GST to create one lakh jobs in three months

SPECIAL READS:

• GST impact: A complete list of cars that will become cheaper or expensive from July 1
• GST rollout: What is Input Credit? Here's what you need to know about it
• Are you ready to file 37 tax returns under GST regime? All your questions answered
• GST launched: Here's a look at tax slabs for household items

1943 hours: With GST reform in action, e-commerce players are optimistic that more tax benefits will come in within the new tax regime, which will be shared with the consumers, IANS reported. 

"Earlier, we were not able to take tax credit for many things. Now when we are able to take these, there is definitely some saving from the cost side also. If we have more margin, then we should pass it on to the consumer and we are definitely doing that," Vishwas Shringi, founder of Voylla Fashions, told IANS.

1930 hours: Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya today said the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST) will create one lakh jobs in the next three months.

"GST will have a lot of benefits not only for the economy....It is expected that with GST's implementation, as many as one lakh new jobs will be created in the next three months. It is also estimated that around 60,000 jobs will be created in the accountancy field," PTI quoted Dattatreya saying at a press conference here.

1905 hours: With a sound tax system and real time governance coupled with availability of surplus cotton, the year 2017-18 will be a good year for cotton textile industry, Southern India Mills Association (SIMA) said today, a PTI report said.

Welcoming the GST, SIMA Chairman M Senthilkumar appreciated the NDA Government especially Textile Minister Smriti Zubin Irani for bringing a seamless tax structure for the entire cotton textile value chain at the lowest slab rate of 5 per cent GST rate, the report added. 

1825 hours: Change in mindset necessary to become developed economy : FM Arun Jaitley at ICAI's event

1820 hours: A day after the Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into practice, Apple on Saturday reduced the retail prices of iPhones, iPads, Macs and Apple Watch models for its consumers in India.

The Rs 60,000 Apple iPhone 7 (32GB variant) can now be purchased at Rs 56,200. The Rs 70,000 iPhone 7 (128GB) is now available for Rs 65,200 and the Rs 80,000 256GB variant at Rs 74,400.  The base model (32GB) of Apple iPhone 7 Plus is now available at Rs 67,300 as opposed to Rs 72,000 previously. The 32GB model of iPhone SE (Rs 27,200), being assembled in Bengaluru, will now cost Rs 26,000. The 32GB iPhone 6s (Rs 50,000) is now available at Rs 46,900.

1805: Watch how people are feeling after GST comes into effect (Part 1)

1748 hours: Steel industry today said with GST rollout unorganised players in the sector will have to move to organised form of doing business.

Listing the positives of the GST for steel trade, SUFI said, the new tax regime abolished the special additional duty (SAD) on imported goods which was a very cumbersome procedure. There will be a shift from unorganised players to organised form of doing business. Another positive will be that the new indirect tax regime will bring "the trade and industry will be at par," Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI) President Nikunj Turakhia told PTI.

1732 hours: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Saturday said that GST will curb evasion. While addressing the media on first day of GST, said duplication of taxed encouraged evasion and GST will curb tax evasion. 

1722 hours: On the day the goods and services tax came into play across the country, a majority of cloth shops in Gujarat remained shut while those who kept it open said they did not carry out any business transaction, a PTI report said. 

Various cloth merchant associations in the state as well as in some other states had earlier called for a three- day protest across the country from June 27 to 29.

"There is no bandh call made by any association, but most shops remained shut on their own in protest. There is no business as no merchant has acquired GST number yet, and the situation is likely to continue until a solution is arrived at by government," PTI quoted Gaurang Bhagat, president of Maskati Kapad Mahajan, an association of cloth merchants in Ahmedabad.

1712 hours: The decision to reduce GST rate on exclusive tractor parts to 18 per cent instead of an earlier proposed 28% will provide a great relief to farming community, tractor manufacturers said today, a PTI report said. 

The GST Council yesterday cut tax rate on exclusive parts of tractors from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, while also announcing reduction on fertilisers to 5 per cent from previously decided 12 per cent, the report added. 

