Browsed by
Tag: Gst Council Meeting

26th GST Council meeting likely on March 10; focus on simplification of return filing process

26th GST Council meeting likely on March 10; focus on simplification of return filing process

Comments 0 Comment

26th gst council meeting

The GST Council headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley is likely to meet on March 10 via video conference to finalise a simpler tax return filing process, a senior government official told Moneycontrol.

In the last Council meet on January 18, there were extensive discussions between states and the Centre to simplify the return filing process, while reaching a conclusion to keep the concept of invoice matching—key measure against tax evasion—intact.

A ministerial group headed by Bihar finance minister Sushil Modi, information technology committee head GST Network (GSTN) chairman Ajay Bhushan Pande, Infosys head and former UIDAI chairman Nandan Nilekani had put forth possible suggestions towards making the return filing process less complex.

Jaitley had indicated that in the future a single stage return filing will be introduced to reduce compliance burden and ease procedures for businesses.

 Also Read:  25th GST Council Meet:Rates revised for 29 goods, 53 services, says Arun Jaitley

Meanwhile, businesses will have to file GSTR3B or the summary form for the next few months, till the new mechanism is announced and similar changes are made in the software, the official said.

“Businesses will have to file summary form GSTR3B for the next few months…beyond March 31 as decided earlier,” the official said.

This would mean that the three key return forms—GSTR1 (outward supply), GSTR2 (inward supply) and GSTR3 (the final netted out return)—will be consolidated into a single form.

XaTTaX: Cloud and On-Premises Based GST Filing Software For India

Source: Money Control
25th GST Council Meet:Rates revised for 29 goods, 53 services, says Arun Jaitley

25th GST Council Meet:Rates revised for 29 goods, 53 services, says Arun Jaitley

Comments 0 Comment

25th GST Council Meeting

The GST panel, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising representatives of all states, at its 25th meeting at Vigyan Bhawan today decided to reduce tax rate on 29 items and 53 categories of services with effect from January 25.

The major highlights of the meeting are:

1. Filing of GSTR 3B will continue, but a final decision would be taken in the next Council meet.

2. E-way bill system would be rolled out from February 1 and 15 states are on board for obtaining intra-state bill

3. The law review committee recommended to re-introduce reverse charge mechanism (RCM) only for dealers under composition scheme.

4. Rates of goods such as bio-diesel, packaged drinking water (packed in 20 litres bottle), drip irrigation system, mechanical sprayer, bio-pesticides, sugar boiled confectionery, etc. have been brought down to 12 percent from 18 percent.

5.Tax on sales of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) by private firms for domestic use has been reduced to 5% from 18%.

6. Motor vehicle will now attract 18% tax from earlier 28%

7. Rice Bran will attract 0% tax from 5% earlier

8. Tax rate on velvet fabric has been reduced to 5% from 12%.

9. Tax rate on mining, drilling of natural gas has been reduced to 12%

10. Cess on vehicles for ambulance also reduced to 0% from 15% earlier.

11. The decision on inclusion of real estate in GST has been deferred.

12. In the services segment, the council will reduce taxes on transportation of crude, gasoil, gasoline, jet fuel and services relating to mining, exploration and drilling of oil and natural gas, among other things.

13. Diamonds and precious stones will now attract 0.25 percent GST instead of 3 percent, while vibhuti and de-oiled brown rice will attract nil tax.

14. The fitment committee will fix rates of 40 handicraft items

15. GST Panel also decided to divide Rs 35,000 crore IGST collections between centre, states

GST Council may in their next meeting decide requirement of filing only two returns i.e. GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 and may do away with GSTR 2 and GSTR 3.

 

Source: Times Now
GST Council meet today: Inclusion of real estate, cut in tax rates may bring cheer before Budget

GST Council meet today: Inclusion of real estate, cut in tax rates may bring cheer before Budget

Comments 0 Comment

GST Council Meet

Just two weeks before the Budget, GST Council is expected to consider a reduction in tax rates for some items, about 80 going by some reports, and the inclusion of real estate in its 24th meeting today.

