[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Commercial Taxes Department should clarify whether the Check-posts will return in the form of Physical Verification (PV) Centres: R. Krishnamurthy, PI A Prez
In a move that would give massive push to ease of doing business in the country, as many as 22 States in India have 
abolished their check-posts with the rollout of Goods & Services Tax (GST) in the country from July 1, 2017. Apart from Karnataka, the other States that have abolished check-posts are Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Haryana, Jharkhand, Odisha, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand.
Meanwhile, the States where check-posts are in the process of being abolished are Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Punjab, Mizoram and Tripura. According to a Gazette notification issued by the Commercial Taxes Department 21 check-posts have been abolished. These include nine in and around Bengaluru – airport, railway station, and borders of Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and four in Belagavi and Vijayapura, apart from those in Mysuru district, Mangaluru and Ballari.
According to media reports quoting officials of Commercial Tax Department, the very characteristics of check-posts will not exist. Their job was to find out if sales tax for the goods had been paid, and this is no more applicable from July 1. However, Mobile squads will continue to check for defaulters and violators.
Expressing his relief at the reported abolishing of check-posts, Sri R. Krishnamurthy, President, PIA said that the Commercial tax check-posts are the biggest hurdles for us. The waits at these check-posts used to be for more than an hour and the Dealers/businesses were harassed for bribes. “I hope that the reports of all check-posts having closed are indeed true as there are some conflicting reports also in the media. There are some reports that the check-posts will continue in Karnataka in a new avatar, notwithstanding assertions by the Centre and endorsed by states that they have no place in GST.
It is said they will merely operate under a different name, and will be called as Physical Verification (PV) centres – with the commercial taxes department opting to continue with the check-posts. The role of PV centres will be to stop trucks and verify if the goods they’ve declared on the GSTN web portal are actually the goods in the trucks. In fact the Check-posts did the same job under the previous tax regime. We are seeking clarification from the concerned authorities and will demand that the old check-posts do not return in any form whatsoever,” the PIA President declared. Karnataka, which originally had 42 check-posts, had done away with 22 once Value Added Tax (VAT) was introduced, leaving only 20 border-posts operational. Under GST, which proposes to have one tax system for the entire country, even these were to become redundant.According to Commercial Tax officials, the Department is planning to increase the number of mobile vans (posts) to 40 from the existing 20, and examining the need for a place to check if transporters are actually transporting only those goods that they have declared under the e-Way bill does not go away, which is why PV Centres are supposedly needed.
Incidentally, even under the VAT regime, when Karnataka introduced e-Sugam (which inspired e-Way bill), there were several discrepancies in declarations by Dealers. Similar problems are envisaged even under the e-Way bill, which will be more complex. In case of e-Sugam, only Dealers made these declarations and even that when goods had to enter or leave Karnataka. Under the e-Way bill, such declarations could be made from across the country and even transporters will be allowed to raise electronic bills. This means more checking is required to ensure that no goods are let off without taxes, according to officials.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
