Manual of Central Repository

Manual of Central Repository 1

1. Contents S.N Points Page 1 From To 2. Objectives / functions of the Central Repository. 4 5 History of forms issuance under the CST Act in the pre-vat period Change after introduction of VAT and reorganization of the Sales Tax Department. 3 Organisation Structure and Reporting authority. 6 6 4 Relevant Statutory provisions regarding issuance of forms 7 9 Relevant amendments, Trade and Internal Circulars. 5 Process and Procedure of issuance of forms ( in brief ) Procedure for registration for online facility. Procedure for submitting online application for forms. Issues while submitting online application. Facilities available to dealer availing online facility. Procedure to be adopted by the staff of the Sales Tax Department after receipt of online applications. Facilities available to the authorities and staff of the Central Repository for online applications. Procedure for submitting manual application for forms by a dealer. Procedure to be adopted by the staff of the Sales Tax Department after receipt of manual applications. Procedure for rectification of forms already issued to the dealer. Procedure for the issue of duplicate copy of the forms issued and lost by a dealer. Procedure for the cancellation of the forms issued and returned. 10 21 Procedure for the cancellation of the forms not issued. 6 Roles and responsibilities of various authorities. 22 25 7 Targets and key performance indicators. 26 26 8 Reporting formats of the branch 27 27 9 Control registers of the branch 28 28 10 Inspection procedure and frequency. 29 29 11 Comment on record filing system 30 30 Preservation of applications, registers and stock of forms 12 Responsibility and date of Updating of this manual. 31 31 13 Interaction with other branches of the department 32 32 Various formats. 1 format of application form prescribed for registration for online facility 30 34 2 Format of the online application facility registration inward register 35 35 3 Format of the register for dealers registered for online facility 35 35 4 Format of the daily courier statement printed by inspector 35 35 2

5 Format of the manual application form submitted by dealer 36 38 6 Format of details of the Invoice of the highest value in the period 38 38 7 Format of Statement of Requirement in MS Excel format 39 39 8 Statement of Requirement Form Filling Instructions 40 41 9 Format of Manual application inward register 42 42 10 Format of the defect memo 42 43 11 Format of receipt of stock of forms register 43 43 12 Format of issue of forms manually to a dealer 43 43 13 Format of issue of forms through courier to a dealer 43 43 14 Format of monthly reconciliation of forms 44 44 15 Format of Annexure to the application for issue of duplicate forms 44 44 16 Format of details of the forms already issued and lost 45 45 17 Format of indemnity bond 45 47 18 Format of the letter to be given to a dealer in case of lost form in 48 48 Maharashtra 19 Format of Register of issue of Duplicate copy of the forms earlier issued 49 49 20 format of notification of cancellation of lost forms 49 49 21 Format of register of cancellation of forms issued to dealer 50 50 22 Format of register of forms not issued cancelled suo-motu by officer 50 50 23 Format of Application for rectification of the statutory form under the 50 51 CST Act 24 Format of Register of rectification of forms issued 52 52 25 Format of computer monitor, printer and CPU allotted. 52 52 26 Format of Certificate for rectification of details on the forms issued 52 52 27 Format of monthly report to be submitted to JC/AddlCST/CST office 53 53 Chapter 2 2. 1Objectives / functions of Central Repository: a) Issuance of statutory forms (C/F/H/EI and EII) under the CST Act, b) Issuance of duplicate copy of forms issued earlier and lost, c) Rectification of forms issued, and d) Cancellation of forms. 3

2.2 History of forms issuance under the CST Act in the pre-vat period: Before the introduction of VAT in Maharashtra, the statutory forms C/F/H/EI and EII, under the CST Act were issued by every assessing officer of the Sales Tax Department. The dealer applying for issuance of forms could get the adhoc quantity of forms in advance of the actual inter-state sale-purchase transactions on the basis of periodic forms requirement. After the receipt of the forms from the Sales Tax Department, the dealer used to manually fill-in required details on the forms so received before sending the said forms to his inter-state counterpart dealer. 2.3 Change after introduction of VAT and reorganization of the Sales Tax Department: After the introduction of VAT, the Sales Tax Department has switched to the functional type of the organizational structure. Under the changed scenario, the process of issuance of statutory forms under the CST Act also, has been modified. 2. 4 Salient features of the modified process are as under. 1) Scope of the Registration Branch in the Sales Tax Department has been widened to include the function, called as Central Repository for issuance of statutory forms under the CST Act. 2) In case of Mumbai city, a special unit has been carved out of the registration branch to deal with the specific activities relating to the issuance of forms under the CST Act. 3) At places other than Mumbai city, in most of the locations, Registration officer in-charge of the location handles the additional job of issuance of the forms under the CST Act. 4) The dealer can now apply for forms only after he has entered into an interstate trade transaction. Thus, forms in advance of the actual transaction cannot be obtained. 5) The dealer can apply through online (web-based) or physical (manual) mode. If he decides to apply through manual mode, Statement of Requirement has to be submitted in soft copy in MS Excel format along with the hard copy. 4

