In order to ensure high transparency and productivity in the Department of Commercial Taxes, NIC, Goa started implementation of the VATSoft software in May 2008. Over the years, the software has been enriched by incorporating all the tax types to facilitate the Department of Commercial Taxes in carrying out its day-to-day activities. Department of Commercial Taxes, Goa, is administering levy and collection of tax revenue under the Goa Value Added Tax / Goa Sales Tax, Central Sales Tax, Goa Luxury Tax on residential accommodation, Goa Tax on entry of goods into local area and Goa Entertainment Tax Acts. With a view to ensure transparency and increase productivity, the Goa administration announced complete computerization of Commercial Taxes Department, a key revenue generator for the government. For the purpose of proper control and administration, the State of Goa has been divided into seven ward offices, while the overall tax administration is controlled and monitored by its Headquarters at Panaji. NIC, Goa was entrusted with the responsibility of computerization and it started with the implementation of the VATSoft software in May 2008. Over the years, the software has been enriched by incorporating all the tax types to facilitate the Department of Commercial Taxes in carrying out its day-to-day activities such as, Registration, Tax Collection, Returns, Transfer, De-registration, Statutory Forms, Scrutiny, Assessment, Audit Report, Acknowledgement, MIS Reports, etc. Backlog entry of Registration, Returns and Tax Collection has been completed to achieve 100 % data availability through the electronic system. Online Services for the dealers were started in August 2010. Initially, filing of returns, online generation of statutory forms & receipts and utilization of statutory forms services were offered to the dealers. These services were gradually increased over the years. All the services offered to the dealers are user-authentication based except registration services. Dealer can obtain username and password by online request, and the same is mailed to them by PIN mailer. As a security measure, the dealer is prompted to change the password compulsorily on his first login. In registration, renewal, casino ticket booklet request and refund services, the dealer enters and saves the details online, and submits the duly signed online printed application with necessary documents to the department for further processing. The dealer as well as department is benefited as data entry at the department is eliminated and data entry errors or mistake are almost negligible. Another advantage is that the dealer does not have to visit the office for obtaining application forms, etc and the cumbersome task of filling an application form is avoided. In filing of returns, audit report, statutory form services and payment of tax, the task is completed by using the online service with no visit to department. LIST OF ONLINE SERVICES CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FOR THE DEALERS:

  1. Dealer Registration (7 Categories)
  2. Renewal of Registration (5 Categories)
  3. Filing of Returns (7 Categories)
  4. Online Generation of Statutory Forms (5 Categories)
  5. Receipt of Statutory Forms (5 Categories)
  6. Utilization of Statutory Forms (5 Categories)
  7. Payment of Tax (2 Categories)
  8. Casino Ticket Booklet Request
  9. Refund Submission
  10. Audit Report Submission

ONLINE GENERATION OF STATUTORY FORMS Using this service, the dealer is able to generate the statutory forms online, after electronic approval by department. In case the dealer is regular in filing of returns, payment of taxes, etc., ‘Self Approval’ option is provided for generating the forms instantly. This feature is enabled or disabled automatically based on certain set of rules inbuilt into the system. The forms are generated in PDF format with a barcode and water marked background which has Government of Goa logo. The details of the forms can be verified by the receiving authority through department website by entering either the barcode number or form number and TIN. Hon’ble Chief Minister of Goa Shri Digamber V Kamat launching the e-Services Portal on 20th August 2010 AUDIT REPORT SUBMISSION Using this service, dealers can enter / print / verify / modify and finally submit the auditor’s report to the Department. UPLOADING OF DATA USING EXCEL Many a times for availing online services the dealer has to submit large volumes of data, like thousands of invoices has to be submitted for statutory forms. To simplify the process and avoid network connectivity issues, Microsoft Excel File Data Upload facility is provided for return, refund, audit and statutory form services. SMS AND E-MAIL INTEGRATION SMS services have been integrated with the application to provide instant confirmation to the users. SMS and e-mail alerts are sent with details of acknowledgement after the service is availed by the dealer. In case, the online application is further processed in the department, status messages are auto generated and sent through the system to keep the citizen informed on the progress. SUCCESS INDICATORS Most of the manual systems have already been replaced by the electronic system which clearly indicates the faith that the computerization has generated in the dealers and the government. The success of the project can be gauged with the number of activities that have been switched to ‘only electronic mode’

  1. Dealer registration accepted only through online mode.
  2. Statutory forms are issued only through online system. Department has discontinued printing of manual forms.
  3. Over 4 lakhs statutory forms have already been issued online since inception. On an average 600 forms are generated daily.
  4. Since dealer submits the invoice details while generating the form, utilization submission has become redundant.
  5. Filing of online returns has been made mandatory for dealers whose previous year turnover is above `50 lakhs.
  6. System disables online services for dealers whose registration is not renewed and vice versa.
  7. Over 13000 dealers are using online services, which is nearly 43% of the total dealers in the state.

FUTURE PLANS

  1. Introduction of Digital Signatures for submission of forms using online services and issuance of certificates and notices by the officials of the department.
  2. Scanning and storing of all the relevant documents of the department in electronic form so that the retrieval is easier and faster and enables quick disposal of cases and decision making.