Browsed by
Tag: Gst Council Meeting

Leased vehicles may get GST relief

Leased vehicles may get GST relief

Comments 0 Comment

Leased vehicles GST

Nearly 100 days after rolling out goods and services tax (GST), the Centre and the states are set to reduce the burden on cars that were leased before July 1 and where the tax rate has risen to up to 50%, apart from reviewing work contracts and several food products such as khakhra and singhada.

Sources told TOI, that rate changes are listed on the agenda for Friday’s GST Council meeting, which also includes lower levy on renting of cars for cab services, apart from tightening rules for unbranded cereals, pulses and flours.

The government has been flexible in addressing concerns related to the new tax regime and has repeatedly tweeked the tax rates to ensure that consumers or the industry are not adversely impacted.

Even at the last meeting of the GST Council in Hyderabad last month, rates had been changed for 40 goods, which included higher cess on large cars. The higher cess has also increased the burden for leased vehicles, which attract a total levy of anywhere between 29% (for small cars) and 50% (the rate applicable for GST). In addition, the same levy is also imposed on the sale price of the vehicle.

This is in sharp contrast to the 12.5-13% combined levy before GST kicked in from July 1, resulting into a burden of around Rs 1,500 crore. While the burden will be passed on to those who have leased vehicles, several individauls have already opted for foreclosure. Sources said that the leasing companies had suggested two options – either provide input tax credit for the excise paid or allow for a reduced levy of 18%. The GST Council will decide the best course of action.

Sources also said duty on food preparation distributed in containers to economically weaker sections under state or central government schemes are expected to be reduced from 18% to 5%. Stones used for buildings will also see lower levy of 18%, compared to 28% at present.

But the proposed move to reduce the levy on khakra, a Guajarati dish, has resulted in demands for a similar benefit for rotis. There is also demand from some states to lower the rate for AC restaurants.


Ease Your GST Filing & Invoice with XaTTaX GST Software

Source :  The Economic Times
GST Council reduces GST rates on 18 handicrafts items

GST Council reduces GST rates on 18 handicrafts items

Comments 0 Comment

handicrafts items gst

The Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council has reduced the GST rates on 18 handicrafts items which include items like idols of clay, wood, stone, metals, table and kitchenware, paper machie articles, stone inlay work, statues, worked ivory, bone, shell horn items, cotton quilts, brooms and brushes and some natural fibre products.

This was informed by the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), a nodal agency for promotion and development of handicrafts exports from the country, in a press statement recently.

On items like idols of clay GST has been reduced from 28 percent to 12 percent. Also people with idol business of worth Rs 20 lakhs do not need to register with GST. Only 5 percent tax on cotton quilts worth up to Rs 1000. Cotton quilts worth more than that will be levied 12 percent tax. And 5 percent tax which was levied on cotton sports has been removed.

EPCH has been regularly representing to the GST Council various measures which are required to be taken to facilitate smooth transition of Handicrafts Sector in the GST regime.

EPCH had requested for GST rate concessions on various handicrafts items, reduction of GST rates on job work, measures for blockage of working capital funds, issue pertaining to stock in hand, utilization of duty credit scrips, GST on fair participation, GST on foreign agency commission and freight charges paid by exporters etc.

Rakesh Kumar, Executive Director, EPCH informed that in its 21st meeting, the GST Council has reduced the GST rates on 18 handicrafts items which include items like idols of clay, wood, stone, metals, table and kitchenware, paper machie articles, stone inlay work, statues, worked ivory, bone, shell horn items, cotton quilts, brooms and brushes and some natural fibre products.

Kumar further said EPCH on behalf of exporting community thanked the Hon’ble Union Minister of Textiles, Minister of State for Textiles for their active intervention in the matter in getting the GST rates reduced on 18 handicraft items and thanked to Finance Minister and Hon’ble Prime of India for providing relief under GST rates.

“However, there are certain other aspects in the GST pertaining to Handicrafts Sector tor which Council has again represented to the GST Council to consider reduction in GST rates to 5 percent on job workers engaged in handicrafts sector as has been considered for Textile Sector and also reduction in GST rates in items which are of export significance like wooden frames, ceramic articles, brass/copper handicrafts, musical instruments, wooden/wrought iron furniture, handmade pouffes, article of Christmas, smoking pipes etc. and are predominantly exported from the major craft clusters of Jodhpur, Jaipur, Saharanpur and Moradabad,” informed Kumar.


GST Ready Invoicing Software – Generate GST Compliant Invoice

 

Source: http://www.smetimes.in/smetimes/news/top-stories/2017/Sep/18/gst-council-reduces-gst-rates-on-18-handicrafts-items.html
Outcome of the 21st GST Council Meeting held at Hyderabad

Outcome of the 21st GST Council Meeting held at Hyderabad

Comments 0 Comment

21st gst council meeting

The GST Council today met for the 21st time to discuss some of the issues after the implementation of the Goods and Service Tax or GST. During the meet, various states raised the challenges faced by traders and enterprises in registering and filing GST returns.