Tractor Manufacturers Association (TMA) welcomed the move saying that this would go long way in making small and medium farmers profitable. "The announcement of the GST council reducing GST on exclusive tractor parts has come as great relief to the farming community, which would otherwise have been impacted adversely," TMA said in a statement.

1700 hours: Caution ahead of the launch of the country`s biggest indirect tax reform -- the GST -- tightened the bear grip over the Indian equity markets, which settled in the negative territory for the third week in a row.

On Friday, the 30-scrip Sensitive Index (Sensex) of the BSE closed at 30,921.61 points -- down 216.60 points or 0.70 per cent from its previous week`s close. 

During the week, the Indian rupee weakened by five paise to 64.58 as against the US dollar from it`s last week`s close at 64.53 to a greenback.

1630 hours: Experts advice on GST, helpline to know about GST

1619 hours: Apparel stores in the capital continue with attractive schemes, but buyers much to their dismay found out that most brands have got costlier on account of GST as offers are not inclusive of taxes in many cases, as reported by PTI.

According to officials at different stores of Levi's, Arrow, United Colours of Benetton, and US Polo, while discount offers such as 'buy two get two' remain the same, the total outgo from consumers has increased as they have to pay extra taxes, the report said. 

WATCH: 'One Country, one tax', Special offers in shopping malls at GST launch

1610 hours: Confusion related to GST? Here's the expert advice!

1600 hours: People planning to purchase white goods will have to shell out more money from today as most appliances and durable makers have increased their prices in the new tax regime under GST, a PTI report said.

Durable makers would also go for another hike before the festive seasons as the industry is considering a price revision based on input credit, when their existing stock of raw materials and components would replenish, the report said.

"For our sector, the net tax would go up. The current tax rate is around 25-27 per cent and would go to 28 per cent. Therefore, immediately the consumer price, which is market operating price, would go up if brand and dealers want to retain the same margin," PTI quoted Godrej Appliances Business Head and Executive Vice President Kamal Nandi.

1546 hours: Domestic smartphone players on Saturday hailed the government`s decision to impose 10% basic customs duty (BCD) on cellular mobile phones and specified parts like charger, battery, wire headset, microphone and receiver, keypad and USB cable to protect local manufacturers.

"With the custom duty increase on the completely built unit (CBU) imports of mobile handsets, the government has shown its intent to support the `Make in India` initiative. We are thankful to the government for this bold step just before the implementation of Goods and Services Tax (GST)," Rajeev Jain, Director and CFO, Intex Technologies, told IANS.

1520 hours: The GST launch will enhance buying power of consumers as over 80% of the goods fall below the 18 per cent tax bracket, but SMEs need to work to remove technology glitches, say experts, a PTI report said.

"With 80% of the goods falling under 12% and 18% bracket leading to a fall in prices, GST will enhance the buying power of consumers without real increase in their income, which in turn will spur demand," PTI quoted Sachin Menon, KPMG (India) Partner and Head, Indirect Tax.

1500 hours: Sugar supplies and prices in the retail and wholesale markets will not be affected by the initial teething problems that traders may face in the coming days due to GST, a senior government official said today, a PTI report said. 

"Post-GST, sugar trade will definitely pick up. Traders will face teething problems initially, but those will be resolved. But the GST will not affect sugar supply in the market nor lead to increase in prices," the official told PTI.

1430 hours: Ministry of Finance on Saturday clarified that process of issue of registration certificate,GSTIN, is for both i.e.taxpayers already issued provisional ID for registration (PID) and new taxpayers.

Any persons who has PID may submit the required documents on GSTN for getting the certificate of registration.

It is clarified that a period of 3 months is allowed to complete this procedure i.e. formalities can be completed on or before Sept 22,.2017

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 1, 2017

Any persons who has PID may submit the required documents on GSTN for getting the certificate of registration.

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 1, 2017

Person granted PID & who opts for Composition Scheme,should submit an intimation of option in a prescribed form on GSTN on or before July 21

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 1, 2017

Intent of notify these rules is to start process of issue of Registration Certificate i.e.GSTIN to taxpayers issued prov. ID for regn.(PID)

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 1, 2017

Rules related to Registration & Composition Scheme have been notified on 19th June, 2017 and brought into effect from 22nd June, 2017.

