Why GST for TANGEDCO users

COIMBATORE: Tamilnadu Generation and Distribution Corporation LTD (TANGEDCO), imposed CGST and SGST tariffs in electricity bills for customers who shifted meter boxes or installed new ones, with no prior information, causing a stir at their section offices. P Balaji, a consumer, told that “My bill amounted to Rs 420, but the staff at section office near Bharathiar University gave me a receipt for Rs 521. It showed CGST and SGST rates of Rs 49.50 each. The staff and higher officials couldn’t explain this.” He said TANGEDCO should have informed consumers about the charges in advance. “My electricity bill was Rs 62, but I paid Rs 135, including Rs 74 as GST. Even as consumers sought an explanation, the staff didn’t respond well,” said R Muthusamy, another consumer. TANGEDCO Chief Engineer (Coimbatore region) E David JEBASINGH said that they were not aware of what caused the difference in the GST charges. Suspecting technical issues, he promised to look into the issue. According to an official sources, GST was implemented in 2017 and TANGEDCO had upgraded its billing software in 2019. Some consumers availed new meters that cost Rs 100 as application charge and Rs 75 as testing charge. Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) is now charging consumers 18 per cent under GST across the State for these application and testing charges and not on their electricity usage. But, some consumers pointed out they paid a GST amount that was unrelated to the meter boxes. Tamil Nadu Electricity Board Thozhilalar Aykkiya Sangam, Thiru K.Veerasamy Yadav, General Secretary told The New Indian Express, “TANGEDCO should have informed about GST charges via a letter to consumers and all section offices. As the staff collected GST charges based on computer data without prior information, the unwanted tension picked up.” What If Electricity Comes Under GST India? We accept that the GST implementation slowly but reduced the drawbacks of the previously formulated tax collecting procedure. The Government is penetrating full-efforts to overcome loopholes in GST mechanism. As to some extent, it got succeed to overcome the transitional implementation challenges, it is the time to look forward to furthering firmness and improvements. The burden of highest tax slab rate, i.e. 28% has been reduced on many products. The GST Council is now working on to simplify the GST procedure6s for small business who are involved in selling to large enterprises. The inclusion of land and real estate under GST ambit is also the topic of discussion, right now. Besides, electricity is as well in the line-up to be included into the GST. Confusing Structure of Electricity Taxes There is a confusing prevalence of electricity taxes that change from state to state and in different categories i.e., high tax for industrial users and low tax for consumers. The tax imposed by the states change from 0% to 25%. The electricity is a good source of revenue for states as it comprises Rs. 31,000 crore, considering the states combined collection. On account, the electricity taxes of states covers 3% of total tax collection in own state and goes up to 9% considering the other states.