Reiterating that GST is an essential business requirement rather than just a taxation system, Minister for Finance, Dr Haseeb Drabu today asked the District Administrations to assist local traders to register for GST at the earliest, especially in view of the upcoming festive season.The Minister said this while chairing a meeting convened to review the progress made with regards to bringing the traders under the ambit of GST in the state.Minister of State for Finance Ajay Nanda, Chief Secretary BB Vyas, Administrative Secretaries for various departments besides other concerned officers were present in the meeting.Divisional Commissioner Kashmir and Jammu, besides Deputy Commissioner of various districts also attended the meeting through Video Conferencing.Noting that upcoming festive season is the prime retail time for local dry fruit traders, Dr Drabu said that traders will require their GST registration numbers to be able to trade in national and international markets. In view of this, he directed the DCs to organize awareness cum training programmes to educate local traders, besides encouraging them to register for GST at the earliest.
Dr Drabu directed the Commercial Taxes department to focus on GST return filing and asked them to act as enablers and advisors in the field to facilitate filing of returns. Further, it was directed to train CSC/ Khidmat Center staff in GST filing procedure to facilitate local dealers.It was informed in the meeting that delays in filing of returns will invite a penalty of Rs 100 per day.The meeting also reviewed the status of PFMS implementation in the state. District Administrations were directed to ensure cent percent migration to PFMS for all centrally sponsored schemes by the end of October.It was further informed that lack of action and compliance regarding this direction will lead to restrictions in fund flow.
The Minister also took note of the progress made on implementation of e-procurement in the state besides reviewing the public expenditure made by various departments.