RBI's e-Kuber be used for account settlement under GST: Panel

NEW DELHI: The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers has recommended that the RBI's core banking solution e-Kuber be used for consolidating and settlement of accounts under the GST system.

"The RBI should play the role of an aggregator through its e-Kuber system. Such role will facilitate participation of larger number of banks in GST receipts enhancing convenience for the tax payers and provide single source of information for credit of the receipts to Government accounts and thereby simplifying accounting and reconciliation tasks," it said.

The three reports of the Empowered Committee, pertaining to registration, payment process and refunds in the Goods and Services Tax (GST), suggested that internet banking, over the counter payment and NEFT and RTGS should be extensively used to facilitate payments.

Although the government had planned to roll out the GST, which is touted as the most comprehensive indirect tax reform since Independence, from April 1, 2016, it seems difficult in view as the Constitution Amendment Bill is stuck in the Rajya Sabha where the ruling NDA does not have a majority.

The government, however, is going ahead with the preparatory work necessary for smooth implementation of the GST, which will subsume various levies like excise, service tax, sales tax, octroi, etc, and will ensure a single indirect tax regime for the entire country.

On 'Procedure for obtaining registration', the Empowered Committee said "all the taxable persons shall interact with tax authorities through a common portal called GST Common Portal that would be set up by Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)".

The portal will have backend integration with the respective IT systems of the Centre and states, it said.

E-Kuber has been developed by RBI as a core banking solution, which ensures integrated payment and receipt mechanism.

In the GST regime, the EC recommended a tax payer would be required to obtain state wise registration. Even within a state, the taxpayer may either opt for a single registration or multiple registrations for different business verticals

At present, tax payers are separately registered with state and/or with Central tax administrations or with both based on their business activity.

The Report pertaining to refund process lists down situations where refunds would arise such as excess payment by inadvertence, export of goods/services, provisional assessment finalisation, credit accumulation and year-end/volume based incentives through credit notes.

It said while state tax authorities would deal with SGST refund and Central Tax authorities would deal with CGST and IGST refund.