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) July 1, 2017

However, person granted PID and who opts for Composition Scheme, should submit an intimation of option in a prescribed form on GSTN on or before July 21, the Ministry said.

Ministry said, "Intent of notify these rules is to start process of issue of Registration Certificate i.e.GSTIN to taxpayers issued prov. ID for registration (PID). Rules related to Registration & Composition Scheme have been notified on 19th June, 2017 and brought into effect from 22nd June, 2017."

1425 hours: Hailing the GST, BJP chief Amit Shah today said that the new tax regime would accelerate the country's economic growth and end the 'inspector raj', a PTI report said.

"The launch of GST has dissolved over 17 different taxes, converting them into a single tax, which will help traders, businessmen and small entrepreneurs. The BJP government, under the leadership of Narendra Modi, has provided relief to them from 'inspector raj'," PTI quoted Shah.

1405 hours: Finding GST registration difficult? Watch GSTN Chairman Navin Kumar answering questions

1400 hours: Former Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram on Saturday said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) would severely affect micro, small and medium traders and the law that has been implemented is not the way it was originally planned, IANS reported.

He said that traders wanted some more time for GST implementation but the government refused the give them the needed time. Chidambaram also said the GST will impact inflation, the report said. 

1315 hours: Niti Ayog Vice Chairman talks about economic reforms India will go through

1300 hours: In a bid to protect local manufacturers, the government has imposed a 10% basic customs duty (BCD) on cellular mobile phones and specified parts of cell phones like charger, battery, wire headset, microphone and receiver, key pad and USB cable from Saturday, an official statement said here, as reported by IANS.

The decision came on the day the government rolled out Goods and Services Tax across the country.

The BCD of 10 % will also be imposed on certain other electronic goods, the finance ministry statement said without specifying the items.

1230hours: Super Exclusive: Finance Minister talks to Zee media about his experience of crafting GST

1146hours: Know more what is so special about today's date

1133 hours: WATCH how India celebrating GST launch

1128 hours: Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian today exuded confidence of resolving teething problems of GST implementation in one-two months, a PTI report said.

"There will be some hurdles initially. But we will be able to remove them in 1-2 months," Subramanian told media after attending the GST rollout ceremony held in Parliament.

1117 hours: Lt Governor Kiran Bedi has hailed the launch of GST in a tweet and said that 'India is heading to become one common market-Indian Common Market' (ICM), a PTI report said.

'So far as Puducherry is concerned the GST is the product of non-stop work personally seen it done in Puducherry by Commercial Taxes Department,' she tweeted.

1110 hours: Goods and Service Tax (GST) is now a reality. President Pranab Mukherjee last night launched the new tax regime. 

Watch what President Mukherjee said while launching: 

WATCH LIVE GST EVENT HERE

0000 hours: President Mukherjee officially launches GST along with other digniteries

2359 hours: It is a tribute to the maturity and wisdom of India’s democracy. The new era in taxation is the result of a broad consensus arrived at between Centre and States. GST will make exports more competitive & also provide a level playing field to domestic industry to compete with imports, Mukherjee said.

Under GST, the tax incidence will be transparent, enabling full removal of tax burden on exports. GST will be administered through a modern world-class information technology (IT) system, Mukherjee said.

GST will create a strong incentive for buyers to deal with honest and compliant sellers who pay their dues promptly. Success of major changes always depends on their effective  implementation

2355 hours: Speaking at the event, Mukherjee said, this historic moment is the culmination of a fourteen-year long journey which began in December 2002.

"Introduction of GST is a momentous event for the nation," Mukherjee said. 

"I had the privilege of giving assent to the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act. I was closely involved in the design & implementation of GST as the then Finance Minister," Mukherjee added.

2350 hours: President Pranab Mukherjee speaks at GST launch in Parliament. 

2341 hours: PM Modi said that GST is not a success of any one party or any government, it's result of everyone's effort. 