The meeting comes amid continuous dip in GST revenue collection in the last two months. The collection registered a sharp dip to Rs 80,808 crore in November, from Rs 94,063 crore in the launch month in July last year.

Change in tax rates 

As Budget can no more tinker with indirect taxes due to implementation of GST, the Council is expected to announce tax concessions and reduction of tax rates on common man items and services, including household goods, agriculture products, housing sector inputs such as cement and steel.

Also read: GST Council May revise rates of 70 to 80 Goods, Services, Streamline Returns Filing

Real estate in GST: 

The Council is likely to discuss inclusion of real estate under GST and announce the rollout date for the same. According to some reports, Council may set a 12 per cent rate for the real estate sector and may also decide to subsume stamp duty and registration charges in GST. The likely date for inclusion of real estate under GST could be the start of new financial year, April 1.

“Discussion of real estate inclusion in GST is the key agenda of the GST Council which is scheduled to meet on January 18th,” a senior government official told ANI.

Single GST return form 

It may also announce simplification of return filing process. The three return forms — GSTR1, GSTR2 and GSTR3 — may be clubbed into a single form for easier return filing.

This would drastically reduce the compliance burden on the tax payers as they will have to file 12 returns a year instead of 37 returns currently.

Since GST rollout in July, government has extended return filing dates many times.

Rollout of e-way bills 

At the last GST council meeting in December, roll out of e-way bill was decided for February 1. So the council may iron out issues in e-way bill mechanism for smooth implementation of e-way bills from next month.


GST Ready Invoicing Software – Generate GST Compliant Invoice

Source :  The Economic Times
GST Council set to ease refund procedures for exporters in Jan meet

GST Council set to ease refund procedures for exporters in Jan meet

Comments 0 Comment

gst council

While 2017 was a year of transition for businesses as India switched to a new indirect tax regime, 2018 may alleviate the struggles of exporters grappling with liquidity crunch, as the government plans ease the refund-claiming process.

In its next meeting, GST Council—the apex decision making body of the new indirect tax system—may relax rules to claim Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds from the Centre and states, a senior government official told Moneycontrol.

“Exporters are facing challenges claiming IGST (integrated GST) and input tax credit refunds, as the process is cumbersome. We are looking at easing these rules,” the official said.

The Council will meet on January 18 in New Delhi.

Exporters complain that procedural hurdles, coupled with new rules and regulations have made claiming export refunds difficult. The relaxation in norms should bring cheer for exporters who have been complaining about technical issues, locked up tax refunds affecting working capital availability and hurting operations.

The Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will also look at the provisions and specific rules pertaining to the e-wallet facility to facilitate speedy refund.

In October, the Council had approved a plan to operationalise up an e-wallet from April 1, 2018 that could be used by each exporter. A notional amount will be given as an advance amount in this wallet, which will enable GST credit against which the exporters’ refund will be offset.

Apart from easing rules related to refunds, the apex body is unlikely to continue with further rationalisation of GST rates.

“Considering the decline in monthly revenue collection from GST, there may not be further rate cuts announcements next month,” the official said.

Revenue collection from GST for the month of November slipped further to Rs 80,808 crore, lowest since the implementation of the indirect tax system from July 1.

Also read: GGovernment extends deadline for filing final GST returns till 10 January

The dip in revenue collection was mainly due to a decline in overall incidence of taxes on most commodities, especially after the apex decision making body of the new tax system–GST Council–cut rates of more than 200 items in its 23rd meeting in Guwahati. According to estimates, the government will face revenue loss of Rs 20,000 cr annually owing to the rate cut.

While only 50 items remain in the 28 percent tax slab, the industry, has been pushing for bringing down rates for some more items such as cement, paints, and white goods.

Sources said that rate cut at this juncture is unlikely as items such as cement constitute a major chunk of revenue.

According to experts, revenue may fall down further in the next two-three months as the government has to look at other aspects such as refund, and utilisation of credit.

The GST Council’s 25th meeting will be crucial as the government may propose significant changes in the laws and rules, to simplify procedures and ease rules for the business.

