The National Assembly today deferred the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax Amendment Bill of Bhutan 2022 until the taxation system is ready. The Finance Minister earlier proposed to defer the implementation of the GST Amendment Bill by two years.
The Finance Minister while proposing the deferment of the implementation of the GST more than a week ago, said that this is because of the operational readiness of the Bhutan Integrated Taxation System. According to the minister, although the software is ready, the software lacks tax compliance and tax evasion making it difficult to identify these issues. The minister said the ministry thereby cancelled the contract with Thimphu Techpark and they are looking for new experts from outside.
Lyonpo also said it is because of the current economic situation of the country.
“Neither the World Bank nor any other international organizations have proved that the economic situation would improve in 2022 and 2023. It is said that there is still a risk. And here, our economy is still not in a good state,” said Lyonpo.
The GST Bill was initially planned to implement in July last year. However, it was deferred to July this year as the Bhutan Integrated Taxation System was not ready then.
GST is considered to be the main tool to address tax leakages.
After much deliberation on the implementation date during the earlier session, the Bill was forwarded to the legislative committee for review.
The Bill will be now forwarded to the National Council.
Kinley Dem
Edited by Sonam
