The all-powerful GST Council may set up a quasi-judicial authority or rope in an existing body to protect consumers from profiteering by business entities under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The model draft GST law, unveiled in November last year, had proposed an anti-profiteering mechanism to ensure benefit of lower taxes is shared with consumers. GST being one- nation-one-tax will lead to doing away with current system of tax-on-tax and any reduction in tax rate will have to be passed down to consumer. An authority can be constituted or an existing one entrusted with the task to examine that the input tax credits or reduction in tax rates are passed by registered tax payers to consumers. Under the new GST regime, which is likely to kick in from July 1, all traders and industries will have to get register with the GST network to pay taxes, file return and claim refunds. E-Permit will be issued by GST-Network at the time of departure if someone is sending goods overseas, adding the commodities, goods and services which are to be exempt from GST will be taken up at the meeting of the Council later.

(Economic Times)