The changes may include simplifying the tax return filing process and the composition scheme, apart from the decision on whether to continue with reverse charge mechanism (RCM), tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS).

The Council will deliberate on the recommendations of the law advisory group that will finalise its report on January 5. The committee will propose key recommendations pertaining to amendments in laws and rules to make the new tax system simple.


Ease Your GST Filing & Invoice with XaTTaX GST Software

Source :  Money Control
After GSTN, e-way bills could be another IT disaster in the making

After GSTN, e-way bills could be another IT disaster in the making

Comments 0 Comment

GSTN failure to handle the flood of GST return filings raises serious doubts about the success of the e-way bill system for SMEs

E-way Bill GSTN

For small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), the recent decision to defer the implementation of e-way bills may just be the calm before the storm.

The GST Council on 6 October decided that the e-way bill system shall be introduced in a staggered manner with effect from January 2018 and shall be rolled out nationwide effective April 2018. Once implemented, movement of goods worth more than Rs50,000 within or outside a state will require securing an e-way bill by prior online registration of the consignment.

To generate an e-way bill, the supplier and transporter will have to upload details on the GSTN (Goods and Services Tax Network) portal. Once an e-way bill has been generated, a unique e-way bill number (EBN) shall be made available to the supplier, the recipient and the transporter on the common portal.

The aim is to eliminate state-wise documentation, ensure faster transit of goods by reducing the number of check-posts across the country, and curb corruption.

However, GSTN’s failure to handle the flood of return filing invoices raises serious doubts about the success of the e-way bill system since it is completely automated.

Also read: GST Council to discuss bringing real estate under its ambit: FM

Some tax experts foresee another IT debacle, especially for SMEs.

“If the government wants to implement it, then a key pre-requisite will be to put E-way bill IT infrastructure in place and test it beforehand. Failing which, a situation like that of GSTN may arise, and that would add to woes of smaller companies which may not be technologically equipped. E-way bill mechanism adds a layer of compliance and if implemented without IT preparedness, then defeats the purpose of GST, which is to boost ease of doing business in India,” Abhishek Jain, partner, EY said.

As for rules, an EBN will be valid for one day for a 100km journey and one day each for each additional 100km. Validity is based on the distance travelled by the goods and is calculated from the date and time of generation of e-way bill. Some find this a hindrance making transport of goods within the city difficult.

Also read: Are businesses really facing problems or is it just another political stunt with GST?

“It is a real-time system with validity of the bill decided beforehand for a particular transaction. This could, in fact, add to transit time for smaller quantities of goods within a city. Larger players like us would manage to incur the cost, but for smaller entities, it is a huge challenge,” said Sunil Shankar, business head, LED panels and AC, Mirc Electronics Ltd.

Also, installation of a radio frequency identification device in transporter’s vehicle to map the soft copy of an e-way bill is an additional cost. Some see scope for it being misused by taxmen, who can interrupt journeys to verify the e-way bill and even physically verify the consignment.

“E-way bill implementation would give a state government free hand to harass companies, particularly in cases where the E-way bill validity may have expired due to failure of the system or change in destination,” Sunu Mathew, managing director of LEAP India said. LEAP India is a Mumbai-based supply chain solutions company and its clients include Mondelez, Coca-Cola, Flipkart, LG, Amul and Toyota.

Concerned over these issues, Anita Rastogi, indirect tax partner at PwC India, suggests that e-way bills should be scrapped. “In the pre-GST era, value added tax (VAT) rates differed from state to state, so there were cases when companies would transport goods from higher VAT to lower VAT states, but now with GST fixed on each product, that VAT arbitrage has gone. E-way bill is an outdated concept; it is like moving one step backward to the License Raj,” she said.

Also read: 46 lakh taxpayers file GSTR-1 as deadline closes: GSTN

Meanwhile, finance minister Arun Jaitley last week said that e-way bill software has been made functional in Karnataka on a pilot basis and the experience has been pleasant.

