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TMI BlogMinutes of the 50th Meeting of GST Council held on 11th July, 2023X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . Ratification of the Notifications, Circulars and Orders issued by the GST Counci l and decisions of GST Implementation Committee for the information of the Council 3. Issues recommended by the Law Committee for the consideration of the GST Council i. Rules Amendment in accordance with the recommendations made by Group of Ministers (GoM) on implementation of E-way bill requirement for movement of Gold/ Precious stones under chapter 71. ii. Capac it y based taxation and Spec ial Composition Scheme in certain Sectors in GST. iii. C larifi catio n on charging of int erest under section 50(3) of the CGST Act, 2017 , in cases of wrong availment of I GST credit and rever sa l thereof iv. I ss ue s pertaining to interpretation of Section 10 of IGST Act , 2017 v. Clar i fication with respect ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... xv ii i. Proposal to provide a s pecial proce dur e to file appeal against the orders passed in accordance with the Ci r cular No . 1 82/14/2022-GST, dated 10.11.2022, pursuant to the directions issued b y the Hon ' b l e Sup r eme Court in the Union of India v/s F ilc o Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. xix. I ss ues pertaining to I S D m ec hanism and taxability of serv ices prov id ed by one distinct person to anot h er d i s tinct person 4 . Recommendation s of th e F i t m ent Com mi ttee fo r the co n s i deratio n of the GST Council a) Recommendations made by the Fitment Committee fo r making changes in GST rate s or for issuing clarifica ti ons in re l a t ion to goo d s -Annexure- I b) I ss u es where no cha n ge has been proposed by the Fitment Committee in relation to goods - Annexure- U ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... -ordination Committee comprising of the GST authorities from the State and t h e Ce n tral Tax Admin i strations 11. Implementation of GSTAT conseq u e n t to passing of Finance Act, 2023 11. ( Addendum) Addendum to Annexure-A of the Agenda item 11 12. P erfo rmance R epo r t of Competition Comm is s i o n of Indi a (CC I ) for month o f December, 2022 and 4th quarter of the F . Y 2022 - 23 a l o n g with Performance R epo rt s of State Level Screening Co mmitt ee (SLSC), Standing Committee (SC) an d Direct orate General of Ant i-P rofiteer in g (DGAP) for 3rd quarter and 4th quarter of the F. Y 2022 - 23. 13. Request for extensio n of due dates for fi li ng GSTR-7, GSTR-1 GSTR - 3 B for t he month s of A pril , May a nd June 2023 and extension of Amnesty Schemes in the State of Man ipur 14. R ev i ew of revenue ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ceremony. The Secretary thanked the CPMG, Delhi and her team. 1.7 The Secretary stated that a GoM on Casinos, Race Courses and Online Gaming was formed to examine the issue of valuation of services and related aspects with Sh. Conrad Sangma, Hon ble Chief Minister , Meghalaya as Convenor and Hon'ble Members from Maharashtra , West Bengal, Gujarat, Goa, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana as Members. The GoM had submitted its 2nd report which was being placed before the Council for deliberations. He thanked all the Hon ' ble Members of this GoM for their valuable recommendations. 1.8 The Secretary further stated that the GoM on GST System Reforms had submitted the report of its third meeting which was being placed before the Council for deliberations. He thanked the Hon'ble Convenor of this GoM from Maharashtra and other Hon ble Members of this GoM from Haryana , Delhi , Assam, Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh. 1.9 The Secretary informed the Council that a National Coordination ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... hnical Members for GST AT Benches , the States should be taken into account keeping in v i ew the spirit of federa li sm. The State Search-cum - Se l ection Committee should be empowered to select both the Judici a l Members and Techn i ca l Members of the State B e nch . The present syste m w ill pose a h ercu l ean task for the Centre. The Sec r eta r y clarified that th e agenda it em was di scussed in detail, a nd it was agreed that a draft would be pre pa r e d by the Secretariat and circulated. The Cha ir pe r son was authorized to take a fina l v i ew. The minutes have been recorded accord in g l y . Action was a l so taken accordingly - a draft law was prepared , it was circu l ated, comments rece i ved and incorporated and then approval of the Chairperson taken. The final draft Act has also been circulated to Sta t es, based on w hi ch they have taken actions such as passing the State Act. The Hon'ble Memb e r from the State of Tamil Nadu reiterated that the State ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... by Group of Ministers (GoM) on implementation of E-way bill requirement for movement of Gold/ Precious stones under Chapter 71 4.2 Pr. Comm i ssioner, GST Policy in formed that the as per the recommendation of GoM regarding amendment in Rules for implementation of E-Way Bill requirement for movement of Gold/Precious stones , Law Committee has recommended in sert ion of Rule 138F in the CGST Rules 2017 as we ll as in SGST Rules , 2017 for those States w ho wa nt to mandate the requirement of e-way bill for intra-state Movement of go ld and precious stones under Chapter 71 as specified at SI. No. 4 and 5 of the Annexure appended to sub rule 14 of Rule I 38. He also mentioned that this wa s agreed to in the Officers ' meeting. Decision: The Council agreed with the recomm endat ions of the Law Committee along with the proposed amendments in CGST Rules, 2017 and in concerned SGST Rules, 2017. Agenda Item 3(ii): Capacity based taxation and ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... c l arify that in the cases where IGST cred it has been wrongly availed and subsequently reversed on a certa in date, there will not be any interest liability under Section 50(3) of the CGST Act , if during the time period starting from such avai l ment and upto such reversal, the balance Input Tax Cred it in the electronic credit ledger of IGST, CGST and SGST taken together , has not fallen below the amount of such wrongly availed credit. However , if the balance of the electronic credit ledger in IGST, SGST and CGST taken together falls below such wrongly availed IGST credit, then it would amount to utili sat ion of the wrongly availed IGST credit and will attract interest as per section 50(3) of the CGST Act read with Section 20 of the IG ST Act and Rule 88B(3) of the CGST Rules. L aw Comm itt ee has proposed to clarify the same through a circular. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the Law Committee as detailed in the agenda along with the proposed Circular. Agenda Item 3(iv) ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sumers will not mention their address. So , overa ll , the losses and gains would not be substant ial. 4.10 The Hon ble Member from Himachal Pradesh thanked the Chairperson stating that the said amendment would benefit smaller States which have very limit ed resources and that consumer State would get the revenue as per the principle of destination-based taxation. