GST refund to units under Central package hailed

Ambika Sharma

Tribune News Service

Solan, August 17

Industry associations have welcomed the Union Cabinet’s decision to approve the scheme for budgetary support under the Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime for the units availing the residual period of the Central industrial package.

The scheme has been introduced from July 1 and it will refund the Central share of GST and IST to the units till March 2020.

All Central exemptions to the units expire by March 2020 though the industry in the Northeastern states and Jammu and Kashmir were eligible for such exemptions till 2027.

While the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) will refund 58 per cent share of the various financial incentives according to this scheme, a time-bound mechanism has been propounded to ensure speedier refunds. The DIPP will notify the final scheme within six weeks which will include operational guidelines for its implementation.

The budgetary support provided under this scheme will, however, only apply to those units which were already availing exemption or refund benefits of the package. These benefits include 10-year exemption in Central excise.

Sanjay Khurana, former chairman, CII, Himachal, said the approval of the scheme for providing budgetary support under the GST regime was appreciable and this had put to rest the industry’s concern about delays on account of lack of budget.

He said a representation would be made to the Chief Minister to ensure that the state government on its part also announced a similar scheme to refund the remaining 42 per cent state share of the tax incentives.

Rakesh Bansal, senior vice-president, Parwanoo Industries Association, said it was laudable that the Centre had lived up to its expectations and now the state should devise similar criteria for the remaining 42 per cent share which was the legitimate claim of the industry.

The state government is yet to work out the details to ascertain how much financial liability it will accrue to refund the remaining 42 per cent share of the committed financial liabilities of such units.

Industry to write to CM 

A representation will also be made to the Chief Minister to ensure that the state government on its part also announced a similar scheme to refund the remaining   42 per cent state share of the tax incentives.