Patna: The state government has set up a screening committee to which consumers can complain if businesses don't pass on to customers the benefits of the rate cut in the goods and services tax (GST).
The committee, which has been set up in the commercial taxes department, after assessing merit of the complaints will forward them to the Centre's anti-profiteering committee for action.
"Customers can email complaints to screeningcommitteebihar@gmail.com or send the complaints by post to the commercial taxes department head office in Vikas Bhavan, Patna," said deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi. "The details have been provided on the website of the commercial taxes department."
The state government has also asked officials concerned to visit the markets and find out whether the rates of items on which GST has been reduced have actually come down or not. The input from the officials too would be taken into account while initiating action against those not passing on the benefits of the GST rate reduction to customers.
Modi also clarified that restaurant owners who have opted for the composite scheme in which they have to pay fixed tax cannot charge GST from customers. Restaurants that have not opted for the composite scheme can charge 5 per cent GST.
Modi, who is a member of the GST Council, said the Centre had appointed a committee headed by GST network chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey to work for the simplification of return forms and issues related to the harmonised system of nomenclature (HSN) code and invoice matching, and Bihar too would submit its suggestions.
He called the Centre's revenue collection satisfactory after implementation of GST, with September revenue at Rs 93,000 crore and October revenue Rs 95,000 crore.
"The states would be getting at least 14 per cent more than the tax revenue from previous year and the same growth trajectory would be maintained till 2021-22. In case of any deficiency, the Centre would compensate the states accordingly," he said.
Going by that formula, Bihar will get GST revenue of at least 16,402 crore in 2017-18 and for the year 2021-22 the figure would be Rs 27,703 crore.
Modi also took dig at Congress leaders and said no Congress leader had said anything against the GST implementation in the council's meeting.