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the Law Committee along with proposed amendm e nts. Agenda Item 3(v) Clarification with respect to applicability of e-invoice w.r.t supplies made by a registered person to Government Departments or establishment/ Government agencies/ local authorities / PSUs registered solely for the purpose of TDS. 4.11 Pr. Commissioner, G ST Po l icy informed that Law Comm itt ee has recommended to cla ri fy through a circu lar that e-invo icin g would be required in a ll such suppl i es made by the regi s tered persons, whose turnover exceed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a mendm e nt in Section 41 of t he CGST Act a nd om i ss i on of Form GSTR-2 a n d GST R -3 from the CGST Rul es, 2 017 , para 7 of the Circular No 125 / 44/20 1 9 dated 18.11.2019 and it s Annexure A are required to be mod i fied to om it th e references to the said Section and Rules. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the Law Committee for making necessary modification s in the above circular and the Annexure A to the said circular. 4.17 Issue N o 3: C l arification regarding determ ina tion of value of adjusted total turnover in th e fo rmula und er Rule 89(4)- 4. I 8 Pr. Comm i ss i oner, GS T Policy informed that Law Commi tt ee has r ecom m ended to clarify through the circular that consequent to the Exp l anation ha v in g been in serted in sub - rule (4) of rul e 89 of the CGST Rules v id e Notification No. 14 /2022-C T dated 5.7.2022 , the va lu e of goo d s exports to be incl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... it may not be clar i fied by issuance of a circ ular. 4.22 The Sec r etary suggested that the Council may either refer the matter back to Law Committee or it could be approved so that all authorities actually take a uniform view . He reiterated th a t it i s on l y a recommendation for the Counc il to decide but th ing s shou l d not be ke p t pending for c l ar ification. 4 . 23 The H on ' ble Chai rpe rson , so u ght the op in ion of the h ouse on the suggestions made by Revenue Secretary 4 . 24 The Hon ble Minister of Karnataka agreed to the proposition suggested by t h e Revenue Secretary. 4.25 The Hon ble Member from Uttar Prades h questio n ed the w i sdom of taking a decision on a matter that i s al r eady sub- ju dice . Revenue Secretary informed that though the matte r is sub - j ud ice but si n ce it is no t stayed, the issue cou ld be decided . 4.26 The Hon'ble Member fro m Goa mentioned that i f the Cou nc ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nd till that functionality is available on the portal, it may be under the category Any Other . However , no refund of interest would be given in such cases. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the Law Committee along with proposed circular as detailed in the agenda. Agenda Item 3(vii): Clarification to deal with difference in Input Tax Credit {ITC) availed in FORM GSTR-3B as compared to that detailed in FORM GSTR - 2A for the period 01.04.2019 to 31.12.2022. 4.32 Pr. Commissioner , GST Policy informed that guidelines were issued on manner of reconciliation of the difference in ITC availed in FORM GSTR-3B as compared to that detailed in FORM GSTR-2A for the period 2017-18 and 2018-2019 consequent to the decision of the Council in the 48th GST Council Meeting. However , after that, representations have been received for clarification to deal with the difference in ITC availed i n FORM GSTR-3B as compared to that detailed in FORM GSTR-2A for the period 0 1.04 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... new clause (e) has been recomm ended to be inserted in sub-ru l e 59(6) of CGST Rules to block subsequent GSTR-1 or IFF , unless the said amount has been paid or the requisite explanation has been furni s hed. 4.34 La w Comm i ttee ha s also recomm ended to insert a new FORM GST DRC-0I C in CGST Rules as required under sub-rule (1) of the proposed rule 88D. 4.35 Law Committee further recommended that to begin with , such intimation may be given in those cases to the concerned registered person under proposed rule 88D where the difference between the input tax credit availed in FORM GSTR-3B that available as per FORM GSTR-2B is more than 20% as well as more than Rs. 25 lakhs. 4 . 36 Pr. Commissioner added that this was discussed in Officers ' meeting and was agreed to. 4 . 37 The Hon ble Member from Tamil Nadu suggested that only one criteria of more t han Rs 25 lakh should be adopted . Revenue Secretary clarified that it is only the beginning and based on the experience , the threshold ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e FY 2022-23 may be exempted for taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover upto two crore rupees, as per the relaxation extended in previous FYs. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the Law Committee, along with draft notification detailed in the agenda note. Agenda 3 (xi)- Amendment in CGST Rules, 2017 regarding registration 4.40 Pr. Commissioner, GST Policy informed that the next agenda 3(xi) i s regarding the amendments in CGST Rules 2017 pertaining to registration. He stated that a significant number of cases have been detected where unscrupulous elements have mis-utilized the facility of registration to take fake registration . He mentioned that Law Committee deliberated on the issue and has recommend amendments in var i ous provisions of CGST Rules to strengthen the registration process in GST. 4.41 Amendment in rule 10 A: Law Committee has proposed that rule 10A of CGST Rules may be amended to provide that the details of bank account may be required to be furnished within 30 days ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ticat i on of r eg i stration applicants in Puducherry. 4.46 Pr . Commissioner, GST Policy informed that the agenda 3 xi(a) is a l so related t o age nda 3(xi) pertaining to registration. He sta t e d that Council had already agreed to have a biometr i c ba se d Aadhaar authent i cat i o n in hi g h risk cases and pilot was approved for State of Gujarat. Puducherry ha s also requested to have a pilot for th e same implemented in Puducherry. I n this re ga rd , approval i s needed for issu i n g the following notifications: i. The State of Puducherry will need to subst itute rul e 8(4A) of Puduch e rry SGST Rule s on the lines of corresponding s ubstitution of Rule 8(4A) of CGST Rul es v ide notification no. 04/2023-Central Tax da te d 31.03.2023; ii. Further , the State of Puducherry will also need to amend ru l e 8(5) and rule 9 of Puducherry SGST Rule s o n the lines of correspond ing amendments in CGST rul es notified vide notification ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... c i rcu lar that in a s i tuat i on where multiple ECOs a r e i n volve d in a s in gle tra n saction t hr ough EC O pl atform, the complia n ces under sect i on 52 of CGST Act, including co ll ection of TCS, is t o be done by the supp li er-side ECO who finally releases th e payment to the supplie r for a p art icul a r supply made by the sa i d su ppl ie r through him. 4.52 He also added that an in-principle approval was gra n te d by GST Counci l in 47 th meeting inter a li a for waive r of r equi r ement of mandatory registration under section 24(ix) of CGST Act for person making intra- sta te taxable supp l y of goods t hrou gh E COs , subject to certain conditions. In order to im p l e m ent the same , issuance of notifications under section 23(2) and section 148 of CGST Act , 2017 has also been recommended by the Council in its 48th meeting. As per the r eco mm endat i o n s of the Counc il , t he sa m e i s to be implemented w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... , 2017 by way of Insertion of Explanation 3 to rule 43 of the CGST rules. 