Dimapur hosts GST workshop for women entrepreneurs

DIMAPUR — As a part of GST Pakhwada (Fortnight) leading up to GST Day on July 1, the CGST Dimapur, in collaboration with the Business Association of Nagas (BAN), organised a GST workshop themed ‘Empowering women entrepreneurs’ at CGST office on June 27.

The interactive workshop was attended by more than 30 women entrepreneurs from Dimapur, Chümoukedima, Peren and Niuland districts, an update stated.

Vice President (Women) BAN, Zubeno Mozhui, welcomed the participants to the workshop, highlighting its goal to educate women entrepreneurs on tax laws and financial awareness, in collaboration with the CGST department.

Additional Commissioner CGST, Sashi Wapang Lanu, conducted the workshop, providing insights on GST basics, including registration, tax rates, and compliance procedures like return filing and payment.

Lanu highlighted common mistakes small businesses make, such as obtaining GST registration but failing to file monthly returns, which can lead to fines and penalties.

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He explained that GST is a destination-based tax, meaning the tax revenue goes to the state where the goods are consumed, not where they're produced.

With GST, Nagaland benefits from higher tax collection due to its consumption patterns, unlike the pre-GST era when tax revenue went to the manufacturing state, he said.

The GST system has been beneficial to the northeast states as it seems to be plugging the gap created by the limited manufacturing base in the region. For every rupee of GST collected, 50% goes directly to Nagaland state government’s treasury and for a small state like Nagaland, where there are very few tax sources, the GST collection constitutes a high proportion (60%-70%) of Nagaland’s own tax revenue, the official shared.

Therefore entrepreneurs have an important role to play to take GST registration and begin to charge and collect GST from their customers once the annual turnover of their business exceeds the threshold limit of INR 10 lakh, Lanu added. 

A Q&A session followed where participants cleared various doubts on GST and tax matters in general. The workshop was also attended by Thangi Manen (IAS retired), Advisor to BAN.

“This collaboration between CGST and BAN will continue in the future and make efforts to organise such awareness workshops every few months,” the update stated.

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