VAT in Manipur: Rates, Eligibility, Registration Process & Fee

The central government charges VAT from the business dealers, levying it upon the market price of goods and services. Knowing the VAT regulations will benefit you if you are a dealer from Manipur.

Curious to know more about VAT in Manipur? Get quick guidance from this article regarding its rates, registration and return filing.

What Is Value Added Tax?

Value Added Tax (VAT) is a popular consumption tax levied on each supply chain step. These are steps whereby supplies add value to a manufacturing process. The VAT in Manipur is charged from any process that adds value to a product or service. Dealers must add this tax to their products’ market price and pay it to the government.

What Are the VAT Rates for Goods or Services in Manipur?

Regarding the rates of Manipur VAT, the government has made two schedules mandatory as part of this law. The following table can help you understand the products that contain VAT and rates applied on these.

Schedule	Applicable Goods or Services	VAT Rate in Manipur
Schedule I	Precious stones (gold, platinum, silver, etc.)	1%
	Edible oil and kerosene oil	5%
	Utensils, hosiery goods
	Coconut fibre, bamboo, tea
	Ore and minerals, chemical fertilisers
	Used cars and tractors
	IT products
Schedule II	Good grains, fish, meat, fresh vegetables, salt, etc.	0%
	Books, handlooms, textiles
	Agricultural implements, tobacco, sugar, etc.

Who Should Pay VAT in Manipur?

According to the Manipur VAT Act, every dealer must pay VAT, considering they meet the following criteria.

If a dealer’s gross turnover exceeds the taxable limit (₹5 lakh), they must pay VAT.
Any dealer registered under the Manipur Sales Tax Act 1990 or Central Sales Tax Act 1956.

The government has set the following taxable limits for various dealers.

Description	Taxable Limit
Dealers who import goods to Manipur for sale on his/her behalf	Nil
Those who manufacture and produce goods for sale	₹4 lakh
Dealers engaged in any other business apart from the two mentioned above	₹3 lakh
Those involved in executing work contracts	₹50,000

How to Register for VAT in Meghalaya Online?

Any dealer can register with the Excise Registration Taxation Stamps Department or choose to e-Register for VAT in Meghalaya through the official portal. E-registration service allows business owners to fill out the forms online and apply for VAT registration certificates without hassle.

The steps to register for VAT online are as follows:

Step 1: Log in to the official website

Step 2: Navigate to the "services" tab and search for Excise Registration Taxation Stamps Department in the Department/Office Wise section

Steps 3: Click on online VAT registration

Step 4: There are 9 tabs in the registration module

Step 5: Initially, applicants can only access two tabs, and these are "registration guide" and "dealer details"

Step 6: Applicants who want to apply for fresh registration need to navigate to "dealer details"

Step 7: One can only move further after filling up all information in the "dealer details" segment

Step 8: Dealers need to input their current email and phone number so that authorities can contact them when required

Step 9: Applicants also need to fill up a certain form. These Meghalaya VAT forms include:

Form 1 – This form is an application for registration
Form 2 – This is a certificate of registration under Section 31
Form 32 – This is a tax invoice form
Form 17 – This form is for declaration for importing taxable products into Meghalaya
Form 18 – This form is a declaration for taxable shipping goods outside Meghalaya
Form 39 –This is a tax clearance certificate

Step 10: One also needs to upload scanned copies of certain documents. These documents include:

PAN
EPIC
Labour Certificate
Headman Address Proof Certificate
Trading Licence from District Council
Municipal Licence

Step 11: After providing all the information, one needs to click on the save button and then submit

Step 12: Post submission of data and documents, the portal will send a system-generated application number, which the applicant can use in the future for tracking purposes

Step 13: Dealers will receive email on SMS for certificate collection

How to Pay for VAT Registration Fee in Meghalaya Online?

Dealers can pay the VAT registration fee online as well. One needs to follow the steps below:

Step 1: After the registration request is submitted through the official website, the applicant will be redirected to the online payment page

Step 2: From there, they can enter their bank details and pay the registration fee

After a successful transaction, one will receive an acknowledgement slip and number which the applicant must maintain carefully.

How to File a Return Against the VAT Payment in Meghalaya?

Registered users can file for return against the VAT payment in Meghalaya online. In order to do so, one can follow the steps below:

Step 1: Visit the official website

Step 2: Registered users need to again submit certain documents like PAN, EPIC, Labour certificate, Municipal Licence, Trading Licence from District council, Headman address proof certificate, etc

Step 3: Further under Section 35, applicants also need to fill up some forms for submission of periodic returns and payments of tax. These forms are:

Form 5 – This form is for tax returns that are to be submitted 21 days before the close of the tax period
Form 6 – This form is for annual returns that are to be submitted 30 days before the end of the year
Form 54 – This form is for registered dealers.

How Is VAT Different from GST in Meghalaya?

The introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) has overshadowed the use of VAT in most Indian states. The main reason for GSTs popularity is that it eliminates the cascading effect that indirect taxes have on the economy, especially the VAT.

Moreover, VAT has been merged into GST for most goods and services. Different VAT rates and rules in every state was not a very practical thing to do. Also, in the case of GST, the consumer tax collects the tax instead of the seller state; hence the liability of paying for the taxes is removed from the buyers. However, VAT is still levied on certain goods like petrol.

This blog discussed VAT in Meghalaya and covered aspects like registration, e-payment and e-filing.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Will I have to pay the penalty if I fail to register for VAT payments in Meghalaya on time?

Yes, dealers will be penalised if they fail to register on time. Moreover, each month the dealer will be levied around ₹ 5000 to ₹ 10,000 penalty fee.

What is the rate of VAT applied on petrol in Meghalaya?

The rate of VAT on petrol in Meghalaya is ₹ 10.79 per litre {13.5% of (fuel price charged to dealers + excise duty + avg. dealer commission)} (an additional pollution surcharge of ₹ 0.10 on VAT).

What is the rate of VAT applied on diesel in Meghalaya?

Meghalaya levies 12% VAT on diesel.