4.56 Amendment to rule 162 of CGST Rules 2017: Subsection (2) of section 138 of CGST Act, 2017 provides for prescribing the amount for compounding various offences under CGST Act through CGST Rules , 2017. Therefore , Law Committee has recommended that sub-rule 3A may be inserted in rule 162 of CGST Rules to prescribe compounding amount for various offences. Consent Based Sharing of Information 4.57 To implement the provisions of the newly inserted section 158A of CGST Act, rules need to be framed and implemented. The Law Committee has recommended insertion of new Rule l 63 in CGST Rules , 2017 for the purpose of consent-based sharing of data available on the common portal with other systems. 4.58 The Law Committee has also recommended that account aggregators may be notified as the systems with which information may be shared by the common portal based on consent under Section 158A of the CGST Act, 2017. The draft notification ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... eeking clarity on taxability of share capital held in subsidiary company by the parent company . 4.61 Pr. Commissioner, GST Poli cy stated that the Agenda i s about clarity on the issue of taxability of share capital held in subsidiary company by the parent company. but the Law committee deliberated on the i ssue and has recommended to clarify through a circular that mere holding of the s h ares of s ub sidiary company by the ho ldi ng company cannot be treated as su pply of se rvices b y the holding company to the subs idiary co mpan y and cannot be taxed under GST accordingly. 4 . 62 The Hon ble Me mb ers from Karnataka and C hhatti sgar h requested to expla in the proposal in greater detail. 4.63 Pr. Comm i ss i oner , GS T P olicy i nformed that the issue i s regarding clar ifi cat i on as to whethe r holdin g of s h ares in a s ub s idi ary company by the parent compa ni es to be treated as supp l y of se r vice under GST or not. Field format i on are ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ent with various provisions requiring change or omiss i on. 4.68 Following amendments in CGS T Rules have been proposed as detailed in the Agenda : 1. Omission of clause (c) of Explanation (1) to Rule 43: This is an amendment consequent ial to lapsing of an exemption. 2. A mendment in proviso to rule 46(f): Law Committee has r ecommended that proviso to rul e 46( f) of CGST Rules may be amended to provide that the tax invoice may contain the name of t h e State of the r ecip i ent only and the name and address of the recipient along with i ts PIN code may not be mandatory t o be dec l a r ed on the tax invoice. 3. Amendment in Rule 64 and F ORM GSTR -5A: Law Co mmit tee has r ecommended amendment in rule 64 and in FORM GST R -5A so as to also include details of supplies made by the OIDAR serv i ce provider lo cated outside I ndia to registered persons other than hon-taxable online recipient in I ndi a in hi s return for tracking of payment of tax o ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n wrong c redit , ad ju stment shou l d b e mad s ub seq u en tly. 4.71 The Hon'ble Chairperson stated that because there was a decision taken in th e 47 th council meeting on the concern raised by Telangana, the officer's committee must tab le report to the Council in the next meeting, highlighting chal l e nge s, possibility or impossibility of th e implementation of the issue raised by Telangana. Decision: The Co uncil agreed w i th the said recommendation of the Law Committee, a lon g with the amendment suggested in the Officers' meeting . Moreover , the issue raised by the Member, Telangana re garding wrong credit may be looked into as decided i n the 4 7t h GST Coun cil meeting . Agenda 3 (xviii)-Proposal to provide a special procedure to file appeal against the orders passed in accordance with the Circular No. 182/14/2022-GST, dated 10.11.2022, pursuant to the directions issued by the Hon ble Supreme Court in the Union of India v/s Fil ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ISD procedure laid down in Section 20 of CGST Act read with rule 39 of the Ce ntr al Goods and Serv ic es Tax Rules, 2017 for distribution of ITC in respect of input services procured by HO from a third party but attribu t able to both HO and BO or exclusively to one or more BOs and that such credit can also be passed on by HO by i ss uin g tax invoices under section 3 1 of CGST Act to the concerned BO s. In cases, here HO wants to distribute credit through I SD mechanism , it sha ll b e required to get it self registered mandatorily as per provisions of section 24(viii) of CGST Act. Further , it may also be clarified that HO can distribute the ITC to a BO t hrough ISD mechanism or can issue voice under sect ion 31 to a BO in respect of an input services rec eived from a third party only if the sa id services are being suppl i ed to the concerned BO . 4. 76 F or prospectiv e periods: Law Committee took a view that ISD procedure, as laid own i n Sectio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... dit was not available to the recipient. He mentioned that it was broadly discussed in the Officers ' meeting to clarify in the circular that in r espect of internally generated services , the cost of sa lary of employees involved in providing the said services, may not be required to be mandatorily included while comput in g the taxable value of the supp l y of such se rvi ces, in cases where full input tax credit i s not available to the recipient. He sought approval of the Council for incorporation of the suggestion made in Officers' meeting in the draft circu lar recommended by the Law Committee. 4.80 The Hon'ble Member from Karnataka suggested that Law Com mitt ee may also consider the possibility of allowing taxpayers to apportion costs of supp li es according to their discretion without making it overly burdensome. The aim i s to facilitate compl i ance and avoid the need for meticulous breakdown and apportionme nt of every cost. He also added that there is a need for caution as thi s is liable for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ation s, on 3 i s su e s , no tax rate changes or status -qu o was recommended and on 6 issues the Fitment Committee had recommended deferring the issues for further examination . The presentation made b y JS , TRU is attached a s Annexure-4 . 5.4 JS , TRU started with the agenda items pertaining to goods wh e re c han ge in rat e s or issuance of c l arification (14 issues) had been recommended by the Fitment Committe e (Annexure -1). 5.5 Th e first issue pertained to tax rate change on uncooked/unfried snack pellets manufactured through extrusion process where the Fitment Committee recommended to reduce GST to 5% on uncooke d/unfried extruded products by whatever name cal l ed . Fitment Committee also recommended to regularize for past period on ' as i s where is ' basis due to genuine doubts. She further informed that the said i ssue was also discussed in detail in the Officer ' s Meeting o n 10.07.2023 and no objections were raised. Decision: The Council agreed ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... xercised. 5.11 The Hon'ble Chairperson sought a r e port on the ent ir e issue within a week ' s time. 5.12 The Hon 'ble Member from Goa thanked the Council for considering this issue. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendation of the Fitment Committee to reduce the tax rate on Fish Soluble Paste from 18% to 5% and regularize the issue for the past period on 'as is where is ' basis. 