"No burden on small traders on account of India GST", Modi said. 

"I wonder what Einstien would have felt about 17 taxes when he found income tax confusing," PM Modi said.

2333 hours: PM Modi said GST launch to set path for India's future journey. He said GST is a long though process. Further, he said that after midnight, India will get to new destination. 

Congratulating, GST Council, PM Modi said "best brains of the country have worked of GST."

2320 hours: PM Modi speaks at GST launch event. 

2305 hours: FM Jaitley said that old India was economically "fragmented". He said that GST done at a time when world facing slow growth. He said 

2301 hours: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley welcomes digniteries and briefs on GST. 

2300 hours: President Pranab Mukherjee reaches the venue where he will be giving a speech. 

2255 hours: Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaches the venue. Former Tata Group Chairman Ratan Tata too reached. 

2254 hours: GST launch event begins. Eminent dignitaries reaches Central Hall/

WATCH WHAT KISHORE BIYANI HAS TO SAY AHEAD OF GST LAUNCH

2223 hours: Passengers travelling in first class and air conditioned trains will have to shell out more for their journey after the roll-out of the GST from July 1.

According to the Ministry of Railways, service tax levied on tickets would go up to five per cent from 4.5 per cent, an IANS report said.

However, non-AC travel, including that by local trains, metro and religious tours will remain exempt from the GST, the report added. 

2210 hours: While the GST has been rolling out at midnight tonight, e-commerce companies are offering some large discounts till 12am tonight in their pre-GST sale. E-commerce companies such as Myntra, Flipkart, Amazon and Snapdeal are offering pre-GST deals from clothing and accessories, to electronics and consumer goods.

Some of the pre-GST top deals of Myntra for instance include 40-70% off on clothes and apparel brands.  Snapdeal's pre-GST sale is offering discounts up to 70% on electronics and consumer durables. 

Flipkart's pre-GST clearance sale is offering the Lenovo K5 Note being offered at flat Rs 1,000 off, Lenovo P2 up to Rs 2,000 off, minimum 60% off on Lee and Wrangler jeans and shirts, 20% off on women's bags, and others.

 Amazon's pre-GST sale includes deals on home décor items to appliances, cooker, pans, tupperwear, hard drivers, speakers and others.

2200 hours: Union minister M Venkaiah Naidu today said there would be some "initial hiccups" in rolling out the GST, but those can be addressed, a PTI report said.

"GST is going to bring great relief to people. I appeal to those working in the real estate to pass on to buyers the message of benefits of this tax," Naidu said after launching the new DDA housing scheme at the Nirman Bhawan here.

"In bringing out any reforms, there will be initial hiccups, but those can be addressed. The GST on one side and the RERA (Real Estate Regulation and Development) Act) on the other, will bring great relief and are a great combination. It will bring transformation and reform in the sector," the report quoted Naidu. 

2153 hours: Reserve Bank Deputy Governor Viral Acharya today said switch-over to GST is a key structural reform which will turn the country into a single market and make transactions easier across states, as reported by PTI.

"It is a very important structural reform for the economy to make us a nationalised market with ease of transactions across states...I think it is the kind of structural reform we should welcome," he said, the report said. 

"There will be some glitches and ups and downs....As long as the system and network is responsive to that (it is fine)," he added.

2129 hours: Union Minister Jayant Sinha today said that tax under the GST regime on commodities used by common people has been kept as low as possible. According to the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, luxury goods will be taxed at a higher rate under GST, as reported by IANS.

Sinha said that the central government wants "revenue neutrality" and is working to simplify the GST in the coming days.

The minister termed GST as "Gangtantra ka Suvedha Tantra", as digital invoicing, e-tax filing are expected to "make life a lot easier" for every genuine tax payer, the report added. 

ALSO READ: GST Impact: TV, AC to cost more, smartphones & small cars to be cheaper

2107 hours: The FMCG sector, which is expected to witness major change post GST, the FMCG companies are ready to pass on the benefits to customers. Speaking exclusively with Zee Business, Kishore Biyani said GST will have saving of 3 to 4 % on grocery bills.

