The rules are expected to be finalized in the second meeting of the GST council to be held in New Delhi on Friday

The government on Monday released draft rules for registration, payment and invoices under the goods and services tax (GST) regime with the objective of minimizing the physical interface between the taxpayer and the tax authorities that will check corruption and harassment.

The rules are expected to be finalized in the second meeting of the GST council to be held in New Delhi on Friday. Once finalized, they will help companies make changes to their information technology systems ahead of GST’s rollout. The government plans to implement GST from 1 April 2017.

The draft rules stipulate that registration will be granted to a resident tax payer automatically within three working days in case the tax authorities do not raise any issues within that time. Non-resident taxpayers will be required to apply for registration five days before commencement of business and will have to deposit their entire tax liability in advance.

All these processes will be online—including any clarifications and responses sought by the tax authorities. The registration system will be based on the permanent account number (PAN).

Mint reported on 12 August that the GST network had already verified a majority of the traders’ PANs with the tax department’s database.

The tax payments can be done using electronic means or even by cash or cheque for tax payments of up to Rs10,000. In addition, there are provisions that seek to minimize the paperwork for transporters under this tax regime.

The last date for giving feedback or comments is 28 September.

“With these draft rules, industry can now start preparing a blueprint of the changes required in their IT systems and processes,” said Pratik Jain, leader of indirect tax at Pwc India.

“Its encouraging to see that rules largely envisage electronic interactions between the tax authorities and companies, with only need based physical intervention (such as verification of premises on the application filed for registration). Further, all the PAN details are to be verified online with the Central Board of Direct Taxes’ database,” he said.

Divyesh Lapsiwala, partner, EY India, said that e-commerce companies may end up with multiple registrations due to tax collected at source provisions in the draft laws.