5.13 JS, TRU then presented the third issue pertaining to IG ST exemption on the cancer medicine Dinutuximab (Quarziba) used for treatment of Neuroblastoma when imported for personal use. She stated that during the officers' meeting on 10.07.2023, one of the suggestions was to check fro m the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare whether the said medicine is manufactured in India and that it has been inform ed by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare that it is n ot approved for manufacture in India and the country ' s needs are met by import. Decision: The Cou ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a s ty implants falling under heading 902 1 , for the period prior to the 18.07.2022. She informed that earlier there we re two entries @ 5% and 12% for sim ilar goods under 9021, which was causing confusion. On the recommendations of 47th meeting of the GST Council, a GST rate of 5% was fixed on all goods falling under heading 9021 w.e.f. 18.07.2022. 5.16 Fitment Comm itt ee recommended to regularize the matter for the period prior to 18.07.2022 on as is basis provided tax had been paid @ 5% or 12% in view of genuine int erp retati onal issues. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendation of the Fitment Committee w.r.t. rate on Trauma, Spine and Arthroplasty implants. 5.17 JS, TR U presented the s i xth issue pertaining to req u est for clarification on raw cotton supplied by agriculturists to cooperatives. Fitment Committee recommended to clarify that supp l y of raw cotton , including kala cotton , from agricu l turists to cooperat i ves is a taxable supply and attra ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for bett er utilization of this waste and prot ect ion of environ m ent a nd to bring parity w i th Bla st Furnace Slag ( BF S) a nd Fly Ash. JS , TR U state d t h at LD slag is a by- product of steel indu stry. She further i nfo rm ed that in the Officers meetin g, office r s from Orissa and Punj ab had pointed out t h at the i ss ue had a l so been discussed in 48th me et in g of the GS T Counc il whe re in the recommendation for reduction of rate was not agreed to s in ce IT C wou ld be available to cement manufact ur ers. It was explained t h at LD slag i s n ot preferred by the cement indu stry due to excess lime content and for uptake in cement industry they have to do further processing. Karnataka had also clarified that other by products of stee l already attract 5% and t her efore on gro und s of pa r ity the rate might be considered fo r r ed u ction. On other by products too the rate was reduced on gro und s of e n vironmenta ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e exchequer. Now , since the rate is at 18% , the road making industry is dis-incentivized from using LD s l ag. By lowering the rate to 5% if we can encourage some end usage of this product, it would be in the larger social and env ir onmental interest. 5.26 The H on ' ble Member from Kerala stated that while there is a revenue ang l e , for example Odisha was producing LD slag and therefore their revenues might be affected , the environmenta l angle was equally an i ssue. So if the usage was in the cement industry, it might be okay but wh il e promoting usage of LD slag in roads, environme nt al issue needs to be kept in mind. H e further stated that in Kerala LD s la g was not being u sed in construction of roads as t h ey do not have steel industry but considering the fact that l00 MT of LD slag was go in g to be produced in the future, whether it w ill create some other environmental issue i f used in roads needs to be kept in mind. 5.27 The Hon'bl ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... m) . Fitment Committee has now recommended to amend the entry to include all utility vehicles by whatever n ame called provided they met the parameters of length greater than 4000 mm, engine capacity more than 1500 cc and ground clearance of 170 mm above and further recommended to insert an exp l anation to clar i fy for the purposes of the said notification entry that Ground C l earance in entry 52B mea n s Ground Clearance in un-laden condition. 5.32 Sec r e tar y, Ha r y ana sta t e d th a t arou n d 40% of t h e SUVs a r e s till fa llin g u n d er the 20% Cess s l a b a nd du e to l a d e n h e i g ht co nd i ti o n , 2% Cess i s b e in g lo s t w hi c h am o unt s t o a great l oss o f the r e venu e. H e fu rth er a dd e d th a t th e r e i s a diff e ren c e in t h e way th e gro u n d cl ea r a nc e i s b e in g ca lcul ate d as pe r BIS s t anda rd a nd F it m e n t C ommitt ee r eco mm e n da t io n a n d sugges t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... fr o m a d va l o r e m tax to s p ec i fic t a x base d l evy l inke d t o reta il sa l e p ri ce ( R S P ) on s u c h produ cts t o i m p l e m e nt th e r eco mm e n dat i o n s m a d e by t h e GST Cou n c i l in it s 49th m ee tin g. S he sta t e d th at t he y h ave b ee n rece ivin g r ep r es ent a ti o n s a b o ut th e c h a ll e n ges in d e t e rminin g the ra t e of com p e n sa ti o n cess in ca s e s wher e it i s n ot l ega ll y req uir e d t o d e clar e th e R SP . Th e F itment Co m m itt ee has th e re fo re r eco mm e n de d to not i fy th at th e ea rli e r ad va l o r e m r ate as was app l icab l e o n 31 s t M a r c h , 2023 for such goods by ame ndin g th e sa id No t i fi cat i on i n cases w h e r e it i s not l ega ll y r e qu i r ed to d ec l a r e R S P. 5.36 The Hon'ble Chairperson asked Hon ble Member from Uttar Pradesh if he is in agr ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... tions had been received requesting to regularize the in t ervening period between issue of orig in a l notification and i ss ue of corrigendum to notification 1/2017 - CT(R) dated 27.7.20 17 prescribin g 1 2% GST rate. Fitment Committee recommended to regularize the period 01.07.2017 to 27.07.2017 on as is where is basis on account of genuine interpretational is s ue s . Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendation of the Fitment Committee w.r.t. desiccated coconut. 5.44 JS, TRU presented th e fourteenth issue pertaining to Areca Leaf plates and cups. She stated cups and plates made of areca l eaf are already exempt. Fitment Committee had examined it and s ugge sted that no action i s required on the representation r ece i ved but during the officers' meeting i t was clarified that the request was not for exemption but for regularizing the period prior to the exemption i. e . prior to 1.10.2019 , on as i s basis and the same was discussed in the officers' meeting and t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... . However , the present capacity i s 7000 to 8000 MT , so the req u est is to increase its uptake. She furthe r informed that s i nce this product is primarily used in the elect ri c ity sector , it will amount to zero rating supply whic h is usually for export. 