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March of the Professional |
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E-Vision – Maharashtra Sales Tax Department Shri Sanjay Bhatia, |
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As a part of Government initiative to use the Information Technology for the benefit of the common man and to bring efficiency and transparency in the working of the Government department, the Sales Tax Department, Government of Maharashtra has prepared its own e-vision. This digital transformation of the department will bring a paradigm shift in the working of the department, dealer as well as sales tax practitioners. I am sure, the tax payers must have started realizing the difference in the last few months. All the tax departments in the country are moving towards automation of their business processes. But, Maharashtra Sales Tax department has taken a big leap and is ahead of all the sales tax departments in the country. The Sales Tax Department is first in the country to shift from geographical administrative structure to functional base administrative structure. These two major changes compelled us to practically device a new automation system. e-vision goals and achievement The automation system in MSTD is known as, “Mahavikas” i.e. Maharashtra Vikrikar Automation System. The development of this system started during the BST era, long back before the VAT was implemented. After the introduction of VAT, we introduced drastic changes in the business processes and therefore the Mahavikas had also to be tuned accordingly. Progress so far made by the Maharashtra Sales Tax department in the field of e-governance 1. VAT/CST registration This is the place which a dealer has to visit personally for the first time after starting his business. This is the place which lays stress on the service aspect of the department. We started allotting the TIN through the automated system from 11-10-2006 in Mumbai and in a phased manner we covered the entire State on the 1st November 2006. More than 6 lakh TINs, have been generated and issued to the dealers so far through the automated system. The TINs are generated on the system by using inbuilt MOD-97 validation checks. This has helped in avoiding mistakes in data entry of incorrect TIN. This has also helped in pursuing the higher goals in automation such as e-return etc. Very soon, the department will start accepting the registration applications online which will further simplify the process of obtaining the TIN. This will also ensure a correct and clean data base of the dealer. 2. E-returns In Maharashtra, there are about 6 lakh VAT registered dealers. The periodicity of the returns depends on the tax liability, which could be monthly, quarterly or six monthly. Many of the dealers/practitioners may not have forgotten the calls on the due date every month (and also visits by the Inspectors) from the department to enquire whether a dealer had filed the returns and made the payment. This was sheer waste of manpower for collection of just information and also a cause for irritation for the dealers/practitioners. The dealers were required to produce copies of the challans during assessment to avail the credit. This was definitely far from a happy situation for all the stake holders. Even for the department there was no correct and immediate information available about the non-filers/late filers. In absence of any data base it was an adhoc approach in policy making also. In the intervening period, we started doing the data entry of the returns. But looking at the volume of the returns, data validation was a huge task, which would have required deployment of substantial staff. Also, the journey of a return from filing return in bank to porting the data on Mahavikas was very long. At this stage we thought that the only solution to come out of this vicious circle was to introduce e returns. This was a very ambitious project ever undertaken by the department. We therefore thought of implementing e returns in a phased manner. In the first phase, we covered the Large Tax Payers, i.e. monthly filers and in the second phase we covered the quarterly returns filers and in the last phase and the most ambitious ever i.e. to cover all the tax payers for the period ending March 2009. Many in the department as well as from the trade had apprehensions as to whether we would succeed. The department worked out a strategy to roll out this ambitious project. The Trade and the practitioners were taken into confidence. A series of meetings were held with the various trade bodies and the practitioners. A massive awareness drive was launched. Hundreds of training programmes were organized across the state for departmental authorities, dealers and the practitioners. Trade liaison officers were appointed for each trade association to educate them about the e-filing and remove the misgivings, if any. Hundreds of help desks were opened across all the locations of the sales tax department in the State to assist the tax payers in the State. The help desks were kept open for 12 hrs in a day and were opened on the holidays too. I must appreciate the active involvement of the sales tax practitioners in this process of reform. The entire department was geared up to face this challenge. A spirit of commitment was seen in the department to complete this dream project. It is definitely a matter of pride for everybody that so far 4.5 lakh dealers have filed e-returns and by the time this article goes to press the number may have swelled by a few thousand more. This makes the Maharashtra Sales Tax department as the first tax department in the country to take all the returns electronically in such large numbers. 