E-way bills would aid in formalizing India’s logistics ecosystem and reduce road freight pricing. But implementation without sufficient IT preparedness will be nothing less than a nightmare. For SMEs, who have just got relief from the tedious monthly filing of GST returns, it could be a case of out of the frying pan into the fire.


XaTTaX: Cloud and On-Premises Based GST Filing Software For India

Source :  Livemint
GST Council forms GoM under Assam FM to review GST composition scheme

GST Council forms GoM under Assam FM to review GST composition scheme

Comments 0 Comment

GST Council forms GoM under Assam FM to review GST composition scheme

Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma will head the group of ministers (GoM) of state finance ministers that have been set up to look into various issues pertaining to a scheme for small taxpayers under the GST, also known as the composition scheme.

The GoM will also look into the proposal to reducing GST rates on air-conditioned restaurants from 18 percent to 12 percent.

Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar Sushil Modi, Jammu & Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu, Punjab Finance Minister Haseeb Drabu and Chattisgarh’s Commercial Taxes Minister Amar Agarwal will be a part of the GoM.

Composition scheme is an alternate method of taxation, which allows small businesses with annual turnover up to Rs 75 lakhs, to pay tax at a concessional rate, as well as reduce the compliance cost. The revenue threshold is Rs 50 lakhs for dealers across nine states such as Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Tripura, among others. The enrollment into the plan is however, optional.

Also read: Government may reduce items in 28% GST slab

On Friday, the GST Council headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley decided to raise the annual turnover threshold on the scheme to Rs 1 crore and reopen its registration for the third time till March 31, 2018.

Under the scheme, traders, manufacturers and restaurants can pay tax at 1, 2 and 5 percent, respectively. The move to widen the turnover threshold is aimed at easing the compliance burden for taxpayers as they will have to file returns only once in a quarter as against monthly returns that needs to be filed by other normal taxpayers.

However, dealers cannot avail input tax credit, unlike a normal taxpayer.

Input credit means at the time of paying tax on output, a producer, trader or service provider can reduce the tax already paid on inputs.


Ease Your GST Filing & Invoice with XaTTaX GST Software

Over the next two weeks the committee of GoM will take crucial decisions related to the scheme such as if the plan can be extended to taxpayers making inter-state supplies of goods, which was earlier not allowed.

The officials will examine whether turnover of exempted goods under GST can be excluded from the total turnover threshold for levying tax under composition scheme.

Apart of rationalising tax structure of different categories of restaurants, the committee will also examine if input tax credit (ITC) can be made available to registered taxpayers under GST from dealers who have opted for composition scheme.

Also read: GST rule changes: 12 things to know

On Friday, Jaitley had said the GoM will explore the possibility of bringing down the GST rate for air-conditioned restaurants to 12 percent from 18 percent, and whether they should be allowed to avail ITC if the tax rate is slashed.

The government expects more dealers to opt for the composition scheme if these criterion are relaxed as some of these norms had led to tepid response towards the plan.

Initially, the response for the composition scheme was lukewarm, with only 10.24 lakh dealers opting for it over a span of one and half months, starting July 1. Last month, the Council decided to reopen registration for the scheme from September 17.

This time, however, more than 5 lakh dealers opted for the scheme over just 13 days, taking the total number of assessess to 15.43 lakhs.


XaTTaX: Cloud and On-Premises Based GST Filing Software For India

Source: Indian Express
GST Council eases rules, cuts rates: Check out the new tax rates for about 42 items in 3 tables

GST Council eases rules, cuts rates: Check out the new tax rates for about 42 items in 3 tables

Comments 0 Comment

Facing severe criticism over the implementation of goods and services tax (GST), the government on Friday announced a slew of measures to ease the concerns of traders, exporters and small business.

small business owners GST

The GST Council meeting also slashed rates on 27 items of common consumption, including roti, khakra, namkeens, stationery and man-made yarn — with most of them brought to five percent category.

Tax rate on man made yarn was reduced to 12 percent from the current 18 percent, which is expected to provide relief to the textile industry.

Moreover, tax rate on unbranded namkeen, unbranded ayurvedic medicine, e-waste, paper waste, rubber waste, plastic waste was reduced to 5 percent.