5.53 The Hon ble Member of De l hi said that i ssue is s imil ar to the LD slag issue and it is an environmental issue and suggested reducing the tax rate from 5% to Nil to inc rease the off take. 5.54 JS , TRU informed that there i s a difference between LD s la g and Agro-based biomass pellets where the first one is part of the GST chai n whi l e the l atter one becomes a zero rated supply and goes ou t of the GST chai n. 5.55 Th e H on'ble C hairperson appreciated the point about environme n ta l concerns but stated that zero rating i s meant for exports as taxes are not expo rt ed. She stated that rate fo r L D slag was not being brought t o zero and the recommendatio ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Council Meeting Rice Bran (HS 2302) for use as feed was at Nil and for other uses was at 5%. T he GST Cou n ci l in its 25th Meeting held on l 8.01.2018 , dec i ded to l evy 5% GST on R i ce Bran , ir respective of end u se, and N il GST on De-Oiled Rice Bran. Th is was notified w . e.f. 25.01.20 1 8. The interim repo rt of GoM o n rate rationa li zation also did not recomm end bringing all goods und er chapter 23 to 5% GST Rate and hence Fitment Committee recommend ed for status-quo. Decision: The C ouncil agreed with the recommendation of the Fitment Co mmitt ee to maintain status quo w .r.t. De-Oil e d Rice Bran. 5.62 JS , TRU then presented the third issue pertainin g to products falling under any c hapt e r , prepared or manufactured by the inmates of Keral a Prison and Correctional Serv i ces Department. She i nformed t h at recommendation was rece i ved fo r Nil GST Rate. Fitment Comm i ttee recommended for status-quo . 5.63 The Hon'b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nt Comm itt ee on the . issues pertaining to GST r ate reduction on Sungudi Saree; upfront exemp tion from payment of IG ST and refund mechanism to be done away w ith fo r IAEA; GST rate reduction for Av gas; machinery used in Sericulture Industry and automat i c r eel in g machinery; all Sports goods fitness products and Mega Power Projects. All agreed to the same. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the Fitment Committee to maintain status quo w.r.t. agenda as detailed in para 5.65 above. 5 .6 7 The Secretary then requested for the comments of the Hon ble Members of the Counc il on the recommendations put forth by t h e Fitment Committee on the issues of Apple Carton Boxes. The Hon ble Member from Himachal Pradesh requested that corrugated boxes of spec ifi ed dimensions can be put in the lower tax bracket. He informed that 90% of the apple carton boxes used in the State of Himachal Pradesh have capacity from 10 Kg to 20 Kg wh i ch have specific dimensions dif ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on'ble Members of the Counc il , if any. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the Fitment Committee w.r.t. flexi fuel vehicles to maintain sta tu s quo. 5.75 The Secretary then presented the issues pertaining to GST rate reduction in agr i cultural products; utensils made of brass; Heavy feedstock, Vac uum Gas Oil , reformates, etc.; al l bakery prod u cts manufactured and sold by MSME and so u ght t h e comments of the Hon'b l e Members of the Counc il , if any. Decision: The Council agreed with the r ecommen dation s of the Fitment Committee w.r.t. age nda as detailed in para 5.74 above to maintain status quo. 5.76 The Secretary then presented the agenda pertaining to the goods (4 issues) where fitment h as deferred the issues for further examination (Annex ure-III) . 5 .7 7 On the issue of Millet based products, the Hon'ble Member from Delhi suggested that the decision on the Millet b ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... private organizations and that satellite launch services by ISRO, Antrix Corporation Ltd. and New Space India L imi ted are already exempt from GST. The Fitment Committee recommended that exemption may be extended t o satellite l aunch services provided by privat e organizations with a view to provide level playing field and encourage start-ups. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the Fitment Committee to exempt GST on satellite launch services provided by private organizations. 5.83 Joint Secretary, TRU informed that the second issue listed at Sr. No. 2 of Annexure IV related to rectification in it em at SI. No. 3(ie) of notification No . 11/2017-CTR which continued to have reference to some of th e housing schemes etc. figuring under erstwhile sl. No . 3(iv), (v) and (vi) of the sa id notification in order to take care of the real estate projects which commenced prior to 01.04.2019. The items at sl. No. 3( i v), (v) and (vi ) of the above notification were omitted v id e notification No. 03/20 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ext and future Financial Years unless they file a declaration that they want to revert to Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM). 5.86 The Secretary further informed the Council that for agenda [tern listed at Sr. No. (4)(b) of Annexure IV, GSTN has requested that a start date for filing of option by GTA may be provided for subsequent Financial Years; otherwise the default date for exercise of option for a Financial Year shall be 1 s t April of the preceding Financial Year. Having start date for exercise of option for a Financial Year as 1st April of the preceding Financial Year is not desirable as this may give rise to false impression to the GT As that they have exercised option for the current financial year. Fitment Committee recommended that the start date may be prescribed as 1 st January of the preceding F i nancial Year. Fitment Committee also recommended that the last date for filing the option may be changed from 15th March to 31st March of preceding Financial Year . 5.87 JS, TRU stated that agenda I ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... a cinema hall is taxable as restaurant service as long as (a) they are supplied by way of or as part of a service and (b) supplied independently of the cinema exhibition service. Where the sale of cinema ticket and supply of food and beverages are clubbed together, and such bundled supply satisfies the test of composite supply, the entire supply will attract GST at the rate applicable to service of exhibition of cinema, the principal supply. Decision: The Council agreed with the recommendations of the F itm ent Committee for issuance of clarific at ion with respect to supply of food and beverages in cinema halls. 5 . 90 Th e Secretary informed the Council that on 3 is sues, no changes have been proposed by the Fitment Com mitt ee in relati on to services (Annexure V): IGST exemption on purchase of a ircraft and aircraft lease payment , GST exemption o n services by the way of granting affiliation to schoo l s by Cen tral Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) for ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... in g and it was s ug gested by one of t he States that this agenda it em should be taken up . Officers from the S tat es of Punjab and Bihar had requested to defer this agenda i tem. T h e Secretary stated that the Co un c il cou ld take a call on whether to d i scuss or defer the agenda item. He further stated that there exists an ambig uity around t h e phra se 'in r e l atio n to ' and one of the suggest i ons received was to delete this phrase from the entries in notification no. 12/2017 related to pure services and Compos it e supplies provided to Central Government, State Government or Local Authority. The Hon'ble Chairperson opened the floor for discussion in case the States wished to deliberate upon the agenda or the States might put forth their views during the Fitment Committee meetings in case of deferment. 5.94 The Hon'b l e Member from Delhi expressed her desire to discuss the agenda and the issues emanating from it as Delhi had some concerns regarding ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... me to st ud y the list comprehensive l y and once again requested the Chair to defer the agenda it em to be taken up in the next Council Meeting. 