Indian label industry prepares for new tax

Label Manufacturers’ Association of India (LMAI) organized a seminar in Mumbai to help its members prepare for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) that will be in effect from July 1, 2017 in the Indian market.

Puneet Bansal, expert on GST, interacting with LMAI members

Attended by about 150 people from various regions, the seminar provided insights on the new tax system and ways to embrace it. Puneet Bansal, an expert on GST, was present to explain GST in a simple manner and answer the audiences’ questions.

GST is a comprehensive tax on goods and services that is to be paid by suppliers except in certain situations of reverse charge liability. Bansal explained the rate structure of the tax and how it affects manufacturing facilities. He made it clearer with numerous examples, case studies and answering queries of audience with facts and figures.

During the two-hour long interaction, he strongly recommended to the members that they must ensure migration to GST within time to avoid difficulty in GST registration. ‘It impacts the entire system so vendors must ensure its suppliers are under GST. ­­­Update your ERP to make it GST compatible and get familiarized with legal provisions under the new tax regime.’

Other topics covered during this interactive session included an overview of the tax regime, key constituents of GST law, compliances, impact on key transactions, transition to GST and next steps to be taken by the label industry.

LMAI will organize the same session in Bengaluru on June 22 and another in Delhi on a suitable date to be announced soon.