Traders, MSMEs in J&K have time till mid-August to migrate to GST

Srinagar, July 18 (KNN) Traders and MSMEs in Jammu and Kashmir, the last state to switch to GST regime in the country, have got time till mid-August to migrate to Goods & Services Tax.

J&K Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu on Monday set mid-August as the operational target for traders in the state to migrate to the GST.

He has asked the administration to successfully implement the new tax regime.

In a meeting, Drabu said the apprehension within the business community about erosion of the state's fiscal autonomy has been taken care of.

"Now, the government functionaries at district level must take traders, businessmen, small scale industries and consumers on board for smooth transition from VAT to GST and they should achieve these targets by mid-August," he added.

"All stakeholders should register for the GST which is not just a tax number but business identification number that will strengthen the trade and establish them within their respective sectors, market places and consumers," he said.

Drabu was also for organizing regular awareness camps and programmes on GST and also take note of major concerns of the industry.

Drabu said the state is in a phase of transition from the Value Added Tax (VAT) to the GST which would take six to eight months to stabilise.

Addressing the concers of the business community Drabu clarified that under GST a trader only needs to file one return in a month with other two being auto generated by the system.

The finance minister said the state government has proposed use of 'khidmat' (help) centres as GST updating centres to supplement local traders and simplify the transition to the new tax regime.