#GST will have saving of 3 to 4 % on grocery bills @kishore_biyani @mihirzee #FreedomAtMidnight #MissionGST pic.twitter.com/HYQF3mLtol

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) June 30, 2017

#GST will reduce supply chain cost, says @kishore_biyani on Zee Business @mihirzee @VivekLaw #FreedomAtMidnight #MissionGST pic.twitter.com/tfDkUlquem

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) June 30, 2017

#LIVE: It's a level field now, everyone has come at the same level, says @kishore_biyani @mihirzee @VivekLaw #MissionGST #FreedomAtMidnight pic.twitter.com/UQxV0oOdxf

— Zee Business (@ZeeBusiness) June 30, 2017

ALSO READ: GST Rollout: This is what you will pay for movie tickets, airline & train tickets, footwear, cab rides and mobile phones

2059 hours: Future Retail has resolved the margins issue with almost 80% of its suppliers, including FMCG major HUL, under the new GST regime. The companies have agreed to pass on the pre GST margins to the Kishore Biyani-led retail firm in the new tax regime starting from tomorrow except some small suppliers, which would be resolved soon.

"We have resolved the issue of margins with most of the companies. We have also resolved issues with HUL," Future Group Chief Executive Officer Kishore told PTI.
He further said: "We have resolved almost 80% issues. Some small players have been left and it would be resolved one by one". The company would pass on the benefits on certain items arising out of GST to its customers, he added.

ALSO READ: GST to mask real growth trends in FMCG, says Credit Suisse

2050 hours: With GST coming into effect, your finances are set to take a hit. The banks and credit card providers or an insurer have already started sending alert messages to theit customers stating that they need to "pay higher tax post implementation of GST from July 1."

Customers currently pay 15% service tax for financial services. Starting from July 1, 2017 the GST will replace all indirect taxes like service tax and Value Added Tax. Financial services and telecom have been put in the 18% GST slab. 

In case of single premium annuity policies, 10% of single premium is taxable. So, for a Rs 1 lakh premium, Rs 10,000 would be taxed at 18% now as opposed to 15% earlier. So the tax payable goes up from Rs 1500 to Rs 1800.

ALSO READ: GST: Banks & insurance companies want you to save money by prepaying premiums, should you?

2043 hours: Union minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said the GST roll out will boost hiring across sectors by 11 per cent by creating an integrated national market which will promote domestic demand and drive job creation, a PTI report said. 

Rudy said India was on the cusp of an economic revolution with the roll out of the GST, to be effective from midnight. The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship today announced a training programme to certify Goods and Services Tax practitioners under its flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana to make the country's passage to the new tax regime smooth and glitch free, the report added. 

2033 hours: The GST is expected to benefit stakeholders namely industry, government and consumer. Praising the government's "big move", Anand Mahindra, Executive Chairman, Mahindra Group, in a tweet said that "At the stroke of the midnight hour...India will awake" as a common market for the 1st time. To do the obvious is often the most difficult.."

"At the stroke of the midnight hour...India will awake" as a common market for the 1st time. To do the obvious is often the most difficult..

— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) June 30, 2017

2032 hours: With GST coming into effect, mobile phone bills are expected to go up while recharges would yeild less talktime for prepaid customers from tomorrow as under GST telecom services will be taxed at 18% as compared to 15% currently. 

According to a report by IANS, this means that a user would get a talktime of about Rs 80 on a recharge of Rs 100, compared to about Rs 83 earlier. Similarly, costs for postpaid users would also go up to the extent of three percentage points. So, for a monthly usage of Rs 1,000, users will have to pay Rs 1,180 instead of Rs 1,150 currently.

2023 hours: Just few hours before GST rollout, Ministry of Finance said that GST Council has decided to reduce GST rate on fertilizers from 12% to 5% and on exclusive parts of tractors from 28% to 18%.

GST Council today decided to reduce GST rate on fertilizers from 12% to 5% & on exclusive parts of tractors from 28% to 18%

— Ministry of Finance (@FinMinIndia) June 30, 2017

2019 hours: Chief Statistician of India T.C.A. Anant GST regime will provide a much richer database than the tax database of the states and the central government, IANS report said.