6) Critical details in the forms such as period covered by the form, total number of invoices and value of the transactions covered by the form are filled in by the Sales Tax Department before issuance of the requisite forms. 7) Central Repository staff is supposed to perform basic functions such as issuance of fresh forms, issuing duplicate copies of the lost forms, rectification of forms and cancellation of forms. 8) In case of the locations where a Large Taxpayer Unit (LTU) is functioning, the functions relating to issuance of fresh forms, issuance of duplicate copies of the lost forms, rectification of forms and cancellation of forms, in respect of the dealers covered under the jurisdiction of a LTU branch, shall be carried out by respective LTU branch only. 5

Chapter 3 3. Organisation structure and Reporting authority for Central Repository: - a) At Mumbai : The Central Repository section is located at Mazgaon building of the Sales Tax Department. The statutory forms C/F/H/EI and EII under the CST Act relating to dealers having the principal place of business in Mumbai city and Mumbai suburban districts of kurla, Andheri and Borivali are issued from this location. This provision is based on the registration authority of the dealer. Central Repository, in Mumbai, has been allotted staff dealing with the specific and only function of issuance of statutory forms C/F/H/EI and EII under CST Act. For handling of online applications and manual applications, every Sales Tax Officer is supported by a team of two inspectors and two clerks. Reporting hierarchy of this section is as under. 1) Additional Commissioner of Sales Tax (VAT-2). 2) Joint Commissioner of Sales Tax (Registration). 3) Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax (Registration -4). 4) Sales Tax Officer. 5) Sales Tax Inspector. 6) Clerk. - b) At Moffusil : At places other than Mumbai, in most of the locations, Central Repository section has merged in the main Registration section since the Registration officer is also functioning as a Central Repository officer. Hence there is no separate Central Repository section /officer at these locations. However, depending upon the volume of work separate sales tax inspector and clerk may be allotted for the work of Central Repository. Consequently, reporting hierarchy for registration section and Central Repository section at most of these locations is same. Even at places where the registering authority and Central Repository forms issuing officer is not one, the reporting authority for Central Repository section and registration section will remain same. 6

Chapter 4 4. 1 Relevant Statutory provisions regarding issuance of forms: 1) Rule 12(1) of the Central Sales Tax (registration and Turnover ) Rules, 1957 A single declaration ( in form C) may cover all transactions of sale, which take place in a quarter of a financial year between the same two dealers: provided also that where, in case of any transaction of sale, the delivery of goods is spread over to different quarters in a financial year or of different financial years, it shall be necessary to furnish a separate declaration or certificate in respect of goods delivered in each quarter of a financial year. (Note: Legally, a dealer may apply for a form for a single invoice; however, it is not administratively possible for the Sales Tax Department to issue invoice-wise forms. Similarly, it is not physically possible for a dealer to apply for invoice-wise forms. Accordingly, the officers should allow forms only for a period and not for an invoice). 2) Rule 12(9)(b) of Central Sales Tax (registration and Turnover ) Rules, 1957- The provisions of the second and third proviso to subrule (1) of rule 12(1) shall, with necessary modifications, apply to certificates in Form "E-I" or Form "E-II". 3) Rule 12(10)(b) of Central Sales Tax (registration and Turnover ) Rules, 1957- The provisions relating to Form C in the rule 12 shall mutatis mutandis apply to form H. 4) Rule 12(5) of the Central Sales Tax (registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957 - The declaration in Form F may cover transfer of goods, by a dealer, to any other place of his business or to his agent or principal as the case may be, effected during a period of one calendar month. 5) Rule 4 of the CST ( Bombay) Rules : - Sub rule (1) (a) - the Commissioner shall constitute a 'Central Repository' for issuance of declarations and certificates prescribed 7

under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 in each office where the authority for granting the certificate of registration is situated. - Sub rule (1) (b)- The authority in charge of the 'Central Repository' shall carry out such functions as may be directed by the Commissioner from time to time. - Sub rule (2) The forms of declarations or as the case may be, certificates prescribed under,- ( i) sub- section ( 2) of section 6; ( ii) subsection (1) of section 6A; (iii) sub-section (4) of section 8; (iv) sub-rule (10) (a) of rule 12 of the Central Sales Tax (Registration and Turnover) Rules, 1957,Shall be obtained from the said authority - Sub rule (3) (a) - Where the dealer has only one place of business within the State, he or the person authorised by him shall obtain the forms from Central Repository situated in the office of the registering authority which has jurisdiction over such place of business. - Sub rule (3) (b)- If the dealer is filing separate returns in respect of any place or constituents ( Note: having same CST TIN and Name of business ) of business, other than the principal place of business, he shall obtain such forms separately from the Central Repository situated in the office of the registering authority having jurisdiction over each such place or constituents of business. - Sub rule(6) - A fee of rupee 3 in court fee stamp shall be charged for each such declaration in Form 'C', Form 'F' and certificate in Form 'H' and a fee of rupee 1 shall be charged for each such certificate in Form E-I or, as the case may be E-II. - Sub rule(15)- If, for reasons to be recorded in writing the authority in charge of the Central Repository is not satisfied that (i) any applicant for declaration forms prescribed under sub-section (4) of section 8 has made bonafide use of such forms previously issued to him or that he bonafidely requires such forms applied for, he may reject the application of the applicant for such forms; (ii) any applicant bonafidely requires such forms in such numbers as he has applied for, he may issue such forms to the applicant in such lesser number as in 8

