Pan masala and gutkha manufacturers will now have to register their machines on the goods and services tax (GST) portal as part of measures by the government to cut down evasion in this sector.
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The GST portal has already issued one form for this while another form will be issued soon. “To begin with, facility to register the machines have been made available on the GST Portal to file the information in Form GST SRM-I. All taxpayers dealing in the items mentioned in the said notification may use the facility to file the information about machines. Form GST SRM-II will also be made available on the portal shortly,” said a notice on the portal.
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Form GST SRM-I deals with registration and disposal of machines while Form GST SRM-II asks information on inputs and outputs during a month.
Based on a decision by the GST Council, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs had in January this year notified a special procedure for registering packing machines and filing returns by pan masala and tobacco manufacturers.
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All these manufacturers would be expected to furnish the details of the packing machines that are used for filling of packages on the GST portal within 30 days of the notification coming into effect that is by April 1, 2024. The deadline was later extended to May 15.
To ensure compliance of this provision by the evasion prone sector, the Finance Act, 2024 has also introduced a penalty under which pan masala and tobacco manufacturers who do not register their packing machines with GST authorities will face a fine of Rs 1 lakh per machine. Further the machine could also be confiscated by the GST department. The penalty provision is however, yet to be notified.
