Seminars on Goods and Services tax (GST) are gathering steam in Goan industry with the deadline to the tax barely two months away. Recently the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) in association with KPMG organised a half day interactive seminar on critical issues relating to GST and its implications.

The session is on the heels of about eight similar events organised by the trade body over the last six months. It reflects the growing urgency among understanding GST laws and its impact on account of the revolutionary nature of the tax.

Meanwhile, the recent seminar was different from similar events organized by GCCI, in the sense that, it was only for unit owners. "Most unit owners in Goa send their accounts staff to attend GST related programmes. But we want to convey the message that GST goes beyond staff. It requires owners to come into the picture because it will result in many changes in the organization," said RS Kamat, director general, GCCI.

The changes will require companies to re-engineer and restructure their operations in the interest of achieving a greater tax-efficient structure, conserving cash flow and ensuring profitability, he said. According to Kamat, there are many practical  complexities of GST that are required to be understood  by unit owners so as to be  well  prepared  to  manage all related risks.

The seminar was at Hotel  Vivanta, Panaji. Himani Dhamija, assistant commissioner of central excise was the guest of honour, while Deepak Bandekar, commissioner of commercial taxes, Goa, was the chief guest. Santosh Dalvi, partner and head, western India, indirect tax, KPMG India, spoke on key features of the tax and how to prepare for GST in advance. Sandip Bhandare, vice president, GCCI, made the introductory speech.

 15 May 2017, 09:45 AM