the opinion of that authority would meet the reasonable requirements of the applicant. - Sub rule (18)- Before issuing the declarations or certificates in Form C, EI, EII, F or H, the authority in charge of the Central Repository, shall obtain from the dealer the details regarding the period to which the transaction relates, name and registration certificate number of the dealer who is to issue the form, name and registration certificate number of the dealer who is to receive the form, the total number of invoices in respect of which the form is to be issued, the value represented by such invoices and such other information as may be required by the Commissioner from time to time and shall fill in the necessary details in the form. After obtaining the forms so filled in, the dealer to whom the form is issued shall fill in the other details in the form, where applicable, and shall affix his usual signature in the space provided in the form for this purpose. The forms will be issued only in respect of transactions for which an invoice has been received, or, as the case may be, has been issued. 4. 2 Relevant amendments, Trade and Internal Circulars: a) Amendment to CST (Bombay) Rules, 1957 vide notification of the finance department No. CST.1306/CR-10/TAXATION-1 dated 24 t h February 2006 (regarding changed procedure of issuance of forms). b) Trade circular No.4T of 2006 dated 9 t h January 2006 (regarding changed procedure of issuance of forms). c) Trade Circular No. 10T of 2006 dated 29 t h march 2006. d) Trade Circular No. 17T of 2006 dated 28 t h June 2006(regarding procedure for submitting online application). e) Trade Circular No.44T of 2007 dated 14 t h June 2007 (regarding procedure for submitting Statement of Requirement in Excel format). e) Internal Circular No. 1A of 2006 dated 9 t h January 2006 (regarding changed procedure of issuance of forms). f) Internal Circular No. 36A of 2006 dated 29 t h November 2006.( regarding scanning of Statement of Requirement by M/ S. ECIL). g) Internal Circular No. 23A of 2007 dated 14 t h June 2007(regarding procedure for submitting Statement of Requirement in Excel format). 9

Chapter 5 5. 1 Process & Procedure of issuance of forms ( in brief): Presently, a dealer has two options for submitting application for seeking statutory forms under the CST Act. a) Online submission of application through internet, or b) Manual submission of application at the respective location of Central Repository according to the jurisdiction over the principal place of business of the dealer. If the application is submitted online then, the forms will be sent to the place of business of the dealer by the Sales Tax Officer through a courier and if the application is manually submitted then, the dealer or authorised representative will have to approach the officer physically and collect the forms. 5.2) Procedure for registration for online facility : In case of an online application, the dealer is required to first get himself registered for an online facility with the respective forms issuing officer of the Central Repository. For the purpose of onetime registration, dealer is required to fill and submit manual application in the prescribed format (see format No.1 ). The dealer can himself prepare the application or he can download the format from the website address www.vat.maharashtra.gov.in of the Sales Tax Department. There is only one pre-condition for registration for online facility that the applying dealer must have on at least one previous occasion taken the forms through manual application. In case of Mumbai city, since there is more than one issuing officer, the dealer or his authorized representative is required to approach application inward clerk for marking the application for registration to an officer. The inward clerk shall mark the applications received to all the officers one by one so that all the officers will get equal proportion of the applications. For this purpose the clerk shall maintain a separate register ( see format No. 2 ). The officer shall assign the registration application for verification to an inspector on the basis of workload. The inspector 10

shall verify the contents such as name of the dealer and his CST TIN and conditions, such as original payment chalan, chalan for last due return filed and the original copy of any of the statutory form last issued manually, for grant of registration for online facility. If the application is found in order the inspector shall put his remarks on the said application and forward the same to his officer. If for any reason the requisite documents are not self attested by the dealer then, the officer shall himself attest the photocopy of the said documents after verifying the original copies. The officer shall himself enter the all the details of registration and payment chalan on webbased application screen on the website address www.vat.maharashtra.gov.in of the Sales Tax Department and then register the dealer for online facility. For this purpose, a special hyperlink named as Administration is provided under the section We at sales tax on the website. After the registration, the officer should put his stamp and signature on the original copy of the payment chalan to indicate that the credit for this chalan shall be utilized only for the purpose of seeking statutory forms under the CST Act and not for the purpose of adjusting any dues of the dealer. Secondly, the officer shall maintain the register (see format No.3 ) of the dealers registered for online facility and payment of deposit made for that purpose. 5. 3) Procedure for submitting online application for forms: After registration by the officer, the dealer will receive user ID and password generated by the computer system, on his email addresses given in the registration application. The dealer can use this information for the purposes at the login for the first time on the website address www.vat.maharashtra.gov.in of the Sales Tax Department. For this purpose a special hyperlink named as online application for CST forms is provided at section At your service on the website. Once the dealer has made successful login, he can submit the data for the forms required by him. There is no need to attach any other document with the online application. After submission he will receive acknowledgment for the application submitted to a particular officer in the Central Repository. 11

