The State government has decided to make submission of Aadhaar details mandatory for obtaining registration under the Goods and Services Tax.
The decision comes in the light of certain difficulties faced in the new tax regime, which is in nascent stages. One of the major issues that led to leakage in the revenues was fake registrations. It was therefore decided to amend the Act suitably making Aadhaar submission mandatory to curb fake registrations.
The Legislative Assembly on Sunday passed The Telangana Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill 2020 in this direction. Piloting the Bill on behalf of Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Animal Husbandry Minister Talasani Srinivas Yadav said the Bill envisaged putting in place a facility for filing of returns once in a year and payment of taxes once every quarter as part of promoting ease of doing business among small and medium tax payers. It was also decided to remove unnecessary litigations and confusion among taxpayers and implementing authorities by the constitution of National Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling.
The amendment prescribes the methodology for constitution, appointment, tenure, conditions of service and functioning of the appellate authority in addition to the manner of removal of its president and the members. Empowering the Anti-Profiteering Authority to impose penalty equivalent to 10% of the profiteered amount and provisions for making single authority for refund disbursal effective, charging interest only on the net tax payment in cash and facility to taxpayer to transfer amount from one head to another in the cash ledger were among the other highlights of the amendment.
Another Bill amending the provisions of the Telangana Payment of Salaries and Pension and Removal of Disqualifications Act, 1953 had also been passed by the Assembly. Accordingly, a person would be disqualified for being chosen as or for being a member of the State Legislature on the ground that the respective representative holds office of profit. The Bill was aimed at adding 29 more institutions including the posts of chairmen of several corporations like Kaleshwaram Irrigation Project Corporation, Urban Development Authorities, Official Language Commission in addition to the 121 institutions already listed under the Office of Profit. The House also passed a Bill repealing the Telangana Self-Help Group Women Co-Contributory Pension Act 2009 as the government had brought SG women who crossed 65 years into the ambit of Aasara pensions while several others would also be enrolled once the decision to reduce the qualifying age for pensions to 57 years was implemented.
