GOODS AND SERVICES TAX (GST)

07-12-2018

GST on third-party motor cover may dip - Govt To Put Proposal Before GST Council.

New Delhi: The government will soon bring a proposal before the GST Council to reduce tax on the premium being paid by vehicle owners for buying third-party (TP) insurance. Currently, the GST on third-party premium is 18% and it’s mandatory for every vehicle owner to buy the TP insurance. A reduction is expected to ease the burden on consumers.

TOI has learnt that the issue of high GST on premium came up for discussion at a meeting at Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).

“The department of financial services has been directed to suggest the rate cut and expedite it so that the proposal can be placed before the next GST Council meeting. There was a unanimous view that the GST rate needs to be rationalised in this case since the vehicle owner has no choice than buying the policy,” said a read more »

04-12-2018

Exporters get Rs. 91,149cr in GST refunds.

New Delhi: The Central Board of Indirect Tax & Customs (CBIC) and state authorities have disposed of GST refunds worth Rs 91,149 crore to exporters, out of total claims of Rs 97,202 crore received so far.

A disposal rate of 93.8% has been achieved and pending GST refund claims amounting to Rs 6,053 crore are being expeditiously processed to provide relief to eligible claimants. Refund claims without any deficiency are being cleared expeditiously, the finance ministry said.

Exports by small businesses were adversely affected by the delay in refund of upfront GST and input tax credit, which put pressure on their working capital needs, a study published by the RBI had pointed out in August.

The government has taken a series of steps to step up the refunds to exporters, holding special refund events to dispose of claims read more »

02-12-2018

GST mop-ups dip below Rs. 1 lakh crore in November.

New Delhi: The gross GST revenue collected in November totalled Rs 97,637, a shade lower than the previous month’s receipts of over Rs 1 lakh crore, posing fresh worries about the trajectory of GST collections in the months ahead.

The gross GST revenue collected in October had crossed the Rs 1 lakh crore mark, which analysts had attributed to the impact of the festival demand and growing compliance, bringing much needed relief for policymakers.

Officials have been predicting that revenues will start gathering pace around September to November period, powered by the impact of a string of festivals, and were also optimistic that they would settle above the Rs 1 lakh crore mark as compliance improves on the back of measures undertaken to plug loopholes.

The dip in GST receipts in November comes against the backdrop of slowing read more »

24-11-2018

Two customs house agents held in Rs. 10-cr export fraud.

Mumbai: Customs officials have arrested two customs house agents who tried to claim around Rs 10 crore refund based on fraudulent exports. The duo, Ravindra Gaikwad and Ankush Pokharakar, ‘exported’ cement concrete bricks using fake Import Export Code by declaring them custom-made machinery to claim refund. Exporters are entitled to 18% IGST on exports.

In this case, neither was any special machinery manufactured nor were any genuine exports carried out. “Once an exporter buys a product meant for export from a manufacturer, he refunds the GST to him. The exporter then claims Integrated GST based on the tax paid while making the purchase,” an officer said.

Acting on a tipoff, the customs had kept a few containers of Della Enterprises, Saachi Exports India, and Quality Traders on hold at JNPT. All the three shipping bills were filed by Customs House read more »

23-11-2018

STICKING TO TRADITION - Govt plans interim budget next year.

New Delhi: The government is planning to stick to convention and present an interim budget for 2018-19, amid indications that it may not be averse to initiating some tax-related changes, ahead of next year’s general elections.

Government sources said in the past, only interim budgets were presented in Parliament ahead of polls, along with a demand for grants, which helps the government get authorisation to carry with regular spending till the election is over and a new government is in the saddle. They indicated that the Narendra Modi government may carry forward the tradition.

At the same time, they also pointed out that in 2009, when Pranab Mukherjee announced a stimulus, he had added tax proposals, while responding to the interim budget in Parliament. In 2014, P Chidambaram had reduced the excise duty on automobiles, capital goods and consumer non-durables, arguing read more »

12-11-2018

GST impact hit growth only for 2 quarters, says Jaitley.