5.4) Issues while submitting online application : - It should be borne in mind by the dealer that while applying for forms for a particular period to be submitted to a particular inter- State dealer, he should include all the transactions of all the branches of his business in Maharashtra State or if the dealer is doing business under various names, then he should make application in the name of only that business for which the CST TIN is issued but include the details of the transactions of all the businesses under that CST TIN. This will also apply to transactions of a registered dealer having a unit under package scheme of incentives. - The dealer should include the transaction details relating to a particular period on the basis of invoices (pro-forma invoices not allowed) and not on the basis of date of transport chalan, date of delivery of goods or the date of payment for the goods. - Separate application should be filed for periods prior to his holding CST TIN and periods since holding his CST TIN. - No forms shall be issued for a individual invoice in a quarter or a month in respect of any type of form including form H, form EI and Form EII. 5. 5) Facilities available to dealer availing online facility : The dealer availing the facility of online application can: a) Check online his forms application status b) Check online Ledger (payment) history c) Change password and d) Submit query to the officer. 5.6) Procedure to be adopted by the staff of the Sales Tax Department after receipt of an online application: a) Officer : - Every issuing officer is required to check, daily, the website address of the Sales Tax Department to know the pending online applications for CST forms. - If any online application is seen as pending, action shall be initiated by him to dispose off that application online. 12

- The officer may accept or reject the application on the basis of details furnished by the dealer. - Generally, the forms can be rejected on the basis of balance of deposit not sufficient, address of the dealer is not under the jurisdiction of the officer or if the dealer had already received the forms on earlier occasion for the details furnished now. - If the forms are accepted by the officer, he shall forward the accepted application online to a particular inspector. b) Inspector : - The inspector in turn shall save the application forwarded to him and print the details on the particular forms asked for using the computer printer and the forms printing software. - The inspector is required to sign on all the three portions of all the forms being issued to the dealer. - After printing of the forms the inspector is required to immediately fill the details of the series and serial number of the forms so issued on the web-based application. - The inspector shall, also, print the Statement of Requirement using the printing software and hand over the forms to a clerk for getting filled-in, manually, the details of the series and serial numbers of the forms so issued as a measure of backup operation. - The inspector shall finally print the courier statement (see format No.4 ) and address label of the dealer. c) Clerk: - The clerk shall paste the address label on the envelope and enclose all the forms printed after verifying the number of forms with the courier statement generated by the inspector. - It shall be the duty of the clerk to maintain the details of the forms issued through online facility in the forms issue register. - The clerk is also required to maintain the courier statements printed daily, so that the same can be compared with the delivery statements of forms submitted by the courier agency. This is also required for the purpose of verifying monthly, details of the forms dispatched and the delivery reports of the forms submitted by the courier agency. 13

5.7) Facilities available to the authorities and staff of the Central Repository for online applications : Following facilities are available to authorities and staff of Central Repository. i) To the issuing officer: - Send test e-mail to the dealer before registering him for online facility to check whether the email address is working. - register dealer online - Deposit money online (at the time of registration and thereafter) - Approve/ reject online application of the dealer. - Check transaction log. - Generate, view and save various statistical reports of his office. - Change password. - Check application status - Edit details of the dealer given at the time of registration. - Rectify forms issued to the dealer. - Cancel forms issued to dealer. ii) To the Inspector: - Forms save and print - Fill series and serial number - Generate courier statement - Fill envelope delivery details - Change password. iii) To the supervisory officer ( A. C./ D. C./ J. C./ Addl. CST/ CST): - Generate various statistical reports (such as registered dealers, deposits made, pending applications, monthly and cumulative D.O.) of any or all the Central Repository location in the State in respect of dealers registered for online facility. - View current status of any online application made. - Search the details of form issued on the basis of type of form and series and serial number. - Revert application request in case of wrong allotment to officer or inspector. - View forms issued history in respect of any dealer. 14

5.8) Procedure for submitting manual application for forms by a dealer: Under manual option, the dealer has to submit the prescribed manual application form (see format No.5 ), statement of invoice of highest value(see format No.6 ) and Statement of Requirement (see format no.7 / see format No.8 ) in soft copy ( preferably in a compact disk or pen drive) as well as hard copy on a paper sheet in prescribed format using Microsoft Office Excel computer software. The dealer can get the soft copy prepared at his place of business or through an approved data entry agency firm appointed by the Sales Tax Department. The application form is required to be submitted to an application inward clerk. 5.9) Procedure to be adopted by the staff of the Sales Tax Department after receipt of manual applications: a) Inward clerk : - In Mumbai, after receiving the applications, along-with soft copy of the Statement of requirement at the inward counter, the clerk shall make entry of the applications in the register (see format no.9 ) and mark the applications serially one by one among the officers. - The inward clerk shall mention the serial number of the inward register and name of the officer on the application form. - The clerk shall accept the applications normally between 10 am and 3 pm from Monday to Friday. - It shall be the duty of the inward clerk to take out the officer wise summary of the daily application forms received and submit the same with the register for the perusal of the supervisory officer of Central Repository. The dealer shall carry the application form from inward clerk to assigned officer. The officer shall, in turn, simply mark the application to an inspector on the basis of the workload. b) Inspector : The inspector shall verify the application as under: 1) Whether proper amount of court fee stamp is attached firmly on the application? 15

