GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (GST)

2/9/2019

Panel backs lower GST on under-construction flats.

New Delhi: A ministerial panel has backed a move to lower goods and services tax (GST) on under-construction real estate projects from the current 18% to 5%, with a lower levy likely for affordable houses.

The move is expected to pave the way for a decision by the GST Council in the next two weeks as the government is keen to signal a lower rate regime for the real estate sector before the model code of conduct kicks in.

Already, several sops have been announced for the sector, which is seen to be a major job generator and can help boost demand for inputs such as cement and steel. The issue of a reduction in GST has been on the table for the last few months but the council referred the issue to a group of ministers (GoM) headed by Gujarat read more »

2/7/2019

‘GST cannot be levied on sums recovered from staff for benefits’.

Mumbai: A ruling by Maharashtra Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR) is a shot in the arm for corporate employees. They will not have to bear a GST levy, when they partly reimburse the employer company for various facilities such as a canteen food and medical insurance cover provided to them. Typically, as per corporate policies, a portion of expenses for providing these facilities is recovered from employees as a deduction from salary.

Till now it was a grey area in the state on whether GST would be levied on the amounts paid by employees. The recent ruling settles the matter for employees in Maharashtra and it is also expected to have persuasive value for similar issues across the country.

The AAR, in its ruling, which is now available in the public domain, has held that recovery of 50% of the amount read more »

2/3/2019

GST mop-up rises to Rs. 1.02 lakh crore in January.

The GST numbers are out. Collections in January rose to Rs 1.02 lakh crore, the second highest monthly mop-up after April.

This is a significant increase from the collection of Rs 94,725 crore in December 2018, and 14 per cent higher than January 2018 collection of Rs 89,825 crore.

The total number of sales return or GSTR-3B filed for the month of December up to January 31, 2019 is 73.3 lakh.

"The total gross GST revenue collected in January 2019 is Rs 1,02,503 crore of which Central GST is Rs 17,763 crore, State GST (SGST) is Rs 24,826 crore, Integrated GST (IGST) is Rs 51,225 crore and Cess is Rs 8,690 crore," the ministry said in a statement.

This is the third time in current fiscal that revenues from Goods and Services Tax (GST) have read more »

2/2/2019

Union Budget 2019 highlights: Tax cut for middle class, relief for small farmers.

Highlights

Finance minister Piyush Goyal on Friday presented the much awaited Union Budget in Lok Sabha. Goyal was appointed interim finance minister on January 23 with Arun Jaitley undergoing treatment in the United States. Here is a look at the main points of the Budget presented by Piyush Goyal

Individual taxpayers with annual income up to 5 lakh rupees to get full tax rebate.

Individuals with gross income up to 6.5 lakh rupees will not need to pay any tax if they make investments in provident funds and prescribed equities.

Tax slabs for those with income over Rs 5 lakh remain unchanged.

Standard tax deduction for salaried persons raised from 40,000 rupees to 50,000 rupees.

TDS threshold on rental income raised from 1.8 lakh to 2.4 lakh rupees.

read more »

1/29/2019

Most states suggest GST still evolving: N K Singh

‘Say They Need Many Qtrs To Conclude On GST Behaviour With Multiple Rate Changes’

The 15th Finance Commission has completed nearly half its state visits and travels to Punjab on Tuesday. Its chairman N K Singh spoke to TOI about the challenges being faced by the states, including the impact that the recent announcements related to the farm sector may have on their finances. Excerpts:

A number of states have announced farm loan waivers and other measures. How do you view these announcements and does that make your task tougher?

The central government has made it very clear that states can decide on a waiver or a write-off provided they have the fiscal space. So far, I have not heard of any state seeking a waiver from the targets laid down in the FRBM Act. I am read more »

1/21/2019

Several states opt to double GST threshold.

Deadline Extended By A Wk

New Delhi: Kerala is so far the only state to retain the GST threshold at an annual turnover of Rs 20 lakh for businesses in the state, even as half-a-dozen states agreed to double the registration and tax limit for manufacturers to Rs 40 lakh.

So far, six states have decided to double the threshold after the GST Council last week agreed to the move aimed at reducing the compliance burden on small businesses, sources told TOI. An interesting addition to the list is Congress-ruled Chhattisgarh, which had initially argued against raising the limit on the grounds that revenues would be impacted.

The other interesting inclusions are J&K and Assam, which had the option to stick to a lower threshold, given that they are hill states. Earlier, when these states were allowed to read more »

1/19/2019

No e-way bill if GST return not filed for 6 mths.

New Delhi: Non-filers of GST returns for six consecutive months will soon be barred from generating e-way bills for movement of goods. The Goods and Services Tax Network is developing such IT system that businesses which have not filed returns for two straight return cycles, which is six months, would be barred from generating e-way bills, an official said.

Central tax officers have detected 3,626 cases of GST evasion/violations cases, involving Rs 15,278.18 crore in April-December period.

Touted as an anti-evasion measure, the e-way bill system was rolled out on April 1, 2018, for moving goods worth over Rs 50,000 from one state to another. The same for intra or within the state movement was rolled out in a phased manner from April 15. AGENCIES

1/11/2019

In effort to placate traders, BJP doubles GST relief limit to Rs. 40L.

New Delhi: As part of an attempt to make life simpler for small businesses, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) council decided on Thursday to double the registration limit for manufacturing units, kirana and garment stores to an annual turnover of Rs 40 lakh, while opening a window for service providers such as beauty parlours to pay tax at a flat rate without having to file detailed returns.

Coming weeks before the general elections are announced, the move is seen as an attempt to assuage small traders and businessmen who have been complaining about high compliance burden.

Last month, the council, led by Union finance minister Arun Jaitley, had reduced levies on several items as part of the tax rationalisation drive meant to benefit consumers. Thursday’s decision comes a day after the government got Parliament’s approval for a 10% quota for read more »

1/11/2019

POLITICAL POSTURING?

After initial protest, Congress-ruled states back raising of GST threshold

New Delhi: Ministers from some of the Congress-ruled states on Thursday opposed a move to double the GST threshold for the goods segment, before agreeing to it due to absence of support from opposition-governed states in what was reminiscent of last month’s GST Council meeting, when some of them had objected to attempts to reduce the levy for consumers.

When the meeting began, Chhattisgarh finance minister T S Singh Deo, who was attending his first GST Council meeting, along with Puducherry chief minister V Narayanasami opposed the recommendations of a ministerial panel to raise the registration limit, sources told TOI. Soon, Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac joined in. The ministers from the opposition parties suggested that the limit should be retained at Rs 20 lakh for the large states, and Rs read more »

1/10/2019

60% may escape GST net if turnover threshold doubled.

3% Share Of Taxpayers With Up To ?40L Biz In Total Collections

New Delhi : The move to double the threshold for goods and services tax (GST) registration to annual turnover of Rs 40 lakh may result in up to 60% of the registered dealers falling out of the net, but will have only a negligible impact on revenue.

At the end of last March, there were over 87 lakh registered dealers with nearly 45 lakh reporting around Rs 20-lakh turnover. Another 10 lakh had a turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh, data accessed by TOI showed. Officials said that the trend is largely similar although the base of registered GST payers is now close to 1.2 crore.

Officials said that not all the registered dealers would opt out as several of the companies that they sell read more »