5.98 Considering the views of the States of Punjab and Bihar, the Chairperson proposed to defer the agenda item. The Secretary stated that it wou l d be brought before the Council for a decision in the next meeting of the Council. Decision: The Council agreed to defer the agenda item. 6. Agenda Item 5: Second Report of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Casinos, Race Courses and Online Ga ming 6.1 Joint Secretary , TRU presented a Factsheet on Horseracing , Online Gaming and Casino which has been annexed as Annexure-5. The Factsheet encapsulates the factual status, revenue, le ga l position, present practice and t h e i ssues for information and decision of t h e GST Counci l. 6 . 2 Sh . Conrad Sangma, t he Honorable Ch ief Minister from Megha l aya and the Co n ve n er of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on Casinos , Race ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... (GGR) , calcu l ated at the table level rather than on individual transactions. T hi s approach is in line with international practices, as tracking each and every transact i on of an individual may prove to be arduous . Sikk im and Goa are the on l y two States having these casinos and both suggested that rat e of 28% shou l d be levied on the Gross Gaming Revenue (GGR). 6.4 Furthermore, he added that the GoM e n gaged in a n ex ten sive discussion o n whether H orse r ac in g classifies as ga m e of ski ll or chance a nd s h ou ld be t r eated as a separate category or e n co mpas se d wit h in th e realm of betting an d gambling. It was op in e d that there is no distinct classification for games of ski ll , and they s h ou ld be considered as part of the broader b etting and ga mblin g category. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Dr. K.R. Laks hm a n an case h eld that Horse Racin g is a game of skill however, there i s no legislative provision for mandati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... on by GST Council should conform with such State legislation. Regarding horse racing, the Minister proposed that if it is deemed a game of skill, a tax of 28% should be levied on the GGR value . Conversely , if it is classified as a game of chance, the full value at a tax rate of 28% should be considered. There should be a mechanism to receive and segregate the money. The receipt money should be directly deposited into operator account and an escrow separate account should be t here to hold the prize money for eventual payout. 6.9 The Hon'ble Member from Maharashtra adopted a resolute stance, emphasizing the urgent need to reach a long-awaited decision on the meeting day . The Minister recommended that on line gaming, cas i nos, and horse racing be incorporated into entry 6 of Schedule III of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act , 2017 alongside lottery, gambling, and betting as taxable actionable claim. The Minister stated that delving i nto the specifics of what constitutes a game of skill or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e Goods and Services Tax (GST) should be imp ose d b ased on GGR. He added that during the preparation of th e second report, experts evaluated the matter from various perspectives and varied op ini ons from stakeho ld ers were also sought which is the main reason for the lack of a firm recommendation from the Group of M ini sters (GoM) and the report remaining inconclusive. F urth ermore , he asserted that this s ubjec t i s st ill evo lving over time. H e furthe r proposed tha t t h e ca rdinal principl e of GST is to align the pre-GST tax regime wit h the present one . He informed t h e Counci l that Goa prev i ous l y lev i ed a maximum entertainment tax of 15% on Casi n o indu stry and i t was never 28% or not even 1 8%. 6 .1 2 The Hon ble Member from Goa high li ghted the heavy depend e nce of Goa ' s economy on tourism sector, particularly the Cas i no industry . He raised the issue of the revenue imp licati ons for th e State if t h e dec i sion l ed to th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Hon'ble Courts can decide them to be a game of sk i ll or chance. However, the key question is whether the government can impose taxes on unregulated act i vities. She provided an example of crypto assets which are not regulated but are still subject to taxation a n d no Court has challenged this. She further added that these games involve value creation , whether with or without skill. She also stated that the governments have the right to tax that value and there is no l egal conflict in doing so. It may be game of sk i ll or game of chance and debate may be going on but tax should be imposed on these activities. She clarified that the Ministry of Electronics and information Technology (MEITY) is in the process of formulating technical regulations related to online gaming . MEITY is wo r king on regulatory framework in that doma i n . These types of regulations do not affect the GST Counci l and do not infringe upon i ts sovereign right to impose tax . 6.16 The Hon'ble Membe r from Uttar Prad ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... for maintaining a uniform law for all three activities. In addition, he supported views of Tamil Nadu and pointed out that on line gaming has had a negative impact on the youth, becoming an addiction for them. He expressed the v i ew that no concession sho uld be given to these activities and these should be taxed at the highest rate. He stated that h e did not oppose the id ea of treat in g casinos separately, but uni formity would be preferable. He also mentioned that the Karnataka Government bas been taxing race courses based on their gross value under the respective Acts s ince the beginning and litigation had only arisen in recent years even though tax was previously paid on the gross value only. 6.19 The Hon 'ble Member from Kera l a raised concerns abo ut the impact of taxing on the basis of GGR mechanism on lotteries as it could lead to li t i gat i on. He stated that this approach may affect the taxation of other actionable c l aims . 6.20 The H on'ble Member from Guja ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... sted valua ti o n method. Then he apprised the Council that prior to the imp l ementation of GST, Sikkim taxed Casinos at the rate of 10 % on the GGR value. Furthermore, he stated that presently, 28% GS T rate is being charged and if the valuation method i s altered, it wou ld have a severe blow to the casino i ndustry . 6 . 25 The Hon'ble Member then highlighted the distinction between these three activit i es despite their apparent s imil a ri ties as mentioned in 2 nd report of GoM . Specifically, the Hon'ble Member underscored that the unique feature of a casino is that eac h chip purchased by a player does not represent an actionable claim. It was op ined that imposing GST on the full-face value of all ch ip s purchased in a cas in o would be unjustifiable . The Council was in formed that the annual revenue generated by the State of Sikkim from t h ese activities amounts to approximately Rs. 20 cro r es which is a substantia l sum fo r a small State like Sikkim whe r e option ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... lly, the Hon'ble Member recommended making approp ri ate amendments to th e law in accordance with the decision s reached in the Council to avoid any legal disputes. 