2) Whether hard copy of the Statement of Requirement attached and properly filled? 3) Whether self attested photocopy (or photocopy attested by officer) of the single invoice (pro-forma invoice not allowed) of highest value relating to the requirements (in the application) attached? 4) Whether self attested photocopy (or photocopy attested by officer) of the L/R, R/R, B/L relating to the said invoice attached if the dealer is applying for the first time? (original to be shown for verification) 5) Whether self attested photocopy (or photocopy attested by officer) of the chalan of the VAT / CST last returns due attached? 6) Whether counterfoils of any of the last issued relevant Declarations / Certificates Produced? 7) Whether the details in the annexure and the application correlate? Note : The purpose of verification of above mentioned questions is to check the bonafides of the applicant vis-à-vis the name and TIN of the dealer mentioned in the application form. In earlier system of issuance of forms the assessing officer knew dealer or his representative. However, in the modified system, dealer- officer nexus is delinked. Hence, it is necessary to verify above mentioned details before issuing forms. If the application is in order, the application will be forwarded to officer for his orders for issuance of forms. In many of the cases it is found that the dealer submits that the invoice or transport receipt or counterfoil is not available. In such cases, letter containing the explanation for these deficiencies needs to be obtained by the inspector from the dealer before forwarding the application to his officer. Sometimes, the dealer or his authorized representative produces original copy of the chalan but the photocopy is not attested 16

by the dealer, in such as case, the officer is supposed to attest the photocopy on the basis of original copy shown to him. Apart from the above, the inspector shall also verify - i) Whether the contents in the hard copy of Statement of Requirement and soft copy match in details provided? ii) Whether the periods (year/ quarter/ month) in respect of forms have been correctly written in the Statement of Requirement? However, if the application is not found in order in respect of above mentioned deficiencies and if the soft copy of the Statement of Requirement shows any error and fails to open, the inspector shall prepare a defect memo (see format No.10 ) and forward the same to his officer. c) Officer : - If the defect memo is submitted by inspector, the officer will verify and then issue the same. -If the application is in order, he will ask his clerk to process the application for issue. d) Clerk : - After receipt of issue order from the officer, the clerk shall take out the blank forms out of stock and make necessary entry in his stock issue register. - He shall then handover the forms to inspector for printing. In no case the forms shall be handed over to the dealer or his authorized representative before printing. e) Inspector : - The inspector shall print the details on the forms and verify the correctness of details printed on the forms. - He shall then sign on all the three counterfoils of all the forms to be issued and send the same for signature of the officer on the last copy of the forms. 17

- Finally, the inspector is required to update/ save the Microsoft Excel sheet (saved in forms issue database folder on his computer) of dealer by entering the series and the serial numbers of the forms issued to the dealer. - The inspector is also required to save/ backup daily all the Excel sheets of the forms issued during the days on the computer of his officer. This is very important since this database of forms issued will be ported / transferred to MAHAVIKAS database of the Sales Tax Department. f) Officer : After getting the forms duly printed by the inspector, the officer shall sign on the last copy of the forms and handover all the forms to a clerk for issue to the dealer. g) Clerk : - After getting the forms from the officer, the clerk shall take signature of the dealer or his authorized representative before handing over all the PRINTED forms. - The clerk is required to fill the details of series and serial number in the hard copy of the Statement of Requirement for the purpose of backup. Then he shall keep the application form in is custody for recordkeeping. 5.10) Procedure for rectification of forms already issued to the dealer : 1) The dealer shall apply for rectification of the details already printed on the forms issued by the Sales Tax Department. For this purpose he shall have to submit all the copies of the forms already issued to him in respect of which he wants rectification. 2) He shall apply in the format prescribed (see format No.23 ) in this behalf along-with the reasons for rectification. For this purpose no further document need to be attached for verification by the staff of the Sales Tax Department. 3) The dealer can directly approach the officer (instead of inward clerk) who had earlier issued the form. 18

4) The officer shall verify the contents of the application, put his remarks on the application and forward the same to his inspector for rectification in the database (at present Excel sheet). 5) The inspector shall make rectification on the statutory form as well as in the database (in Excel sheet), print Certificate in respect of rectification( see format No.26 ) and forward the same to the officer for his signature. 6) The officer shall sign the certificate and send it to the clerk. 7) The clerk will make entry in the register (see format No.24 ) and take signature of the dealer/ representative for receipt of copy of the certificate. Then the clerk shall keep office copy of the certificate along-with the application in his record. 5.11). Procedure for the issue of duplicate copy of the forms issued and lost: 1) If the forms are issued and handed over to the dealer and subsequently if these forms are lost then, the dealer shall apply in prescribed format and submit the necessary prescribed documents ( see format No. 15 / see format No. 16 ) for this purpose. 2) The dealer shall follow the normal procedure, as described above, for issuance of forms by submitting the manual application to the officer/ office who had originally issued the forms to him. 3) The relevant provision of rule 12(2) and 12(3) CST (registration an turnover) rules,1957 state that Where a blank or duly completed C form of declaration is lost, whether such loss occurs while it is in the custody of the purchasing dealer or in transit to the selling dealer, the purchasing dealer shall furnish in respect of every such form so lost an indemnity bond in Form G (see format No.17 ) to the notified authority from whom the said form was obtained, for such sum as the said authority may, having regard to the circumstances of the case, fix. Such indemnity bond shall be furnished by the selling dealer to the notified authority of his State if a duly completed form of declaration received by him is lost, whether such loss occurs while it is in his custody or while it is in transit to the notified authority of his State: Provided that where more than one form of declaration is lost, the purchasing dealer or the selling dealer, as the case may be, may furnish one 19

