The Government of India has taken many initiatives to help you and your business pay taxes in a timely manner and in a hassle-free manner. It is important to understand the various taxes and the jurisdiction that they fall under. The following is a list of the major taxes in India and their jurisdiction.
Taxes in India fall under one of the three jurisdictions, either Central Government, State Government and Local Government.
- Central Government Taxes include Income tax, Excise duty, GST, Customs.
- State Government Taxes include GST, Entertainment tax, Toll tax, Professional tax, Octroi duty, Stamp duty, Luxury tax and Capital Gains tax. (Please note that many of the indirect taxes mentioned have been replaced by a GSTN.)
- Local Government Taxes include Property tax.
The following are some of the services offered by the Central Government and State Governments to help you pay your taxes properly.
Tax Information Network of Income Tax Department
The Income Tax Department offers various services, including pan application, tax calculations, returns filing, tax calendar, among others.
The Income Tax Department has also provided an online service for you to e-pay your direct taxes. To utilise e-pay, you must have a net-banking facility through an authorized bank. This facility is for online payment of direct taxes such as TDS/TCS by Company or Non-Company Tax Deductee, Payment of Advance tax, Self-Assessment tax, Tax on Regular Assessment, Tax on Distributed Profits of Domestic Company, etc.
Goods and Services Tax Network
The Goods and Services Tax was implemented across India in 2017 as a replacement for all other indirect taxes. All GST related services are offered through the GST Portal. The GST portal offers various facilities such as Registration for GSTIN, GST filing dates and GST calculation tools. The site also enables filing of gst return and has a gst helpline to offer assistance for any GST related issues that you may face.
Online Payment of Property Tax
Property taxes are levied at the state level and can vary significantly from state to state. The amount of tax payable depends on various factors such as the age of the property, the size of the property, whether the property is residential or commercial, etc. Some of the other local taxes that get levied along with the property tax are lighting tax, sanitation tax and water tax. All taxes related to the property are payable by the owner of the property on an annual basis.
Each state and municipality provides their own online portal to pay taxes under their jurisdiction.
In general, the coming of GST has impacted the taxation in the country favourably. The efficiency has increased manifold, and the collection of taxes too has risen greatly. The tax slabs under GST have been a boon for small business, and all other businesses now find it easier to pay taxes. Many of the indirect taxes that were to be paid to different departments earlier are now combined to form one tax for the entire nation that needs to be paid via a single portal.
What has also added to the convenience is the fact that taxpayers can go from A to Z of GST, all online and they do not have to ever visit a government office to get anything done. The registration for GST happens online and quickly to ensure that small businesses do not have to suffer the wrath of red tape.
The consequent processes after registration include the filing of returns which has to be done bi-monthly or quarterly and monthly depending on the bracket that you come under. The filing can be done easily via the GST portal that is easy to navigate and incredibly simple to get used to.
All in all, even though it took seventeen long years for GST to be implemented, the fruit is definitely sweet as it has added immensely to the ease of doing business in the country. Unsurprisingly, the implementation of GST as a one tax for the entire nation has attracted a lot of foreign investments into the country, which is definitely a good thing for the Indian economy.
