About 2,964,653 taxpayers filed for goods and services tax (GST) returns for July, under the new tax regime by Friday, and the number is expected to increase once all taxpayers file returns and pay their taxes.
However, the GST Network (GSTN), the technology backbone for the new tax system in India expects about 4.8 million returns to be filed overall. Over 34 percent of about 8.7 million filers have filed for their tax return, but 2.2 million are yet to complete the migration process, Business Standard reported.
Reports state that the eleventh hour rush to file the GST returns had resulted in the crashing of the GSTN portal last week. The government subsequently extended the deadline for filing taxes by five days to August 25. Filers who want to claim transitional input tax credit can submit returns by August 28.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi introduced the biggest tax reform in India on July 1, in a bid to replace multiple cascading taxes levied by the central and state governments. But the introduction of the indirect tax regime has spilled over several confusions among the businesses and the people in the country.
Both manufacturing and services activity in India dipped in July. Many railway projects worth Rs 1 lakh crore have lost momentum or stopped since July 1 as the new tax policy sowed confusion.
However, about 4.8 million taxpayers had saved their sales data on the portal till August 23 and are just a step away from paying taxes and filing returns. An estimated Rs 50,000 crore had come in as taxes from those returns.
The taxes filed include Central GST, State GST, Integrated GST and tax on cars and tobacco.
"We have to see the revenue realisation first. Government is not adamant on the rates. We have a federal structure. We have to take the view of the states also in the GST council," Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal said on Friday.
"You do not worry, the moment we feel that your revenue realisation is better, all other aspects of the rationale to the rate will be taken to GST Council, and will be decided positively in favour of dealers," he added.