such indemnity bond to cover all the forms of declarations so lost. Where a declaration form C furnished by the dealer purchasing the goods or the certificate furnished by the Government has been lost, the dealer selling the goods may demand from the dealer who purchased the goods or, as the case may be, from the Government, which purchased the goods, a duplicate of such form or certificate and the same shall be furnished with the following declaration recorded in red ink and signed by the dealer or authorised officer of the Government, as the case may be, on all the three portions of such form or certificate,- I hereby declare that this is the duplicate of the declaration form/certificate No...signed on...and issued to...who is a registered dealer of...(state) and whose registration certificate number is.... 4) As per rule 12(9)(a) of the CST (registration an turnover) rules,1957, the provisions of sub-rule (2) and sub-rule (3) of rule 12 shall, with necessary modifications, apply to declaration in Form " F" or the certificate in Form " E- I" or Form " E- II". 5) If the officer has issued forms in a sealed envelope to a courier agency on the basis of online application by a dealer and if this envelope is lost by courier agency then, the said agency shall immediately intimate the sales tax office in writing and after obtaining the series and serial numbers of the forms contained in the envelope, file First information Report (FIR) with the police station in whose jurisdiction the forms were lost. The courier agency shall also give notice of lost envelope in two local daily newspapers. The sales tax officer shall ask the courier agency to file FIR and copies of the notice in the newspaper before issuing again the fresh forms in lieu of the lost forms. The sales tax officer should not, however, insist the courier agency to file indemnity bond with him, since only a sealed envelope containing the forms is given to the courier agency. The sales tax officer shall also proceed with the further action of levy of penalty on the courier agency as per the agreement. 6) After issuance of duplicate copy of the forms lost, the officer shall submit the draft notification (see format No.20 ) to the respective 20

Joint Commissioner for publication in the official gazette regarding cancellation of the lost forms. 7) In case of forms issued in other State and lost by the dealer in State of Maharashtra, the dealer in Maharashtra shall follow above mentioned procedure and submit the letter of lost forms to the officer having jurisdiction over his place of business. After verifying the claim of dealer, the officer shall issue him a letter (see format No.18 ), so that the dealer in other State can obtain again the duplicate copy of the lost form. 8) Note: The indemnity bond should be on Rs. 200 stamp paper and the value to be indemnified should be for the amount of tax involved in the transactions covered by the form lost. 5.12). Procedure for the cancellation of the forms issued and returned: The dealer may return the forms issued to him on the following possible grounds. 1) Same forms were issued on earlier occasion. 2) The type of forms requested and issued was not required. In such a case, the dealer shall apply in prescribed format to the officer who had issued the said forms. The officer shall forward the application to his inspector who shall make changes in the Excel database if the data is not yet ported in MAHAVIKAS, cancel all the copies of the forms and print the cancellation order. Then, the inspector shall forward the cancellation order to his officer for signature. Officer shall verify the details and sign the order. The officer shall then send the same to his clerk. The clerk shall take the entry in the register of cancellation (see format No.21). Finally the clerk shall take entry in the register for forms sent for destruction and send the cancelled forms to records section. 5.13). Procedure for the cancellation of the forms not issued: Sometimes the forms with the officers and not issued to the dealer have to be cancelled because of printing errors or any other reason. In such a case, the officer shall cancel the forms after following above procedure. The clerk shall then take entry in register of forms not issued cancelled (see format No.22 ) and send them to record section after approval from the officer. 21

Chapter 6 6. Duties and responsibilities of various authorities : - At Mumbai: Broadly, the roles and responsibilities shall be as under. A. Additional Commissioner of Sales Tax (VAT-2) (in Mumbai) shall be the supervisory authority for VAT. He will supervise the functioning and review the performance of VAT registration functions including Central Repository. B. Joint Commissioner of Sales Tax (Registration) ( in Mumbai) shall - 1) Be the supervisory authority for all the functions under the registration branch including Central Repository. 2) Be the Nodal Officer for coordinating with other locational supervisory authorities in the State for Registration function including Central Repository. 3) Be the Nodal Officer for coordinating with Joint Commissioner (HQ)-1, for any legal issues pertaining to the functioning of the Central Repository vis-à-vis Central Sales Tax Act and related rules. 4) Send for publication, in the Official Gazette, the notification for cancellation of lost forms issued by the officers of the Central Repository. 5) Enter into contracts with third parties relating to the outsourced functions of the Central Repository. 6) Conduct periodic inspection of subordinate offices. 7) Conduct yearly inspection of the forms issuing officers. C. Deputy Commissioner of Sales Tax (Registration -4) (in Mumbai) shall 1) Be the supervisory authority looking after Central Repository section at Mumbai. 22