6.30 Th e Revenue Secretary clarified that an amendment to the law i s neces s ary as o nline gaming companies have argued in various courts that online gaming is an actionable claim but i s not a taxab l e actionable claim in Schedule TII of the Centra l Goo d s and Services Tax (CGST) Act. They contend that it is a game of skill and does not involve any element of gambling o r bett in g. The Council was informed that the GGR is typically only 10-15% re s ulting in an effective tax rate of l-3%. The Secretary stro n gly put across that even food it ems are taxed at a rate of 5% wh i ch is the lowest slab rate. Therefore, clarity must be brought through l eg i s lati ve amendments. It was mentioned that th e draft amendments have been prepared carefully in consu l tat i on with the Additional Solic it ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s uffice after such amendments . The Revenue Secretary t h en i nformed the Council that a few more amendments wou l d be worked out by the Law Committee and circulated to t h e respective States fo r amendments in their State GST Act subject to the Council's approval. 6.34 The Hon'ble Member from Karnataka proposed to i nclude an explanation in Entry 6 to incorporate these games rather than amending the entire entry. Similarly, the Hon ' ble Member from T amil Nadu suggested that the final draft of the amendment should be shared w i th all States. In response , t h e Revenue Secretary stated that States like Tamil Nadu and Karnataka who w i shed to be invo l ved, could be included in the Law Comm i ttee to ensure a concurren t dec i sion. 6.35 Taking into consideration the concern raised by Tamil Nadu , the Hon'ble Chairperson sought the Council's wisdom on whether if any State has a Jaw banning ce r tain activities like Online Gaming and the Counc i l deems fit to tax that act ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iple o f l aw s hould n ot be different for Casinos co mpar ed to other act i vit ie s as it could have far -re ac hin g effects o n o th er services. The Hon'ble Member from Karn a taka suggested t hat the principle of l aw s hould b e th e same fo r all activities and taxed on face value while t he tax rate could vary. The Hon 'bl e Member from Maharashtra a l so agreed w ith this view and propose d tax in g Cas ino s at 28% initiall y with the possibility of providing an abatement. 6.41 The Hon'b l e Member from Naga l a nd state d t hat if cas in o was pan Indi a and sa m e rate wou ld not prevail , th en i t could ha ve repercussion. As casino i s s pec ific to on l y two States i.e. Goa and Sikkim thus except ion s coul d b e made. Casino i s lifeline for these two States and i t wou ld ha ve hu ge i mpact on t h eir revenue. 6.42 The Hon'ble Member from Andhra Pradesh expressed the belief that only the States of Goa and S ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... Hon 'b l e Cha ir person stated that si n ce the proposal of the Hon'ble Member from Goa was not acceptable to th e Council, the decision was to tax Cas in os at the rate of 28% on their full-face value. Decision: The Council decided to clarify that actionable claims supplied in Casinos, Race course and Online gaming are also under the purview of GST to be taxed at the rate of 28% on full face value irrespective of whether the activities are a game of skill or chance. Accordingly, the law m ay be amended to provide clarity on the matter. 7. Agenda Item 6: Recommendations of the 18 th and 19 th IT Grievance Redressal Committee for approval/decision of the GST Council 7 . 1 The Secretary requested JS, GST Council Secretariat to present the agenda item regarding recommendations of the 18 th and 19 th meetings of t he I T Grievance Redressal Committee ( ITGR C) before the Co un cil. 7.2 JS, GST Co uncil Secretariat then presented the recom ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... received in this regard. In the officers' m eet in g, the States had exp r essed their inability to devise suc h a scheme as they were already implementing ot h er in centive schemes. Decision: The Council agreed to continue with the existing scheme of budgetary support whereby reimbursement of 58% of the net CGST and 29% of net IGST was granted to the eligible manufacturing units in specified States and rejected the repre sen tations received for the balance 42% of the net CGST and 21 % of net IGST. 9. Agenda Item 8: Ad-hoc Exemptions Order(s) issued under Section 25(2) of Customs Act, 1962 to be placed before the GST Council for information. 9.1 In the 26 th G ST Cou ncil m ee tin g h eld on 10 th March , 2018, it was d ec id ed that a ll ad hoc exem p tion orders issued with the approval of Hon ble Finance Min i ster as per the gu id el ines contained in C ir cu lar No. 09 /2 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Council. He stated that the GoM in its third meeting considered 6 agenda items and that they would be taken up individually. 10.4 The first agenda item that was considered by the GoM was regarding the hard l ocking of Tab le-4 of GSTR-3B and it is basically about the credit that is being claimed in FORM GSTR-3B to be locked with the credit that is availab l e in the FORM GSTR-2A. He in formed the Council that the GoM after due deliberations has concluded that the hard lockin g of Table-4 of GSTR-3B is n o t feasible as of now as there are many comer s itu at i ons that would cause inconvenience to the taxpayers if hard lo cki n g is done. The GoM as a first step ha s recommended that a rule based on gap in ITC utili zat ion ca n be implemented in a phased mann er on s imilar lines as mismatch between GSTR-l/3B system which is a lread y under implementation. 10.5 The second agenda item that was considered by the GoM was regarding th e tracking and identifi catio n of Non-Existent Tax Payers (NET ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... HSN-level reporting in GSTR -1. Commissioner Maharashtra informed the Co un cil that in the ini t i al phases , the dealers are not disclosing the full turnover com modit y w i se a nd therefore , it is proposed to make this compulsory in a phased manner . The GoM has recommended a phase-wise and time-bound a pp roach to be adopted for act i on against non-compliant taxpayers with nudging messages a n d e- mail s in the initial phase and blocking of GSTR-1 to be conside r ed for fa ilur e to fi ll H SN d eta i ls in the l ate r phase . 1 0.8 The fifth agenda item that was considered by th e GoM was re gard i ng the proposal for int egration of Income T ax, I CEGATE and other data points to address u nderreporting of supplies and to add r ess the issue of under-reporting of Import of Services . On integration with Income Tax and I CEGATE the GoM suggested that DoR may coordinate the same. The benefit to GST on matching with these data po int s are quite obv i ous. I n th is r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ayers . 10.12 The Secretary proposed that the Counci l could accept the report of the GoM and that the recommendations made by the GoM can be implemented by GSTN in consultation with the Law committee. Decision: The Council accepted the recommendations made by the GoM on System Reforms. 11. Agenda Item 10: Proposal for creation of State Co-ordination Committee comprising of GST authorities from the State and Central Tax Administration 11.1 The Secretary presented t h e Agenda No. 10 regarding creation of State Level Co-ordination Committee comprising GST authorities from the State a nd Central Tax Administration. He informed the Council that the proposal had co m e up during the National Coordination Committee meeting that was held in April, 2023 with the tax authorities from both Centre and State. 