"The GST is much richer database than the tax database of the Centre as well as states, because it simply integrates the two," he said at an interactive session organised by the Bharat Chamber of Commerce, the report added. 

2015 hours: While opposition parties are "not happy" with the GST rollout, Indian industry stakeholders on Friday congratulated the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government on historic-launch of tax structure. 

According to a report by IANS, Chandrajit Banerjee, Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said "GST is a paradigm for the world in cooperation, consensus and convergence for an economic reform. The Indian GST is unprecedented in model, scale, and technology adaptation and will impart huge momentum to the economy."

"GST is a big bang reform. It is the single biggest economic transformation in India since liberalisation in 1991. It promises to forever change the way business will be done in India, leading to a unified Indian market place and a wider tax base," said Harsh Pati Singhania, Director JK Organisation, IANS quoted.

Chanda Kochhar, MD & CEO, ICICI Bank, said: "The Goods & Services Tax is a transformational structural reform which will have multiple benefits -- the creation of a national market; enhanced ease of doing business; greater productivity & efficiency; and improved tax compliance."

2001 hours: As GST will be a reality soon, Finance Minister Jaitley  today rejected Opposition charge of GST launch being a 'self- promotion', saying they should focus on mainstream rather than latching on to "fringe" issues, IANS report said. 

He appealed to Congress, Left, TMC and RJD, who are boycotting the gala launch function, to rise above partisan politics.

The opposition parties have decided to boycott the midnight function in protest against the way GST is being implemented, claiming that it would adversely impact small and medium enterprises, the report added. 

1954 hours: The GST may not be perfect and may cause some inconvenience initially but the government will make amendments if that happened, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Friday, IANS report said. 

"I won`t say that it (GST) is perfect or that people won`t face any kind of inconvenience initially. It is a beginning," Gadkari said at the Aaj Tak GST Conclave.

"Some hard steps are needed to be taken but it will ultimately have a positive impact," he said. "I hope 99 per cent (transactions) will come under formal economy which would immensely benefit the nation."

Gadkari added that bringing petrol and diesel under the GST net would increase the revenue of the states and it was for them to decide if they wanted to move in that direction, report added.

He said 17 taxes and 22 types of cess would go due to GST implementation and the taxation system would become more efficient and simplified, it said. 

1945 hours: Watch LIVE launch on Zee Business

1933 hours: The big day for Modi-government is just few hours away. As the GST launch event will be a star-packed, here's a full schedule of the programme:

Central Hall-June 30, 2017

22:55 hrs: President arrives at Parliament House, received by dignitaries

23:00 hrs: President arrives in Central Hall

23:01 hrs: Playing of National Anthem

23:02 hrs:Felicitation and introductory remarks by Finance Minister

23:10 hrs: Film/Presentation on GST

23:15 hrs: Address by the Prime Minister

23:45 hrs: Address by the President of India

00:00 hrs: Launch of GST (including film)

00:03 hrs: Announcement by Marshal

00:04 hrs: Playing of National Anthem

00:05 President leaves

WATCH LIVE GST LAUNCH HERE

1918 hours: While we are talking about the essential items becoming cheaper post GST, there is one sector which will bring cheer to buyers. The sector is Automobile. 

For the automobile industry, the government has kept a minimum GST rate of 28% in addition to the cess which is added on various vehicle segments.

On a whole the automobile sector will see a mostly neutral impact due to the GST rollout. Prices of SUVs and large cars are expected to decline. Even for two-wheelers and medium and heavy commercial vehicles (MHCVs) such as trucks and buses, GST will have a marginally positive impact.

READ THE COMPLETE LIST OF CARS THAT WILL BECOME CHEAPER OR EXPENSIVE POST GST

1859 hours: Not only common man, even the professionals need to educate themselves for GST. The professionals here we are talking about are Charted Accountants.

