FinMin may develop app to file GST, set up facilitation centres: Report

The Finance Ministry is considering setting up facilitation centres and developing an app to help traders and small businesses file their Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns, The Times of India reported.

The facilitation centres would be similar to the Aadhaar Seva Kendras. It comes as the Centre has struggled to improve GST compliance for over two years now.

For the app, the GST Network (GSTN) that handles the I-T end and professional entities which file returns would be approached. The idea could be expanded to cover income tax and corporate filings to increase footfalls, but this may cause some delay in implementation, the paper added.

Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.

The measures would specifically target small businesses as they lack the internal infrastructure. Also, they depend on Chartered Accountants (CAs), who themselves are overburdened, and record low compliance.

Thus, the new support systems would allow existing service providers to tie up with the facilitation centres and ease the burden.

"Earlier, these accountants would come and collect papers from traders and file returns. A similar system needs to be devised since businessmen are still not confident," the paper quoted a tax officer as saying.