Goods and Service Tax Network

A robust IT infrastructure is prerequisite to successful implementation of GST. The current status is as follows:

• For central taxes, the IT infrastructure is managed by the NIC and all the returns are filed through the ACES site.
• For states, the tax infrastructure is managed by the tax departments of respective states. There is a huge inequality in the IT infrastructure among the states.

In the proposed GST, government would be consolidating the returns to be filed and a new infrastructure has to be created from scratch. For this, a new entity Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) in the form of a non-government private limited company was created in March 2013.

In September 2015, Infosys had bagged Rs. 1380 Crore contract from central government to build the technology infrastructure for Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN). Infosys will work as managed service provider (MSP) for GSTN and the contract is for five years.

The GSTN company would provide IT infrastructure and services to the Central and State governments, tax payers and other stakeholders for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST).