THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala is one of the few states where pre-GST preparedness is at an advanced stage. It stands fourth among states in the country for the number of dealers who have migrated to GST with digital signature certificate or DSC. In Kerala, 60 percent of VAT dealers, or 1.56 lakh dealers, have migrated with DSC. Chandigarh tops the list with 70 percent. Andhra Pradesh (64 percent) and Maharashtra (61 percent) are the two other states that have done better than Kerala.
However, the state has issued 2.63 lakh provisional IDs. The Centre has already stated that dealers without DSC need not panic as they could carry on with their business with provisional IDs. (DSC is used to establish one’s identity while filing documents online through the internet. It is the digital equivalent to a normal hand written signature.) The 15-digit provisional ID would work as the Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN) for the first initial few months. “In that sense, 74 percent of dealers will have GSTIN in the state, and 76.43 percent (2.01 lakh) dealers have migrated to Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN),” finance minister Dr T.M. Thomas Isaac said.
This means that over 76 percent of dealers have enrolled in the GST portal, and will seamlessly migrate to the GST system from July 1. For other dealers, the portal for migration will open on June 25. According to Dr Isaac, the state has made all arrangements for receiving data submitted by a dealer at the central portal. The immediate requirement, he said, was the verification and approval of registration applications filed at the GST portal.
“The Central GST system will receive the new registration applications from June 25 onwards and the backend system in the state is ready to receive and verify the application for granting registration,” Dr Isaac said. The centre has extended the time-limit for filing of June 2017 returns till September 2017. Therefore, the minister said that there was enough time to develop other modules like assessment, appeals, audit, refund, and e-way bill. The state Commercial Taxes Department, along with National Academy of Customs, Excise and Narcotics (NACEN), has trained 1792 officials as part of GST capacity building programmes.
