Morung Express News
Dimapur | July 4
The Department of Taxes, Nagaland has set in motion a proposal to remove border Taxation check-posts subsequent to the Central government’s Goods & Services Tax (GST) regime, which took effect on July 1. A Nagaland state Taxes official informed today that the Commissioner of Taxes, Nagaland has sent a proposal to the state government for removal of Taxation check-posts.
“As soon as the department (Taxes) gets approval of the state government, the check-posts will be removed,” disclosed the official. The official stated the “file” has to reach the Chief Minister’s office before an official order to the effect trickles down.
When the government gives the go ahead to the department the existing Taxation check-posts will cease to function. According to the official there are 4 Taxation check-posts bordering Assam – 2 in Dimapur district and another 2 in Mokokchung district - run by the state Taxes department in Nagaland. The posts are currently located at Dillai and New Field in Dimapur and the other 2 at Tsutepela and Tuli in Mokokchung.
“With GST all information will be entered into the system. The need for checkpoints disappears… Because the supplier will check the distributor and the distributor will check the supplier,” said the official of the GST’s perceived check mechanism.
This however does not imply that it is mandatory for completely doing away with check-posts as states may choose not to close down existing check-posts. As per the official, Taxation check-posts exist to see that the proper tax papers are there.
While the stance of the Taxes department on the GST regime appears apparently clear, ambiguity prevails with regard to tolls (entry fees) levied by municipal authorities. When queried about this, a municipal official said that the department of Municipal Affairs is working on it.
Vehicle entry toll to continue on state borders: Centre says
New Delhi, July 4 (IANS): Clarifying on the unified pan-India GST that has set states dismantling their check posts, the central government said on Tuesday that vehicle entry and toll would continue to be levied on the state borders. “Toll, mandi charges, fee on vehicle entry into states to continue but there will be no levy of any entry tax on goods movement,” Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia told reporters here following the first meeting here of the Cabinet Secretary-headed Central Monitoring Committee on the GST.
The Union Finance Ministry on Monday announced that 22 states had already demolished their border tax check posts, while eight others are in the process of doing so.
“With the roll-out of the GST, 22 states in India have abolished their check posts,” a Finance Ministry release here said. Among these are Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and West Bengal. States where border check posts are in the process of being dismantled are Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Mizoram, Tripura and Punjab, the statement added.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) that came into effect pan-India, except in Jammu and Kashmir, from July 1, replaced the earlier myriad central and state taxes with a single national tax making the movement of goods much simpler across the country.
