Surfaces Reporter July 2017 Preview

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I read Surfaces Reporter for updating my knowledge about the latest products & innovations in the industry. Nice presentation.

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Content is really useful to the specifiers, builders, manufacturing fraternity and design enthusiast. As a magazine dedicated to exterior-interior products, projects & designs, serves the purpose to B2B, B2S & B2C segments. Big thanks to the team behind this magazine and wish them all the success for the future endeavors!

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SURFACES is the only magazine where you just do not get the information about materials available in the market. Here as a reader, we also get to see how these materials are explored in many ways by the designers. Being a designer it is helpful for us to widen our vision in the matter of material exploration with technology. Plus the magazine also helps in bridging the gap between suppliers and designers.

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editorial

Is GST Favorable for Building Materials, Architecture & Design Services?

W

elcome to the GST era! With the midnight gong of bell, Goods & Service Tax, greatest tax reform in India since independence, has been set in motion early tonight. The objective is to unify the nation with one tax, which is expected to connect the $2 trillion economy with more than 1.3 billion people into a common market.

Any reform has to go through implementation challenges and teething troubles.

For a vast heterogeneous country like India, it is quite obvious for economists to have mixed opinion. To count, a few of the major challenges are settlement of the small businesses in the informal sectors with the new tax regime, finding ways to stop evasion of taxes by opening of multiple firms for below Rs.20 Lakh turnover, separate registration in states where businesses are to operate other than own state, any other implications, and many more.

As someone quoted, “More than 50% of Indian businesses are unaware of the changes that GST will bring in, and how to adapt.� This is truer for micro & small businesses operating in the unorganized segment. There is fear, uncertainty, and lack of clarity, which need proper addressing, awareness programs, and

Surfaces Reporter

understanding of their pain points, in order to minimize the adverse effects. GST is expected to nail the firms that survive by flouting regulations and evading taxes, by bringing them under strict tax net. While this is good, we cannot stop looking at the impact on businesses that contribute 50% to GDP and 80% employment opportunities. Ensuring livelihood for the vast percentage of employed people in small & micro sector is a major concern while these companies undergo transformation.

Pre-GST, there was provision for centralized registration for Service tax which enabled service provider to render services from any place in India after registration but Post GST, centralized registration will not be available as the dealer or the service provider needs to get registered with that particular state Government where he has the provision for registering business site office as well from where he is intended to provide services, an expert commented.

GST for Building Materials, Work Contracts, Interior & Architecture Services

For Work contracts, earlier decided slab of

As per reports, GST on Wallpaper is increased from 18.5 to 28%, with the same slab on Leather which had earlier enjoyed lower taxes. On GST implementation, the biggest beneficiaries among the Building material companies are the sectors that have larger share of unorganized segment.

The benefits would be in the form of subsumed taxes for multiple levies, reduction in logistics costs, smoother paperless compliances etc.

Most of the building materials & interior products are kept in 28% slab which is almost a neutral rate from the average of 26-29% earlier corresponding to multiple taxes, as in Cement, Tiles, Plywood, Furniture, Sanitary ware, Paints, Putty etc (not to forget provision of input credit). Positive impact is expected on Carpets and LED lights/ lamps due to the reduced GST of 12% instead of 25% & 17.5% respectively (Bamboo furniture and Pre- cast concrete attracts lower GST of 18%).

Goods & Service Tax is expected to benefit the organized sectors in Building products by providing a level playing field, which would bring in consolidation for various industries. By the way, cement, paints, tiles & sanitary ware industries are also set to benefit from various government initiatives like ‘Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan’, ‘Housing for All by 2022’ & ‘Smart City Mission’ as they would drive demand for Building products.

Services pertaining to Architecture & Design on the other hand, would attract a GST of 18%

instead of earlier Service Tax of 15%. The provision of input tax credit mechanism is said to be the major game changer in the GST regime which would effectively lower the real incidence of taxation than the marked taxation rate. Luxury services of any kind, however, would attract the highest rate of 28 per cent.

12% was changed by the GST council recently. It says, Construction of complex, building, civil structure, including a complex or building intended for sale to a buyer, wholly or partly, will attract a GST rate of 18%. GST, however, will not be imposed on fully constructed properties, where completion certificate as been issued by competent authority.

Major concern post GST is to see how the informal sectors cope up with the new tax regime. We can see a widening gap with the organized players, which if takes a bad turn may not be good for the economy. They were already beaten by demonetization.

Many MSME associations have expressed lack of clarity regarding reverse GST, additional IGST etc. There are confusions, chaos in different sectors depending on the level of organization and type of sector. However, overall sentiment is positive within India and globally for India.

History says, adoption of GST might lead to temporary disruption in the economy as businesses take their time to adjust within the current tax frames. Proper implementation, adaptation and acceptance of GST will tell us where it leads.

Vertica Dvivedi | vertica@surfaces.in https://in.linkedin.com/in/verticad https://www.facebook.com/verticad

CONTENT in Visual-IIIIII Visual II

Ar. Yatin Pandya

Footprints E.A.R.T.H., Ahmedabad

Abhishek Rustagi

Design By Meta, New Delhi

Rupana Reddy

Principal Interior Designer, NA Architects, Hyderabad

Ar. Ritu Khandelwal

Sthapatya Architects, Jaipur

Vaibhav Shah & Gauri Shah Principal Architects- Founders, FACILIS Studio, Mumbai

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Ar. Kapil Aggarwal

Principal Architect, INTERSEKT Showroom, New Delhi

Nomita Sawhney

Ar. Nishita Kamdar

​Studio Nishita Kamdar, Mumbai

Ankita Jain

Design By Meta, New Delhi

Principal Designer, AJDA Architecture & Interior Design, New Delhi

Ar. Niroop Kumar Reddy

Ar. Patricia Urquiola

Principal Architect, NA Architects, Hyderabad

Ar. Harsh Pote

Arvind Associates, Mumbai

Ar. Prasanna Parvatikar CUBISM Architects & Interiors, Tirupur

Milan, Italy

Ar. Gaurav Sanghavi

Arvind Associates, Mumbai

Shantanu Garg

Shantanu Garg Design, Jaipur

Parushni Aggarwal

Founder & Creative Director, Studio Creo, New Delhi

Swanzal Kak Kapoor Saka Studio, Gurugram

Ar. Raja

Raja Architects, Hyderabad

Ashwin Ananth

Ashwin Architects, Bengaluru

Manishi Aggarwal & Apoorv Aggarwal

Architect/Co-founders, Design Cosmos, Gurugram

Nynke Tynagel

Studio Job, Antwerp, Belgium

Ar. Premdas Krishna

Monnaie Architects & Interiors, Palakkad, Kerala

Job Smeets

Studio Job, Antwerp, Belgium

Sanjay Punjabi

Chief Principal Designer, Image N Shape, Surat

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