3. E-application for CST declarations The dealers/practitioners, who may have visited the sales tax office for obtaining the CST declarations, may have witnessed long queues and the chaotic situations. The situation in the Central Repository Section was really a cause for worry and lot of tense moments for me as well as the traders/practitioners. After the introduction of the e-application for CST declarations, a dealer is able to file the application from the comfort of his office. The declarations are being delivered, free of cost, at the place of business of the dealer, without him having to attend before the Sales Tax Officer. This initiative of Maharashtra is now being imitated by many other States. 4. Updated, informative and interactive web site The present web site provides all the circulars (Trade as well as internal), Acts, Amendments, Manual of procedures, Downloadable forms, FAQs, Utility to e-enroll for e-services, utility for uploading of e-returns. This is a portal for availing of all the e-services. Very soon you shall see a new entirely revamped web site meeting all the requirements of the Trade, Practitioners, Departmental Officials as well as the General Public. We desire to make it a junction point for all the requirements of all the stakeholders. 5. E-Annexure VAT, being an indirect tax, refund of one dealer is linked with the payment of tax by his vendor. Therefore, it becomes necessary to confirm whether the vendor has paid the tax into the Government Treasury. One option is to depute the Sales Tax Inspector to visit the place of business of the vendor and confirm the sale and the tax payment. This process at times causes irritation to the refund claimant as well as the vendor and it results in delay in granting of refunds. We would be, therefore, introducing E-annexure, to be filed by the dealers in electronic form, containing the details of the sales purchase transactions. This can do away with the numerous visits by our Sales Tax Inspector and also could result in the grant of quick refunds. Needless to state that it is expected to bring the buoyancy in revenue also as there will be an check on the unscrupulous dealers who send the bogus bills. This utility is expected to start within 6 months. 6. E-payment of taxes Sales Tax Department shall be providing a payment gateway for all types of payments. VAT dealers would also be able to make all types of payments through this system from July 2009. 7. E-submission of statutory audit reports The dealers are filing the Audit Report in form 704, which contains quite a number of pages. Filling up this form in a physical format must be quite a tedious task for the Auditors. Physical storing and reading of these forms is also quite a task for the department. We would be, therefore, introducing a utility to allow the dealer to upload the Audit Report in an electronic form. This would also help the department in analysis of audit report. 8. E-refund applications and Refunds by ECS This would result in speedier grant of refunds and in the immediate credit of the refund amount in the dealer’s bank account. The dealer can make an application for refund electronically giving the details of purchases. The system itself will make x-checking and the refund can be deposited in the Bank account of the dealer by ECS. This will make the grant of refund as a faceless and speedier system for most of the dealers. This system is expected by July 09. 9. E-mail id to all the dealers We have entered into an agreement with “rediffmail”, who have agreed to provide free e mail id to all the dealers and also the departmental officials. The dealers would receive all the trade circulars, notifications, amendments etc. as well as intimation notices from the department. The department would also be able to send notices by e mail instead of sending the notices through the notice server or through the Sales Tax Inspector. This is also a unique system for Maharashtra Sales Tax Department. This system will also be in place by July 2009. I am sure, in the days to come the stakeholders shall witness the new face of the department. These changes itself will prepare the department to face the challenges of the forthcoming "Goods and Services Tax" Bill Gates has rightly remarked that, "The first rule of any technology used in a business is that automation applied to an efficient operation will magnify the efficiency. The second is that automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency." We are committed to efficient business operations supported by the technology and will start doing the "Business @ speed of thought." [Source: Paper presented at Two Day National Tax Conference held on 5th and 6th June, 2009 at Pune.] |