All the CAs will need to upgrade themselves with working in a fully computerized environment, as the tax compliance under GST would be completely an online process. CAs would need to use a GST software for filing the return of their clients electronically under GST. There is a change in the format of invoices which are to be generated under GST.

"All the CAs who are maintaining the invoices of clients on existing accounting software would need to upgrade themselves on the new version of the existing software, or use specific GST invoice generating software," Archit Gupta, Founder & CEO ClearTax said. 

Invoices under GST would require details such as the tax under CGST and SGST (or IGST) and HSN code of the goods (or SAC for services). CAs would also need to quickly adapt to the reconciliation process as the timeline for filling GSTR-3 after September would be 5 days.

1843 hours: GST Council has fixed 3% GST rate for gold. Currently, gold jewellers pay 1% excise and 1.2% value-added tax (VAT) over and above the 10% customs duty on bullion. This effectively works out to 12.43%. 

With the introduction of GST at 3% for gold and 18% for making charges, and keeping customs at 10 per cent, the effective rate comes to 15.67%. So, the effective price escalation on gold jewellery comes to 3.24% points.

From the government's point of view, this is in accordance with their thinking/ planning — don’t invest in physical gold, rather invest in gold sovereign bonds. The consumer will also be better off as there is an interest coupon attached to bonds and it tracks local gold prices.

ALSO READ: Will investing in physical gold post GST a good option?

1824 hours: The tax rates under GST for all products and services will be at 5%, 8%, 18% and 28%. Last month in a GST Council meet, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had released a list of products that are termed 'essential' and will attract 0% the new tax structure. 

With GST coming into effect, your monthly household budget is set to take a hit and it will increase marginally. 

Unbranded food staples including vegetables, milk, eggs and flour will be exempt from GST along with health and education services.

Tea, edible oils, sugar, textiles and baby formula will attract only 5% tax. These essential and daily use items make up for about 80% of the goods used. Luxury items including motorcycles, perfume and shampoo, which account for about 19% of all taxable items, will be taxed at 18 per cent or higher.

1802 hours: GST Network today launched an offline Excel based format for traders and businesses to upload sales data on the GST portal. 

The Excel template, comprising eight worksheets, is part of GST Network's approach to make tax compliance easy and convenient for taxpayers and also reduce the time of compliance.

According to the official updates given on www.gst.gov.in, if you are existing Taxpayer under VAT, Service Tax and Central Excise, you can enroll yourself at the GST Portal. Enrolment window will remain open till next three months.

Every business carrying out a taxable supply of goods or services under GST regime and whose turnover exceeds the threshold limit of Rs. 20 lakh/ 10 Lakh as applicable will be required to register as a normal taxable person. This process is of registration is referred as GST registration.

Reportedly, during the first phase of registration, six million traders came in and then 6,00,000 more came in for the second phase. There was a shortfall of 1.4 million traders as in the existing system there were 8.01 million registrations. 

HERE'S HOW YOU CAN DO REGISTRATION UNDER GST

1748 hours: A day before the GST launch, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley gave an exclusive interview to Zee Business. 

WATCH FULL INTERVIEW HERE: 

1740 hours: Today's GST launch will be a star-packed affair. Reportedly, 100 eminent personalities across various fields are invited. 

Some of the big names includes actor Amitabh Bachchan, veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar, former Tata Sons Chairman Ratan Tata, Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and HD Deva Gowda, BJP Persident Amit Shah, former, RBI Governor Urjit Patel, NITI Aayog Chairman Arvind Panagariya, senior lawyers Soli Sorabjee, KK Venugopal and Harish Salve are among few of the people who will be attending the event. 

1715 hours: Ahead of GST rollout, Ministry of Commerce & Industry released data of Index of Eight Core Industries for the month of May. 

As per the Ministry, the Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 % of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).  The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 126.4 in May, 2017, which was 3.6 % higher compared to the index of May, 2016. Its cumulative growth during April to May, 2017-18 was 3.2 %.

Coal production (weight: 10.33%)declined by 3.3% in May, 2017 over May, 2016. Crude Oil production (weight: 8.98 %) increased by 0.7% in May, 2017 over May, 2016. The Natural Gas production (weight: 6.88 %) increased by 4.5 % in May, 2017 over May, 2016. 