The major highlights of the meeting are as under:

  • The last date for filing of sales return or GSTR-1 has been extended by a month to October 10 instead of September 10 earlier.
  • The Council increases cess on mid-sized cars by 2%, big cars by 5 % and SUV by 7%. No change in small cars, 13-seater vehicles & hybrid cars.
  • The deadline for GSTR-3B—a self-declaration form—have been extended by four months.
  • Handicraft artisans with annual earnings of upto Rs 20 lakh will not require GST registration.
  • The governement decided to form a 3-member inter-ministerial team to look at the functioning of GSTN to address issues faced by users while uploading GST returns
  • The Council discussed tax rates of 134 items, including unbranded food products.
  • Businesses selling branded food are deregistering their brands to evade tax as unbranded food is not taxed. The fitment committee proposed to the GST Council to consider May 15, 2017, as the cut-off date for considering a brand as registered for the purpose of levy of GST, irrespective of whether or not the brand is subsequently deregistered.


GST Ready Invoicing Software – Generate GST Compliant Invoice‎

Source: GST India Expert
GST Council extends deadline for filing sales returns to 10 October

GST Council extends deadline for filing sales returns to 10 October

Comments 0 Comment

GST council Meeting

The goods and services tax (GST) council, headed by finance minister Arun Jaitley, met in Hyderabad on Saturday. The council extended the last date for filing of sales returns or GSTR-1 by a month to 10 October, said Jammu and Kashmir finance minister Haseeb Drabu.

gstr new dates


GST Ready Invoicing Software – Generate GST Compliant Invoice‎

West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra said artisans with turnover of up to Rs20 lakh will be exempt from registration under GST.

The GST Council met to discuss the quantum of cess to be hiked on luxury and mid-size cars, among other issues. This was the third meeting of the GST Council since the launch of the indirect tax regime on 1 July and the 21st since it was set up in September last year. The council has over the past 10 months ironed out various contentious issues and decided on a four-tier tax structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.


GST Software for Business, CA & enterprises

GST Council may fix tax anomalies, cess hike on cars tomorrow

GST Council may fix tax anomalies, cess hike on cars tomorrow

Comments 0 Comment

GST Council meet Hyderabad

The GST council, meeting here tomorrow, is likely to take up fixing of tax anomalies on a number of common use items as well as the quantum of cess to be hiked on luxury and mid-size cars, officials said today.

It will also take up IT related issues in the GST network which has faced glitches.

The all powerful GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising his state counterparts, is likely to consider lowering tax rates on over two dozen products, including idli/dosa batter, dried tamarind, custard powder and kitchen gas lighter after anomalies in their fixations were pointed out, officials said.

The Council will also formulate a mechanism to deal with businesses that are deregistering their brands to avoid taxes after the rollout of Goods and Services Tax from July 1.

The fitment committee has proposed to the GST Council to consider May 15, 2017, as the cut off date for considering as a registered brand for the purpose of levy of GST, irrespective of whether or not the brand is subsequently deregistered.

Unbranded food items are exempted from GST, whereas branded and packaged food items attract 5 per cent rate. Hence, many businesses are deregistering their brands to avoid the levy.

The quantum of hike in cess on a range of cars from mid- sized to hybrid variants would be finalised in tomorrow’s meeting.


XaTTaX- GST Billing Software for SME’s

The Council had in its last meeting on August 5 approved hike in cess on mid, large size cars, SUVs, hybrid and luxury ones to up to 25 per cent, from 15 per cent. An Ordinance to hike the cess rate has been promulgated and the Council will now look at the quantum of hike.

The states are likely to raise in the 21st GST Council meeting is the technology backbone prepared by GST Networks (GSTN) and how the maiden return filing fared.

Due to huge rush of July GSTR-3B return filing on the penultimate date, the GSTN software had witnessed some glitches and the last date of filing had to be extended.

Also the date of final return filing for GSTR-1 was extended to September 10 in view of rush in invoice uploading.

Various issues flagged by traders and businesses are likely to be raised by the states in tomorrow’s meeting, an official said.

Even as auto makers continued to demand deferral in cess hike, the Council is likely to go ahead in increasing as it will rectify the anomaly where rates of certain common use items had gone up but luxury cars were costing less under the new regime.

Car prices had dropped by up to Rs 3 lakh following the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1. This cess has been hiked to up to 25 per cent now on certain makes.

Also a new category has been introduced in the Act wherein motor vehicles which have capacity to transport up to 13 persons would attract 25 per cent cess.

The highest pre-GST tax incidence on motor vehicles worked out to about 52-54.72 per cent, to which 2.5 per cent was added on account of Central Sales Tax and octroi.

Against this, post-GST the total tax incidence came to 43 per cent.

Under GST, which replaced over a dozen central and state levies in the biggest tax reform since independence, cars attract the top tax rate of 28 per cent.

On top of this, a cess of 1 to 25 per cent has been levied for the creation of a corpus to compensate states for any loss of revenue from implementation of GST.


Ease Your GST Filing & Invoice – with XaTTaX GST Software

Source :  The Economic Times