The tax rate on services, including government contracts involving large labour, job work services in relation to imitation jewellery, some food and food products has been reduced from 12 percent to 5 percent.

These decisions were taken at the 22nd meeting of GST Council.

Below are three tables showing the new rates for about 42 items:

GST RATE FOR FOLLOWING GOODS HAVE BEEN REDUCED
S. No. Chapter/Heading/Sub-heading/Tariff item Description Present GST Rate GST Rate Recommended by the GST Council
1. 804 Mangoes sliced dried 12% 5%
2. 1905 or 2106 Khakra and plain chapati / roti 12% 5%
3. 19 or 21 Food preparations put up in unitcontainers and intended for free distribution to economically weakersections of the society under aprogramme duly approved by the Central Government or any State Government, subject to specified conditions [Foot note 1] 18% 5 %
4. 21 Namkeens other than those put up in unit container and, – (a) bearing a registered brand name; or (b) bearing a brand name on which an actionable claim or enforceable right in a court of law is available [other than those where any actionable claim or enforceable right in respect of such brand name has been foregone voluntarily [Foot note 2] 12% 5%
5. 2710 Imposing GST only on the net quantity of superior kerosene oil [SKO] retained for the manufacture of Linear Alkyl Benzene [LAB] 18% 18% [Clarification to be issued]
6. 30 Ayurvedic, Unani, Siddha, Homeopathy medicines, other than those bearing a brand name [Foot note 3] 12% 5%
7. 3213 Poster Colour 28% 18%
8. 3407 Modelling paste for children amusement 28% 18%
9. 3915 Plastic waste, parings or scrap 18% 5%
10. 4004 00 00 Rubber  waste, parings or scrap 18% 5%
11. 4017 00 20 Hard Rubber waste or scrap 28% 5%
12. 4707 Paper waste or scrap 12% 5%
13. 4907 Duty credit scrips 5% Nil
14. 5401 Sewing thread of manmade filaments, whether or not put up for retail sale 18% 12%
15. 5402, 5404, 5406 All synthetic filament yarn, such as nylon, polyester, acrylic, etc. 18% 12%
16. 5403, 5405, 5406 All artificial filament yarn, such as viscose rayon, Cuprammonium, 18% 12%
17. 5508 Sewing thread of manmade staple fibres 18% 12%
18. 5509, 5510, 5511 Yarn of manmade staple fibres 18% 12%
19. 5605 Real Zari 12% 5%
20. 6802 All goods falling under heading 6802 [other than those of marble and granite or those which attract 12% GST] 28% 18%
21. 7001 Cullet or other waste or scrap of Glass 18% 5%
22. 8305 Fittings for loose-leaf binders or files, letter clips, letter corners, paper clips, indexing tags and similar office articles, of base metal; staples in strips (for example, for offices, upholstery, packaging), of base metal 28% 18%
23. 8483 Plain Shaft Bearing 8483 28% 18%
24. 84 Parts suitable for use solely or principally with fixed Speed Diesel Engines of power not exceeding 15HP 28% 18%
25. 84 or 85 Parts suitable for use solely or principally with power driven pumps primarily designed for handling water, namely, centrifugal pumps (horizontal and vertical), deep tube-well turbine pumps, submersible pumps, axial flow and mixed flow vertical pumps 28% 18%
26. 84 or 85 E-Waste 28%/18% 5%
27. Any Chapter Biomass briquettes 18% 5%

Foot note;
1. Reduction in GST rate against S. No 4 above is subject to following condition:

a) If the supplier of such food preparations produces a certificate from an officer not below the rank of the Deputy Secretary to the Government of India or not below the rank of the Deputy Secretary to the State Government concerned to the effect that such food preparations have been distributed free to the economically weaker sections of the society under a programme duly approved by the Central Government or the State Government concerned, within five months from the date of supply of such goods or within such further period as the jurisdictional Commissioner of Central tax or jurisdictional Commissioner of State tax, as the case maybe, may allow in this regard.