2) Be the Nodal Officer for coordinating with Sales Tax Officer in-charge of the Stationery section at Mumbai in respect of issues relating to stock of various forms with the officers. 3) Be the Nodal Officer for coordinating with Central Repository officers at other locations in the State. 4) Be Nodal Officer for coordinating with M/S. ECIL relating to any problems of proper functioning of computer hardware in the Central Repository. 5) Be a Nodal Officer relating to any issues of courier. 6) Conduct periodic inspection of subordinate offices. 7) Submit periodic statements to J. C. office. 8) Conduct six-monthly inspections of the Sales Tax Officer. D. Sales Tax Officer ( in Mumbai) shall- 1) Approve or reject, manual and online, forms issuance, forms rectification, and forms cancellation applications. 2) Be responsible for maintaining sufficient balance of all types of statutory forms with his office. For this purpose he shall coordinate with the officer in charge of stationery section. 3) Backup daily MS Excel sheets of the forms issued to the dealer by him. 4) Be responsible for the safe storage of the stock of statutory forms with him. 5) Register the dealer for online facility on the basis of application. 6) Register payment for online facility after receipt of chalan from dealer. 7) Coordinate with and send Email to M/s. CNPL (nitinm@cnpl.co.in) for any problem regarding online issuance of forms. 8) Lodge complaint with M/S. ECIL helpdesk relating to any functioning of computer hardware in his office. 9) Follow-up with the courier agency for proper delivery of forms. 10)Conduct monthly inspection of the registers maintained by the clerks. 11) Submit periodic statements to D. C office. 23

12)Any other work allotted by Deputy Commissioner. E. Sales Tax Inspector ( assisting the Sales Tax Officer) ( in Mumbai) shall - 1) Be mainly responsible for verification of the manual applications submitted by a dealer in respect of issuance, rectification, and cancellation of forms. 2) Be responsible for printing the details of forms with the help of computer printers. 3) Be responsible for signing on all the three counterfoils of the statutory form being issued to a dealer after verification and printing. 4) Backup daily MS Excel sheets of the forms issued to the dealer by him. 5) Any other work allotted by officer. F. Sales Tax Inspector ( D. C. Office) ( in Mumbai) shall- 1) Assist Deputy Commissioner in day to day work. 2) Assist Deputy Commissioner in Inspection of Subordinate offices. 3) Put up files to Deputy Commissioner for further action. 4) Supervise the attendance of employees in the section. 5) Any other work allotted by Deputy Commissioner. G. Clerk ( with the Sales Tax Officer) ( in Mumbai) shall- 1) Be responsible for preparing and custody of registers relating to a) manual and online issuance of forms, b) rectification of forms, c) cancellation of forms, and d) stock of forms. 2) Be responsible for preparations of various periodic statements. 3) Be responsible for safe custody of the file-records of applications in respect of forms issued, cancelled and rectified. 4) Be responsible for preparing and custody of records relating to dispatch, of forms in envelopes, through a courier agent. 24

5) Any other work allotted by officer. H. Clerk ( D. C. Office) ( in Mumbai) shall- 1) Act as application inward clerk. 2) Maintain General inward outward register of office correspondence. 3) Regular updating of Internal and Trade circular files. 4) Prepare statements, monthly D.O. and confidential information. 5) Maintain record of attendance, leave etc of the staff of Central Repository. 6) Maintain stock register of staff-wise Computers/ Printer/monitors the Central Repository. 7) Any other work allotted by Deputy Commissioner. - At Moffusil : The role of various authorities in Moffusil is similar to the functions performed by authorities at Mumbai, subject to the following. i. The designation of Additional Commissioner and Joint Commissioner will be different. ii. Sales Tax Officer may report to Assistant Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner or Joint Commissioner depending upon structure of registration branch at each such location. 25

Chapter 7 7. Targets and key performance indicators : a) Financial targets - No financial or revenue targets can be set for Central Repository function. b) Physical targets- Since the Central Repository section deals with the issuance of forms, it is expected that in case of manual requests, the forms should be issued on the same day as far as possible and in case of online requests, the forms should be delivered within three days. -c) Key performance indicators: a) Issuing officer: Efficiency of daily disposal of applications, office attendance and behaviour with the dealers or his representative will mainly count as key performance indicators. b) Inspector: Efficiency of correct verification of the application forms, office attendance and behaviour with the dealers or his representatives will mainly count as key performance indicators. c) Clerk: Timely updating the prescribed registers, safe recordkeeping of dealer s applications and office attendance will mainly count as key performance indicators. 26

