Goods and GST Bill passed, Goods and Services Tax - GST

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Dear All,

GST Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha on 03. 08.2016.

A panel under chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian has recommended a revenue-neutral rate of 15-15.5%, with a standard rate of 17-18% be levied on most goods and all services.

But, there has been no agreement yet on rates of various goods and services, which remains a tricky issue. According to the Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha in May 2015, the rates were to be decided by a GST council headed by the central finance minister with state finance ministers as members.

Let us wait.

Thanks.

Posts / Replies

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Another important item on which GST has been reduced was the entertainment tax on cinema.

Under the GST, there will now be two categories for movie tickets. For tickets that cost less than ₹ 100, a tax of 18% will be levied. For the tickets costing more than ₹ 100, a GST of 28% will be levied.

Presently, entertainment tax is levied by individual states. The states levy a different rate, ranging from 28-110%, and the weighted average for the entire country is about 30%.

However, several state governments give an exemption to cinema of the particular language of that state. Under GST, there will now be no centralised exemption.

Jailtley said:" If states want, through the DBT (Direct Benifit Transfer), the state can refund the GST of regional cinema."
 

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

For workers in industries like textile, diamond processing etc, where the workers take the work home, 18% tax that is now being charged will be fixed at 5% because the GST for these sectors have gone down as well.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The next meeting for the GST Council will be on June 18th.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

At its sixteenth meeting, the GST Council decided to reduce the tax rates on 66 items out of the 133 items for which it had received representations. It also increased the upper limit of turnover for payment of tax under the composition option from INR 50 lacs to INR 75 lacs and approved the accounts and records rules. The next meeting of the GST Council will be held on 18 June, 2017.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The Government had received representations from various industry associations with respect to rates after 03 June. After considering the principle of equivalence, changing consumption pattern and possible inverted tax structure, the Government has reduced tax rates on 66 items.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Description of Goods	Updated rate	Initially proposed rate
Printers* Tractor Components School bags Dental wax Cinema tickets of value upto INR 100	18%	28%
Packaged food including pickles, toppings, instant food, sauces, ketchups, etc. Exercise books Cutlery	12%	18%
Insulin Agarbatti Cashews	5%	12%
Colouring books	0%	12%
Job work services in case of textile, diamond processing, jewellery work etc.	5%	18%

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Printers were falling under two conflicting entries, and the entry under which they would be taxed was unclear. The Government has clarified that it would be taxed @ 18%.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

In addition to the above, the GST Council has also decided to increase the upper limit for the payment of tax under composition of tax option for traders, manufacturers and restaurants to INR 75 lacs from the previous INR 50 lacs. The service providers continue to remain ineligible to opt for the composition scheme.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The GST Council has also approved the accounts and records rules. However, the anti-profiteering rules are under preparation and will be released upon finalisation. It was mentioned that the release of anti-profiteering rules is not linked with the introduction of GST and that it could be brought over anytime.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The next meeting of the GST Council is scheduled to be held on 18 June, 2017, to consider e-way bill provisions and to decide the rate of tax on lottery.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The industry continues to await clarity with respect to the mechanism of implementing anti-profiteering provisions and e-way bills. Further, few other aspects such as treatment of transactions between J&K and other states and refund of CGST paid in case of goods manufactured in excise free zones await clarification as well.

 

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The industry now has a week's time to make any further representations on GST rates as the next council meeting will be held on 18 June.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Overall, the decisions taken by the council meeting are positive and demonstrate a constructive dialogue with the Government, which should be a key feature of any reform. The Government has kept the window for such dialogues open by forming sectoral groups to resolve various industry-specific issues and provide guidance.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Traders, manufacturers and restaurants with a turnover of up to ₹ 75 lakh can avail the composition scheme, against ₹ 50 lakh earlier.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Next meeting of GST Council will be held on June 18 where the GST rates on lottery taxes and e-way bills will be decided.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Twenty Four (24) States have passed the State GST (SGST) Act till yesterday i.e. 5th June, 2017 while 7 States viz. Meghalaya, Punjab,Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Jammu & Kashmir and West Bengal have yet to pass the State GST (SGST) Act.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

List of States that have passed the SGST Bill:
1. Telangana
2. Bihar
3. Rajasthan
4. Jharkhand
5. Chhattisgarh
6. Uttarakhand
7. Madhya Pradesh
8. Haryana
9. Goa
10. Gujarat
11. Assam
12. Arunachal Pradesh
13. Andhra Pradesh
14. Uttar Pradesh
15. Puducherry
16. Odisha
17. Maharashtra
18. Tripura
19. Sikkim
20. Mizoram
21. Nagaland
22. Himachal Pradesh
23. Delhi
24. Manipur

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

States are enthusiastically taking initiative in passing SGST Bill. PM Modi took stock of GST preparedness and was informed that GST systems such as IT infrastructure, training of officials, integration with banks, and enrolment of existing taxpayers will be in readiness well in time for the July 1 implementation date.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The Central Board of Excise & Customs is being renamed as the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), after getting legislative approval. The proposed CBIC shall, inter alia, supervise the work of all its field formations and Directorates and assist the Government in policy making in relation to GST, continuing Central Excise levy & Customs functions.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The CBIC will have 21 Zones, 101 GST Tax payer Services Commissionerates comprising 15 sub-Commissionerates, 768 Divisions, 3969 Ranges, 49 Audit Commissionerates and 50 Appeals Commissionerates. This will ensure rendering of taxpayer services to all the taxpayers through an indirect tax administration structure, having pan-India presence.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Revenue secretary Dr. Hasmukh Adhia has cleared the rumors spreading through social networking apps and sites on delay in GST roll out. Through a tweet, Dr. Adhia said “The rumours about GST implementation being delayed are false. Please do not be misled by it.”

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

After the end of the seventeenth meeting of the GST Council, the Government has categorically reiterated the introduction of GST from 01 July.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Considering the preparedness of the Industry, the GST Council has relaxed the return filing timelines for the first two months after the introduction of GST.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The GST Council also finalised five sets of rules (except e-way bills) and the rate of tax on lottery, in addition to amending the rate of tax for the hospitality industry

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The decision on the E way bills has been deferred and in the interim period, the States are allowed to follow the existing way bills provisions.