Also Read: GST rule changes: 12 things to know

2. For S. No.5 above, the phrase registered brand name means:

a) A brand registered as on 15.05.2017 shall be deemed to be a registered brand for the purposes of levy of 5% GST, irrespective of whether or not such brand is subsequently deregistered.

b) A brand registered as on 15.05.2017 under the Copyright Act, 1957 shall also be treated as a registered brand for the purposes of levy of 5% GST.

c) A brand registered as on 15.05.2017 under any law for the time being in force in any other country shall also be deemed to be a registered brand for the purposes of levy of 5% GST.

Also Read: GST made simpler for exporters, small traders: All that you need to know

3. For S. No. 7 above, the phrase “brand name” is defined as:
“brand name” or “trade name” means a brand name or a trade name, whether registered or not, that is to say, a name or a mark, such as symbol, monogram, label, signature or invented word or writing which is used in relation to such specified goods for the purpose of indicating, or so as to indicate a connection in the course of trade between such specified goods and some person using such name or mark with or without any indication of the identity of that person.

 IGST EXEMPTION ON IMPORTS OF GOODS:
S. No Description Present applicable IGST rate Recommended IGST rate
1 IGST exemption on imports of rigs imported for oil / gas exploration and production projects under lease, subject to the following conditions that:
(i)       Integrated tax leviable under section 5(1) of the IGST Act, 2017 on supply of service covered by item 1(b) or 5(f) of Schedule II of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017;
(ii)     The rig is not sold without the prior permission of the Commissioner of Customs of the port of importation;
(iii)   to re-export the goods within 3 months from the expiry of the period for which they were supplied under a transaction covered by item 1(b) or 5(f) of Schedule II of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 out of India;
(iv)   to pay on demand an amount equal to the integrated tax payable on the said goods but for the exemption under this notification in the event of violation of any of the above conditions and applicable interest.		 5% Nil
2 Exemption from IGST on imports of medicines supplied free by international agencies like UNICEF, WHO, Red Cross etc. 12%/5% Nil
3 A.    Exemption from IGST on imports of bona fide gifts upto CIF value limit of Rs. 5000 imported through post or air. 28% Nil

GST rates on job work services is being rationalised as follows:-

S.No Description of Service Rate
1 Job work services in relation to all products falling in Chapter 71 (including imitation jewellery) 5%
2 Job work services in relation to food and food products falling under Chapters 1 to 22 of the HS Code (except packing of processed milk into packets) 5%
3 Job work services in relation to products falling under Chapters 23 of the HS Code except dog and cat food put up for retail sale (CTH 23091000) 5%
4 Job work in relation to manufacture of umbrella 12%
5 Job work in relation to manufacture of clay bricks falling under CTH 69010010 5%
6 Services by way of printing on job work basis or on goods belonging to others in relation to printing of all goods falling under Chapter 48 or 49, which attract GST @ 5% or Nil [Heading 9988] 5%
7 Services by way of printing on job work basis or on goods belonging to others in relation to printing of all goods falling under Chapter 48 or 49, which attract GST @ 12% [Heading 9988] 12%
8 Services by way of printing on job work basis or on goods belonging to others in relation to printing of goods falling under Chapter 48 or 49, other than those covered by (6) and (7) above, [Heading 9988] 18%
9 Services by way of printing in relation to printing of all goods falling under Chapter 48 or 49, which attract GST @ 5% or Nil, where only content is supplied by the publisher and the physical inputs including paper used for printing belong to the printer [(Heading 9989)] 12%
10 Services by way of printing of all goods falling under Chapter 48 or 49 which attract GST @12%, where only content is supplied by the publisher and the physical inputs including paper used for printing belong to the printer 12%
11 Services by way of printing of all goods falling under Chapter 48 or 49 which attract GST @18% or above, where only content is supplied by the publisher and the physical inputs including paper used for printing belong to the printer 18%
12 To issue a clarification with regard to classification of printing products/services. 
Source: Firstpost
GST rule changes: 12 things to know

GST rule changes: 12 things to know

Comments 0 Comment

The decision to reduce the compliance burden of small companies and traders, comes just two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi address regarding concerns over implementation of GST.