Chapter 8 8) Reporting formats of the branch : -Presently, every officer in the Central Repository shall submit monthly statistical report (D.O.) of the forms issued, as prescribed in the annexure, to his supervisory officer,. The Joint Commissioner having jurisdiction over the central repository locations shall finally consolidate all D.O. s of central repository locations and submit the same online on MAHAVAT mail to -It will be possible to generate periodic, dealer-wise, location-wise and form- wise analytical reports of the branch in the forms control module of the MAHAVIKAS system. - Every officer shall, at the end of each year, submit critical information on issues of administrative and legal matter in his section during the year to his supervisory officer. The supervisory officer shall offer his remarks and forward the same to the Joint Commissioner (registration) Mumbai. On the basis of collected information from all locations, consolidated annual report of the Central Repository branch shall be published. 27

Chapter 9 9) Control registers of the branch : - Every forms issuing officer shall maintain following control registers. a) Register for dealers registered for online facility ( see format No. 3 ), b) Register of receipt of stock of forms (see format No.11 ), c) Register of issue of forms manually to a dealer ( see format No. 12 ), d) Register of issue of forms through courier to a dealer (see format No.13 ), e) Register of monthly reconciliation of forms ( see format No. 14 ), f) Register of forms rectified (see format no.24 ), g) Register of Duplicate copy of forms issued ( see format No. 19 ), h) Register of forms issued to dealer cancelled ( see format No. 21 ), i) Register of forms not issued to a dealer cancelled ( see format No. 22 ), j) Register of old Application forms and cancelled forms sent to record section. k) Register of Monthly report to be submitted to JC/AddlCST/CST) (see format No. 27 ) - In case of Mumbai, a separate registers for: a) manual and online applications received and marked to officers shall be maintained by an inward clerk, b) Computer monitors, printers and CPU shall be maintained, staffwise, by a clerk in the DC office (see format No.25 ). 28

Chapter 10 10. Inspection procedure and frequency: a) By the Sales Tax Officer: He shall conduct monthly inspection of all the registers maintained by his clerk. For this purpose he shall verify that all the prescribed registers are paginated and all the entries in the registers are updated. He shall also ensure that the handwriting in the registers is easily readable. The officer shall also ensure that the database of forms issued to dealers on the monitors of his inspectors is updated in respect of filling of series and serial numbers of the forms issued. The officer shall submit monthly report of every such inspection undertaken to his next supervisory officer. b) By the Deputy Commissioner (in Mumbai): He shall conduct six monthly inspections of all his officers. For this purpose, he shall along with his inspector verify the correctness of the monthly reports submitted by his officers. He shall submit report of his inspection to his next supervisory officer. c) By the Joint Commissioner: He shall conduct yearly inspection of Sales Tax Officer regarding maintenance of registers and follow-up of procedures. 29

Chapter 11 11) Comment on record filing system Preservation of applications registers and stock of forms: - Every officer shall maintain separately the records of applications in respect of the forms issued by them in the storage cupboards or racks in the Central Repository section. - The applications should be maintained by the respective clerk, datewise, so that the application can be traced easily for future action. - The officer shall keep the statutory forms received by him from stationery section and all the registers maintained by his clerk in his safe custody. 30

Chapter 12 12) Responsibility and date of updating the manual: This manual is prepared considering the present status of the forms issuance process. In future, the process of receiving application forms may undergo some change. Secondly, the forms control module in MAHAVIKAS is not yet developed. Hence, procedure in that regard will have to be incorporated once that module is live. Thus, this manual will need updating from time to time. For this purpose Deputy Commissioner, Central Repository, Mumbai shall take the necessary action. 31

Chapter 13 13) Interaction with other branches of the department: Presently, the details of forms issued by Central Repository to a dealer during a particular period or for a particular period is not available to other branches of the department. This is because, at present, the dealer can get the forms manually from any of the office locations in the State and the offices of Central Repository are not yet connected through MAHAVIKAS intranet. However, once the data of manual and online issuance of forms is ported on the MAHAVIKAS, and TINXSYS (tax information exchange system), it will be possible for any officer to get the requisite information of forms issued to any dealer. The officers of the department can also get the information of bonafides of the forms received to any dealer in the State by logging on to the website address www. tinxsys. com. 32

1) format of application form prescribed for registration for online facility: To, The Sales Tax Officer Central Repository, Sales Tax Department. -------------------------- Sub: Application for registration of online submission of details and delivery of forms facility. Ref: Trade Circular No. 17 T of 2006 dated 28 June 2006. Sir, I hereby apply to register for the facility of online submission and delivery of statutory forms, under the CST Act 1956, at my place of business. I am submitting the required details as under. 1) Name of the Business: M/S --------------------------------- 2) CST TIN: -------------------------------------------------------- 3) VAT TIN (if applicable): ------------------------------------------------ 4) Date of effect of CST TIN: ------------------------------------------ 5) * CST RC: -------------------------------------------------------------------- 6) Date of effect of CST RC: -------------------------------------------------------------- 7) Complete postal Address of the Principal Place of Business (as per TIN registration application) (including District and Taluka). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------.8) Email ID: a. -------------------------------- b. -------------------------------- 9) Phone No (including STD Code): ------------------------------------- 10) Mobile No. -------------------------------------------------------------------- 11) ** Details of the payment (paid by chalan): a. Amount paid ------------------------------------------ b. Date of payment ---------------------------------------------- 33