Chief Minister Bhagawant Mann and Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema received requests for intervention from businessmen because of the show cause notice issued by the SGST (State Goods and Services Tax) dating back to FY 2016-17 and they are anxious about it.
Businessmen have appealed to the government to bring into effect the one-time settlement program (OTS) so they can be free from GST penalties. The request for charging only a small amount under GST for the pending evaluations has also been appealed by them.
Most industrialists of the city complained about their inability to present the essential C-forms for FY 2016-17, which in the end could lead to hefty fines. In this regard, the CM has also been requested to intervene by the Fastener Suppliers’ Association of Ludhiana.
The president of the Association, Rajkumar Single said that the SGST department has issued thousands of show-cause notices to industrialists of Ludhiana under sections 60 and 61 of the Punjab VAT ACT. Further, he added that the department is asking them to present before the officials with all the required documents according to the notices. The required documents that are needed include books of accounts, original purchase invoices, sale invoices, declaration forms, etc. Failing to do that a heavy fine or penalty and tax will be imposed.
Even a businessman from a city requested that under the OTS, the highest ceiling for VAT assessment of all pending years be maintained at Rs. 2500 for micro, small, and medium firms.
Since 90% of show cause notices and VAT assessments do not have valid forms, especially C-forms of FY 2016-17 so they remain a big problem. Respectively, they may be charged by the SGST department, if they are not able to complete their VAT assessments.
Therefore, The finance minister and the CM are requested by the association representatives to introduce an unconditional OTS scheme. So that all VAT assessment cases can be settled on an urgent basis or else businessmen may have to face a big financial loss.