Arun Jaitley : GST

Three months after the rollout of the indirect tax regime, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, following a meeting on Friday, announced relief to small and medium businesses on filing and payment of taxes, and also eased rules for exporters and cut tax rates on 27 common use items.

After the meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “GST Council has considered the implementation experience of the last three months and gave relief to small traders… Compliance burden of medium and small taxpayers in GST has been reduced.”

The relief granted to small and medium enterprises comes after complaints of tedious compliance burden under the GST that was intended to be a simple indirect tax regime which replaced over a dozen Central and state taxes.

The decision to reduce the compliance burden of small companies and traders, came two days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi address regarding concerns over implementation of GST where he said that he had asked the Council to identify bottlenecks faced by small and medium enterprises.

Read: 100 days of GST: From launch to scope of reducing slabs, journey of the tax reform so far

Here’s the full list of recommendations made by the Finance Minister during the meeting:

Composition Scheme

1. The composition scheme will be made available to taxpayers having annual aggregate turnover of up to Rs. 1 crore as against the previous turnover threshold of Rs 75 lakhs. This threshold of turnover for special category States will be increased to Rs 75 lakhs from Rs 50 lakhs, while the turnover threshold for Jammu & Kashmir and Uttarakhand will be Rs 1 crore.

2. It has been decided that such People who are otherwise eligible for availing the composition scheme and are providing any exempt service(such as extending deposits to banks for which interest is being received), will be eligible for the composition scheme.

3. To make the composition scheme more attractive, a Group of Ministers (GoM) will be constituted to examine measures.

Relief for Small and Medium Enterprises

4. It has now been decided to exempt those service providers whose annual aggregate turnover is less than Rs 20 lakhs (Rs. 10 lakhs in special category states except for J & K) from obtaining registration even if they are making inter-State taxable supplies of services. This measure is expected to significantly reduce the compliance cost of small service providers.

5. To facilitate the ease of payment and return filing for small and medium businesses with annual aggregate turnover up to Rs 1.5 crores, a recommendation has been made that such taxpayers will be required to file quarterly returns in FORM GSTR-1,2 & 3 and pay taxes only on a quarterly basis, starting from the Third Quarter of this Financial Year i.e. October-December, 2017.

6. To benefit small businesses and substantially reduce compliance costs, the reverse charge mechanism under sub-section (4) of section 9 of the CGST Act, 2017 and under sub-section (4) of section 5 of the IGST Act, 2017 will be suspended till March 31, 2018 and will be reviewed by a committee of experts.

7. In order to mitigate inconvenience faced by small dealers and manufacturers, it has been decided that taxpayers having annual aggregate turnover up to Rs 1.5 crores shall not be required to pay GST at the time of receipt of advances on account of supply of goods. The GST on such supplies will be payable only when the supply of goods is made.

8. In order to remove the hardship being faced by small unregistered businesses, the services provided by a Goods Transport Agencies (GTA) to an unregistered person will be exempted from GST.

Other Facilitation Measures

9. After assessing the readiness of the trade, industry and Government departments, it has been decided that registration and operationalisation of TDS/TCS provisions will be postponed till March 31, 2018.

10. In order to give trade and industry more time to accustom itself with the GST regime, the e-way bill system will be introduced in a staggered manner with effect from January 01, 2018 and then will be rolled out nationwide with effect from April 01, 2018.

11. The last date for filing the return in FORM GSTR-4 by a taxpayer under composition scheme for the quarter July-September, 2017 will be extended to November 15, 2017. Also, the last date for filing the return in FORM GSTR-6 by an input service distributor for the months of July, August and September, 2017 will be extended to November 15, 2017.

12. Invoice Rules are being modified to provide relief to certain classes of registered persons.

Ease Your GST Filing & Invoice with XaTTaX GST Software

Source: Indian Express

 

GST gets simpler for small businesses and exporters

GST gets simpler for small businesses and exporters

Comments 0 Comment

arun-jaitley-gst-council

The GST Council tweaked rules on Friday to make life simpler for small businesses and exporters and also cut rates on 27 products+ , including man-made yarn, which was a key demand of the textiles sector, in a bid to mollify those complaining about the new tax regime.