Mumbai: The GST implementation was a “monumental reform”, which had disruptionist impact on growth only for two quarters, FM Arun Jaitley said Sunday, hitting out at “critics and cynics”. who blame it for hurting the GDP expansion.

The remarks come a day after former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan blamed the indirect taxation reform for derailing the India's growth story. Jaitley did not name Rajan. “You will always have critics and cynics who will come up and say it (GST) slowed down India's growth,” Jaitley said, speaking at state run Union Bank of India’s 100th anniversary celebrations event here over a video link.

The finance minister said after suffering for two quarters, growth increased to 7%, then to 7.7% and went up till 8.2% last quarter and specifically pointed out that this is much higher than the 5-6% expansion achieved between 2012-14.

11-11-2018

Rajan: Notebandi & GST hit India’s economic growth.

Washington: Demonetisation and the Goods and Services Tax (GST) were the two major headwinds that held back India’s economic growth last year, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said on Friday, asserting that the current growth rate of 7% was not enough to meet the country’s needs.

Addressing an audience at the University of California in Berkley, Rajan said that for four years — 2012 to 2016 — India was growing at a faster pace before the growth slowed down because of the twin successive shocks of demonetisation and the implementation of GST. “Growth has fallen off interestingly at a time when growth in the global economy has been peaking up,” he said, delivering a lecture on the Future of India.

On the second anniversary of demonetisation on November 8, finance minister Arun Jaitley staunchly defended the drive, saying “prophets of doom” read more »

02-11-2018

GST revenue crosses Rs. 1L-crore mark in Oct.

New Delhi: The gross GST revenue collected in October crossed the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark, which analysts attributed to the impact of festival demand and improving compliance, bringing relief for the government.

Data showed receipts in October totalled Rs 1,00,710 crore, of which CGST is Rs 16,464 crore, SGST is Rs 22,826 crore, IGST is Rs 53,419 crore (including Rs 26,908 crore collected on imports) and cess is Rs 8,000 crore (including Rs 955 crore collected on imports). This is the second month after April when revenues have inched past the Rs 1-lakh-crore mark.

Officials have been predicting that revenues will start picking up around September-–November period, the festival season, and were hopeful that they will settle down at a comfortable level as compliance improves. “GST collections exceeding Rs 1 lakh crore, rupee appreciating by 40-50 paise, crude below $75-a-barrel and bond read more »

29-10-2018

For a change, a useful and needed circular.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued a very useful Circular No. 38/2018-Cus., dated October 18. It is on procedure in cases of manufacturing or other operations undertaken at bonded warehouses under Section 65 of the Customs Act.

The provisions regarding private bonded warehousing and in-bond manufacture have been in the statute for a long while. The Board's predecessor had notified the 'Manufacture and Other Operations in Warehouse Regulations, 1966' and 'Warehouse (Custody and Handling of Goods) Regulations, 2016'. However, only a few parties, other than Export-Oriented Units (EOUs), preferred to take up manufacture in-bond, due to lack of clarity on various points. Most EOUs, however, were necessarily required to function as private bonded ware­houses - a requirement that was withdrawn two years earlier.

The latest circular prescribes a combined application for licensing a pri­vate read more »

27-10-2018

Vikhroli businessman arrested with 4 others for Rs. 440cr GST credit fraud.

Mumbai: Five people, including the director of a Vikhroli company, have been arrested by central GST officials for fraudulently claiming Rs 441 crore as input tax credit with the help of forged invoices and shell companies. The accused also allegedly took Rs 146-crore in loans from various cooperatives banks after manipulating documents.

“During investigation, we learnt that the accused had taken bank loans with the help of fabricated balance sheets. We will ask the banks to file separate criminal cases against the accused,” said Raghavendra Pal Singh, joint commissioner, CGST.

The traders bought fake bills, which they used to claim input tax credit on supply that never occurred. Input tax credit is an option that allows taxpayers to claim credit for taxes paid on purchase. In this case, the accused were buying goods from manufacturing companies, but would also obtain fake read more »