlines & Live Updates - Times of India