Petroleum Refinery production (weight: 28.04%) increased by 5.4% in May, 2017 over May, 2016. Fertilizer production (weight: 2.63 %) declined by 6.5% in May, 2017 over May, 2016. Steel production (weight: 17.92%)increasedby 3.7% in May, 2017 over May, 2016. Cement production (weight: 5.37%) increasedby 1.8% in May, 2017over May, 2016. Electricity generation (weight: 19.85%) increased by6.4 % in May, 2017over May, 2016.

1650 hours: To understand the tax filing structure, first it is crucial to know about the forms which will be required. 

For monthly filing, forms GSTR-1, GSTR-2, GSTR-3, GSTR-5, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, GSTR-8, GSTR-11 are required. For quarterly return filing, GSTR-4 is needed, form GSTR-9 required for annual return filing and the final return form is GSTR-10. 

All these returns are required to be filed digitally online through a common portal to be provided by GSTN, non-government, private limited company promoted by the central and state governments with the specific mandate to build the IT infrastructure and the services required for implementing GST.

READ MORE ABOUT THE GSTR FILING HERE

Just few hours left for the country to witness one of the biggest changes in the tax structure since Independence. 

Goods and Service Tax (GST) will be the new face of India's tax regime starting from tomorrow. President Pranab Mukherjee, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, along with other dignitaries will officially launch GST. 

ALSO READ: A final check: How GST impacts your toothpaste to your car purchase

With the motto of "One Nation-One Tax-One Market", GST is expected to benefit stakeholders namely industry, government and consumer. It will lower the cost of goods and services, give a boost to the economy and make the products and services globally competitive, giving a major boost to ‘Make in India’ initiative. 

Last year on September 8, President Mukherjee gave approval for the passage of 101th Consitutional Amendment Act, 2016.

Soon after, on September 15, GST Council was formed to decide the rates, GST laws, GST Rules, Compensation Cess, Classification of goods and services into different rate slabs, exemptions, thresholds, structure for tax administration, etc under the new tax structure. Since then, GST Council held 18 meetings. 

Further, on March 29, 2017, Finance Minister Jaitley tabled four Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bills for consideration and passage in the Lok Sabha namely The Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Bill, 2017, The Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Bill, 2017, The Union Territories Goods and Services Tax (UTGST) Bill, 2017 and the GST (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017. 

ALSO READ: India of 2017 different from India of 1962: Jaitley

They were passed by the Lok Sabha on the same day and by the Rajya Sabha on April 6, 2017.

This is how the new tax structure will look like: 

• The threshold limit for exemption from levy of GST is Rs. 20 lakh for the States except for the Special Category, where it is Rs 10 Lakh.
• A four slab tax rate structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% has been adopted for GST.
• A cess would be levied on certain goods such as luxury cars, aerated drinks, pan masala and tobacco products, over and above the GST rate of 28% for payment of compensation to the states.
• The threshold for availing the Composition scheme is Rs. 75 lakh except for special category States where it is Rs. 50 lakh and they are required to file quarterly returns only. Certain categories of manufacturers, service providers (except restaurants) are out of the Composition Scheme.

GST is nothing without Information Technology. For that, GST Network was created as a section 25 private limited company with Strategic Control with the Government, to function as a common Pass-through portal for taxpayers. 

On this common portal, taxpayers will submit their registration applications, file returns, make tax payments, claim refunds etc. GSTN has been provided with a robust IT platform and it will provide interface to 80 lakh taxpayers and thousands of tax officials. 

ALSO READ: GST: The transition issues and what it means for India

All filings under GST will be done electronically.  While GSTN remains a front-end, at the back end, the IT systems of CBEC and different states interface with the GSTN IT network to provide a seamless end to end processing of tax returns for the taxpayers. 

64,000 officials have been trained on the GST portal from February till June 2017. The GSTN IT systems have undergone load tests, performance tests, vulnerability tests, security and all other mandatory tests.