The government will clear pending GST refunds of exporters by November-end and over the next six months no tax will be levied on exports as the Council has decided to revert to the pre-GST era, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said.

The Goods and Services Tax regime allows tax credit on stock purchased during the previous tax regime. This claim is available only up to 6 months from the date of implementation of GST.

Its benefits far outweigh the transition pangs and cost of efforts that large companies like HCCB have put to make the value chain compliant with the new structure.

The Finance Minister earlier ruled out any possible delay in implementation of the GST and said: \"We have been saying for the last six months it would be July 1 - nobody has any business not to be ready.\"

To clear the confusion around the new tax regime, the government has started a Twitter handle called GST@GoI where individuals can ask questions on the new tax rates on various goods and services.

Traders and retailers can file declarations within 90 days claiming tax credit for transition stock after the GST rolls out from July 1.

State level check posts which collect taxes on movement of goods will not be required under the GST regime that will take effect from July 1.

It has been designed keeping in mind large businesses and ignoring the problems that small businesses may face, says President of Federation of Indian Small Business.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday presented Union Budget 2017-18 in Lok Sabha. 

Union Budget 2017 would be a unique budget for various reasons - first this time the budget will be presented on February 1, instead of accustomed date of February 28, second the rail budget would not be presented separately, instead would be merged with the Union budget, thirdly this could be populist budget so as to soothe the pain caused to masses due to demonetization drive; and last but not least this could be last budget for current indirect taxes, in case much awaited Goods & Services Tax (GST) is implemented during next financial year.

GST roll-out by April 1, 2017 looks possible as initial developments show that the government is meeting the targets set in its roadmap.

With the current impediments that the government is grappling with on GST, there is still much that government can do to bring the current indirect tax structure closer to GST.

The IT/ITeS sector, one of the largest contributors to exports in the country, has played a vital role in shaping the overall growth story of India. In view of the challenging business environment, the sector has significant expectations from the ensuing Union Budget 2016 on the tax and policy initiatives front.

While modalities for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) implementation are being worked upon, the Union Budget 2016/17 provides an excellent opportunity to the Finance Minister to rationalise as well as iron out the inconsistencies in the existing CENVAT credit scheme.

The recent amendments to the indirect-tax laws have further added to the already unresolved challenges faced by the IT industry.

The Acchhe Din Lanewali Sarkar must be aiming at bringing out some big-ticket changes in this Budget that would bring a feel-good feeling to industry without disturbing the deficit calculations of the finance minister.

Pratik Jain, Partner at KPMG India, says one could expect the upcoming budget to take us closer to GST, even though the exact date of implementation is still likely to be a moving target.

The new Direct Taxes Code and the Goods and Services Tax, both of which are set to transform the direct and indirect tax structure.