We have imported a machinery and paid customs duty on 28/03/2017. CVD and SAD components would have been admissible even if I we were a SSI unit for a few years under the current Central Excise Regime, when later we would be starting paying excise.
Do I need to apply for excise registration specially for carrying forward my CVD and SAD credit in Excise return so that it is available under GST regime?
02 April 2017
As import duty has been paid in March 2017 only, there is time to take credit on the goods if you are registered in GST in July, as input credit on goods in stock. You dont need to get registered under Central Excise merely to carry credit.
Carry forward of credit of capital goods is covered u/s 140(2) of CGST. Is it open to us to treat machinery as goods in stock? CGST law defines capital goods, as an asset that has been capitalised in books. So how can we treat it as inputs/goods?
03 April 2017
Carry forward of credit means that one has already taken credit under Central Excise, Service Tax or VAT and the credit is being transferred to GST under transitional provision, Section 142 as you referred. Apart from that, a person is entitled to take credit of inputs, capital goods etc. held in stock at the time of registration when the person is getting registered under GST under Section 18 of the GST Act. All that I want to say that as your capital goods has been imported in March 2017, when you get yourself registered in GST in a few months time, you shall be entitled to take credit on these imported goods under Section 18 of the CGST Act. Hence, merely to carry forward credit on these goods you are not required to get yourself registered under Central Excise merely to take credit, if otherwise you are not required to registered under Central Excise.