Businessmen who have opted for Composition Scheme (paying of lumpsum tax) under Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime were unable to pay their quarterly taxes as the new form was not accessible on GST network even as the deadline ended on Thursday. Tax practitioners said that a new and more simplified system was proposed for the fiscal 2019-20 but the necessary forms are not accessible on GST Network, they claim. Now, speculations are high that the deadline will be extended. Dealers with an annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore have an option to avail composition scheme where a flat rate of 5% is charged and the traders are not entitled to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC). While other dealers have to file monthly returns and pay tax on a monthly basis, Composition Scheme dealers have to pay tax quarterly and file an annual return. However, from fiscal 2019-20 onwards, the process of tax filing has been simplified by merely mentioning the turnover. For which the previous form (CMP-04) has been replaced with a new form (CMP-08). The deadline for payment of tax for the first quarter of fiscal 2019-20 ended on July 18. "The old form is no longer applicable for the new financial year and the new form is not accessible. So dealers are not able to pay their taxes. While there are talks of extension of the deadline, there is no confirmation as yet," Harnish Modh, former president of Tax Advocates Association of Gujarat (TAAG). According to unconfirmed reports, the form would be available on GSTN on July 20 and the deadline will be extended to July 31. There are over nine lakh dealers in the country, who have availed the Composition Scheme. Gujarat has over 1.5 lakh dealers under the Composition Scheme. Another leading tax practitioner said on the condition of anonymity that the dashboard for filing of return does not appear on the network. He angrily said that the deadline will be extended because the government is at a fault. "When something is wrong on the part of the administration, the norms are relaxed, but if there is an error on the part of the businessmen, the government sticks to the norms and take penal actions," the tax practitioner told DNA. INACCESSIBLE

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