Under GST, all registered vendors on ecommerce sites are liable to 1% TCS. The objective is to capture all transactions in the ecommerce space and not allow anything to slip ups.

Considering that the score line in the last round of assembly elections before Narendra Modi's third anniversary of the assumption of power was 3-2 in the Congress's favour, one can only say that his approval rating has been average.

Consistent with the proactive outlook of the government, the rates so agreed to by the GST Council and the revised rules were released post the meeting in the public domain.

The Goods and Services Tax Council broadly agreed on 4 tax bracket for services, though they are yet to decide on a tax bracket for gold.

The expected date of implementation of GST being July 1, 2017, transitional issues becomes particularly relevant as the entire system of indirect taxation is undergoing a change.

With regard to services taxation, some states favour common services such as telecom, banking in the lower slab. Service tax rate is currently at 15%.

Unlike multiple taxes levied currently, the new tax structure will see a uniform rate of 28% on cars plus a cess of 1% for small petrol cars and 15% for luxury cars.

The Centre and states have agreed to impose cess on demerit and luxury goods under the Goods and Services Tax regime, over and above the peak tax rate of 28 per cent.

Daily use items like milk, fruits & veggies, food grains & cereals have been exempted; sugar, tea, coffee, edible oil, sweets placed in the lowest tax slab of 5%.

Ad-hoc policies like ban on export of food grains, limits on private stocking and tax on purchase of food grains (14.4%) should be revisited and withdrawn wherever possible.

GST is likely to make it easier to do business. But for that, there are some key tasks every business must undertake during the transition period.

The GST council had agreed to four slabs for goods 5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent along with a cess on sin and luxury goods .

Meeting the compliances effectively, dealing with the costs incurred and at the same time maintaining a consistent business performance - everything is going to be an uphill battle for the small enterprises.

A useful but a potent weapon at the hand of entrepreneurs especially decision makers at MSMSEs who are lookout for cost effective analysis tools, aiding in decision making.

The Indian market of smoked tobacco is dominated by bidis, which outsell cigarettes by 8:1 ratio.

MTR Foods hopes to usurp a chunky slice of the market with its recently launched breakfast range.

With GST, centralized registrations will become a thing of the past. Registration for GST for a business will have to be sought state wise.

For development of the coir industry the board had opened sub regional offices in Sindhudurg in Maharashtra, Hyderabad, Port Blair and Kavarati.

Manufacturers across the globe have kicked off the year with an optimistic eye to the future and are looking forward to nothing but net profit. 2017 is an exciting time for manufacturers gearing up for growth, and with most looking forward to the future they are investing in equipment, new manufacturing concepts such as 3D printing, and software to support digital transformation and new collaborative, connected factory floor competencies.

While theModigovt has maintained that it wants to move to the new tax regime from July, some tax consultants, industry bodies as well as a few states have suggested that a September launch will help with a smooth transition to new regime.