While the main focus was on reducing the compliance burden for a majority of taxpayers+ who contribute a minuscule part of the revenue, the move to reduce the rate on man-made fibre was meant to comfort businessmen in states such as Gujarat, where assembly elections are due later this year.

Similarly, the tax rate on rotis and khakra was cut along with savouries and ayurvedic and homoeopathic medicines.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had promised on Wednesday to remove all impediments, was quick to comment that the council’s decisions would immensely help small and medium businesses, which have been complaining the most. “Good and simple tax becomes even simpler. Today’s recommendations will immensely help small and medium business… GST is in line with our constant endeavour to ensure interests of our citizens are safeguarded and India’s economy grows,” he tweeted hours after finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the changes at a press conference.

PM Modi Twitt

After day-long deliberations, the Centre and the states agreed to put in place a new mechanism that will allow those with a turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore — which make up for over 90% of the base but only 5% of the tax collections — to file returns every quarter.

At the same time, Jaitley promised that none of the large businesses, which will have to file monthly returns, will be denied credit for the taxes paid by their smaller vendors.

In addition, the government has allowed traders, manufacturers and restaurants with turnover of up to Rs 1 crore, instead of the Rs 75-lakh cap earlier, to opt for the composition scheme that will reduce their compliance burden by paying a flat rate of tax ranging between 1% and 5%. In addition, the deadline for the reverse charge mechanism was also extended.

“If you look at the GST pattern, the large players provide substantial taxation. SMEs pay nil or nominal tax but have high compliance pressures,” Jaitley said.
There was also a major relief package for exporters, who have been complaining of funds getting locked up due to the absence of refunds and tax credits. Jaitley acknowledged that funds were blocked, impacting the cash liquidity of exporters.

As a result, the GST Council has decided to exempt those covered by the advance authorisation scheme, export promotion capital goods or 100% export-oriented units from paying taxes on inputs till March. Merchant exporters will pay 0.1% GST for purchases from domestic players.

Source: TOI
GST rate on AC restaurants may come down to 12% from 18%: Report

GST rate on AC restaurants may come down to 12% from 18%: Report

Comments 0 Comment

GST: Restaurants

Eating out has always been an expensive affair, more so if you want to enjoy a drink or two along with it. By the time you end up calculating the added taxes, service charges and cesses levied on the delicious butter chicken and naan you just had, you end up spending half of your evening and a good part of your hard-earned fortune on what was supposed to be a fine, relaxed evening. Then came Goods and Service Tax . For better or for worse, the government decided to levy a standard tax on goods and services. Eventually in case of restaurants, it all boiled down to 12 per cent GST for non-AC restaurants and 18 per cent GST for AC restaurants. In case of five-star hotels, the charge was much more – 28 per cent.

Currently, if any part of a  restaurant has an air conditioner, 18 per cent is charged as the GST, the Central Board of Excise and Customs had clarified in their FAQ. That also meant that takeaways from AC restaurants were levied with the same 18 per cent. According to a report in Moneycontrol, GST rates for AC restaurants are likely to go down from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. However, it remains to be seen if the GST rates for non-AC restaurants are going to dip as well. The reports also mentions that along with this, GST rates for some daily use items are likely to be lowered, as for unbranded cereals, artificial jewellery and handicraft.

There has also been a proposal to raise the threshold for the composition scheme. Under the composition scheme, traders are allowed to pay a fixed rate to avoid goods & service tax paperwork. It was Rs 75 lakh, and is now likely to become Rs 1 crore.

In the midst of feedback and criticism of the hurried implementation of India’s largest tax reform, the GST Council is meeting to make some ‘structural changes’ in the national tax regime that was implemented to unify all taxes and bring them under one bracket.


Ease Your GST Filing & Invoice with XaTTaX GST Software

Source :  Business Today