11.2 The Secretary informed the Council that the Committee would be co-chaired by the Chief Commissioner/ Commissioner of CGST / SGST and that they shall be co-convener on rotational basis for one year ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... of Benches along with their juri sd iction in States /UTs with legislature . 12.2 The Secretary presented the agenda and mad e a brief prese n tation. The pre se ntati on (att ached as Annexure-7) s ummari zed the State-wise Benche s reque sted (sorted in descending order of the number of ta x payer s in eac h State) along with domestic GST collection figures from each State i.e. collection s net of IGST on impor ts . He brought to the notice of the Council that each Bench comprises 4 Member s and, thus , each Bench effect i vely means two functional Benches. 12.3 The Hon ' ble M e mber from Uttar Prad es h stated that Uttar Prad es h has the highe st number of taxpayers and the highest population in the country with a wide geographical expanse. He informed the Council that for these reason s th ey have proposed fiv e Benche s at Lucknow , Agra, Prayagraj , Varanasi and Ghaziabad. This had been cleared by the State Cabinet earlier as also discussed by the Council in it s 39th and 40 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... filled up and made operat i ona l , we can proceed to higher numbers. The requests received can be approved, subject to the condit ion that in the ini tia l phase, the process is started with Benches at State Capitals and places where High Court Benches are located. 12.10 The Hon 'ble Member from Uttar Prade sh sta ted that at least three Benches should be recommended in the first phase and the request made should not be cancelled. 12.11 The Hon'ble Chairperson clarified that the Benches as proposed by the States were not being reduced but th e idea was to start with fewer Benches in the initial phase. The other Benches may be set up s ub seq uen tly. 12.12 The Hon ble Member from Kerala stated that the proposal of Kerala is to set up 3 State Benches with locations at Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam and Kozhikode. In the in itial phase , as suggested in this meeting, due t o l esser pendency of cases , two benches even with half the members may be made functiona l at Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... i ons will be requir ed to be done every year due to constitution of new B enc h es, turnover of members due to re s ign ations, retirements etc. Decisions: a. The Council recommended that provisions of the Finance Act , 2023 pertaining to the GST Appellate Tribunal may be notified by the Centre with effect from 01.08.2023 . This will pave the way for the early setting up of the Benches of the GST Appellate Tribunal. b. Further , the Council recommended that the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra be nominated as one of the Member of the Search cum Selection committee in terms of Section 110(4)(b )(iii) of the CGST Act 2017 for a period of one year. c. It was clarified that for states having a common Bench but separate High Court , an appeal arising out of GSTAT order will fall within the jurisdiction of the High Court of the State where the taxpayer is located. d. Regarding the nu ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... e 2023 and extension of Amnestv Schemes in the State of Manipur. 14.1 Th e Pr. Comm i ss i oner , GST Policy stated that a request has been received from State of Manipur for extension of due dates for fil in g of FORM GSTR 7 , FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GS TR- 3B for the m onths of April , May and June 2023 till 31.07.2023 for taxpayer s of Manipur , due to preva ilin g law-and-order s i tuation in the State. He informed that already , extension of due dates for filing of FORM GSTR 7, FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B fo r the months of April 2023 and May 2023 has been granted t ill 30 th June 2023. 14.2 He a l so informed t hat State of Manipur has a l so requ ested for exte n sion of the Amnesty schemes announced in the l ast Council meeting till 3 1 st Jul y 2023 i n Sta t e of Manipur. He mentioned that these amnesty schemes were notified through notification s dated 31st March , 2023 , on basis of the recommendations of GST Counci l made in 4 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... review of revenue position under GST and informed the Council that there were press releases from time to time indicating the revenue position. The Secretary to the Council informed that there is growth in the revenue of about 12% annually. 15.2 The Director (State Taxes), DoR stated that the average monthly co ll ection of GST comes to about Rs . 1.70 Lakh Cror e. Regarding un se ttled IGST , the Director (State Taxes) , DoR i nformed that compared to last year this year the balance is negative. However , the situation was improving. The Compensation Account was also in negative. 15.3 The Secretary informed the Council that the Compensation amount to a ll the States who had submitted AG Cert i ficate had been released and there was no pendency . The Secretary requested the other States who had not submitted their AG Certificates to submit it on priority so that their pay m ents could a l so be released in time. 15.4 The Hon ble Member from Telangana stated that thei r IGST sett l ement and Compensation payment we r ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... encies cou ld h ave shared the data related to any fraud detection without even having any notification brought to that effect. Therefore , this matter shou ld have necessarily been discussed in the Cou ncil before notifying anything that affects GST agencies. 16.5 The Hon'ble Member from Rajasthan also requested the Counci l to take up the matter for discussion o n an urgent bas i s. Any defaults in tax payments were a lread y being investigated by GST authorities and br in ging enforcement of laws like PMLA in taxat i on matters would further create fear among traders. 16 . 6 T h e Hon ble Member from Telangana informed the Counci l that th ere were many appre h ensions among the i ndustry members about the notification. These apprehensions s h ould be addressed by way of a n Agenda or a GoM might be constituted for deeper analysis. The matter may then be taken up in the next Council meeting and the impl ementation of the notification be defer r ed till that time. 16 . 7 ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... rised the Council that no representations raising objections against the not i fication were received from any association in the State of Maharas h tra. The Hon'ble Member h ighlighted that s i nce the inception of the law , 5000 cases had been registered for the period 2005 to 2023 . 2200 cases were reg i stered between 2005 and 2014 w hi le 2800 cases were registered between 2014 and 2023. Further , the total number of reg i strations in GST are 1 Crore 40 lakh approximately and the number of cases of violation were 5000 only. 16.10 The Hon'b l e Member from C hh attisgarh po i nted out that when PML Act was brought i nto effect , its preamb l e quoted the ob l igation of the co u ntry under United Nation Convention under which i t was adopted . So, it was not foreseen at t ha t time that such laws had something to do with tax r egimes l i ke GST. The aim was to target ill i cit d rug trafficking, destabi l ization of the country, etc. 16.10 The Secretary to the Counc il reiterated that th ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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