Who is collecting tax for sand brought in from Dimapur?
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, June 20 2019: Even though Electronic - Way or E-Way bill became mandatory for import of goods from one State to another since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) came into effect, questions are being raised as to whether necessary taxes are collected on the sand which are being imported from Dimapur into the State on a massive scale daily, and if so, then to whom the money is going to.

According to a reliable source, after GST came into effect all over the country, E-Way bill also became mandatory from April 1 last year.

However, for Manipur, Maharashtra and the Union Territories, it came into effect from May 25.As per the GST Council, all dealers/transporters or people who import goods from outside a State should register for GST and during such import, the dealer should use his or her TIN (Tax Payer Identification Number) and generate an E-Way bill which include the details of the goods.

While bringing in goods from another State, it is mandatory for the transporter to bring an E-Way bill.

If the value of the goods exceed Rs 50,000, then the transporter has to show the E-Way bill to the GST Inspector or any other similar authority.

Importing goods without such bill is illegal, the source added.

The source continued that high quality sand from Dimapur are largely used in a large quantity by the State for building construction and various other Government related projects as well.

However, most of the transporters care less about the said E-Way bill while bringing in the sand, the source alleged adding that according to the experts, Manipur imports around 70 to 100 loads of sand daily from Dimapur.

This particular type of sand costs around Rs 55,000 to Rs 60,000 per truck load with the cost increasing based on the quality.

If E-Way bill is generated while importing the sand, the State Government will get 5 percent revenue or Rs 3000 for a truckload of sand which costs around Rs 60,000.If around 50 such loads are brought in a day, Rs 1.5 lakh will go to the State Government as revenue, the source explained.

For a poor State like Manipur, proper implementation of such tax system is critically important, the source mentioned, adding that on the contrary, there are no signs which indicate that the sand are being imported into the State after generating necessary E-Way bills.

On the other hand, there are also suspicions that the sand are being disguised as local products at Mao so as to eliminate the need for an E-Way bill.

If this indeed turns out to be true, crores of rupees which could have gone to the State Government as revenue, have been diverted away, the source added.

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