Customers should contact GST related officials or GST cells set up by Ministries for clarity: Sitharaman on msgs of services getting costlier

New Delhi, June 30 (KNN) The text messages are being sent by many service providers like insurance companies etc on service tax being raised from 15% to 18% which they claimed would make their services costlier.

Speaking at the India Today Conclave on GST, Commerce & Industry Minister Nirmala Sitharaman clarified that such messaged needs to be verified as to why the service providers are saying that tax rates would be increased by 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, one of the reasons for this, she said, could be that may be earlier they were not registered, may be earlier their due taxation was not been filled up but today now the options are coming out clearly that you have to somewhere get registered whether you are tax exempt or otherwise, probably now what was otherwise due is coming on board.

On being asked that what should the customers do in such cases, she said the customers should contact the GST related official of the district whose numbers are given on the national as well as regional newspapers. Else, the customers can contact the GST cells set up by the Ministries and in case an anomaly is found, it would be corrected.

Sitharaman ruled out there being any compliance nightmare vis-a-vis GST but admitted that there will be a few issues.

However, Sitharaman stressed that the government has made preparations to tackle issues in the initial days of GST launch.

"The finance minister has already said that there will be some anxiety in a few sectors over GST. We are ready to discuss each and every issue," Sitharaman said.