GST in Media

As per the recent tweet of CNBC TV-18, Sources say the GST Council unanimously decides to defer hike in GST on textiles from 5% to 12%. GST Rate hike on textiles from 5% to 12% was to come into effect from January 1, 2022.

As per the recent tweet of CNBC TV-18, Sources say the GST Council extends tenure of the Group of Ministers on rate rationalisation.

The GST Council is scheduled to meet on 31.12.2021 at 11am. The Council is set to discuss, among other things, report of the panel of state ministers on rate rationalisation. The 46th GST Council meeting will be held in Delhi. Read more

The government is working to bring changes in the GST Act and other public platforms so that companies can utilise data to grow big in size and scale, Jayant Sinha, Chairperson, Parliament Standing Committee on Finance, said on Thursday. “Public platforms such as UPI and Aadhaar are very important platforms. Even then, for us to leapfrog, we have to do more in terms of public platforms,” Sinha said while speaking at the Assocham e-summit on ‘Non-Banking Finance Companies & Infrastructure Financing: Transforming the Financial Lending Landscape’. Read more

In recent order, the GST-Authority for Advance Rulings (AAR), Maharashtra bench, has held that partial recovery of transport costs from its employees by a private company is not a supply and hence not subject to the goods and services tax (GST). Read more

The telecom department has asked the finance ministry to consider refunding input tax credits (ITC) that telcos have accumulated under the goods and services tax regime, two officials aware of the matter said. Though GST rules permit companies to claim refunds for taxes paid on inputs, telecom infrastructure remains specifically excluded. Read more

The GST Council has not recommended bringing petroleum products under the reformed taxation regime even as certain representations have been made to the government to include petrol and diesel in GST, Parliament was informed on Tuesday. Read more

The daily e-way generation was 20.38 lakh in November, down 14% on month compared with 23.71 lakh in October. Daily e-way bill generation under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) system came in at 22.85 lakh for the week-ended December 19, 2.6% higher than the daily average for the previous week, showing a steady increase in goods transportation. Read more

The Kolkata High Court has proposed a blueprint for grievance redressal for GST payers facing problems on account of input tax credit (ITC) denial due to fake invoices or cancellation of supplier registration with retrospective effect. The decision has been appreciated among the industry experts while they believe its implementation will involve too much subjectivity. “If it is found upon considering the relevant documents that all the purchases and transactions in question are genuine and supported by valid documents and transactions in question were made before the cancellation of registration of those suppliers and after taking into consideration the judgments of the Supreme Court and various High Courts which have been referred in this order and in that event the petitioners shall be given the benefit of ITC in question,” the bench said. Read more

Now, the Karnataka AAR (KAAR) has stated that Rawa Idli Mix will attract Goods & Services Tax (GST) at the rate of 18 per cent. This is the second ruling in recent time on food mixes and the third one on food items that are part of the main course. Read more

The current decision to impose additional seven percent GST on the handlooms would leave the sector crippled. Telangana produces world-class handloooms and weavers are worried due to the central government’s decision to hike GST rates, ‘ the Telangana Minister said. Read more

Importers have argued against the imposition of integrated goods and services tax (IGST) on ocean freight in the Supreme Court on Thursday. They pleaded for the quashing of a petition by the government filed in the apex court against a Gujarat High Court judgment that had declared IGST on ocean freight as violative of the Constitution. Ocean freight is the cost incurred through an agreement between two foreign parties to ship goods to India. For instance, if goods are exported from Washington, the exporter concerned may enter into an agreement with a shipping line there and pay ocean freight to it. Read more

The government has slashed the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate on ethanol meant for blending under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme to 5% from 18% Read more

Union Ministry of Textiles, after receiving inputs from industry associations, has now decided to approach the GST secretariat seeking restoration of the rate of Goods and Services Tax (GST) to 5% CNBC-TV18 reported. Read more

Madurai MP Su Venkatesan made a representation to Union finance Nirmala Sitharaman to withdraw the 12% GST on Sungudi saris. Venkatesan said increasing the GST from the existing 5% would impact the cottage industry that is popular in Madurai region. The MP explained that traditional Sungudi sari is handmade without machines. Read more

A steel trader and his son, who allegedly claimed the input tax credit (ITC) of Rs.6.23 crore by submitting fake invoices and caused huge losses to the exchequer, were arrested by the Central Goods and Services Tax (GST) officials on Sunday. Read more.

The government has decided to go slow on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate rationalisation exercise and hasn’t decided new date yet. The GST Council had nominated a Group of Ministers (GoM) to phase out exemptions and correct the inverted duty structure of various goods and services. Read more

The Centre earned nearly Rs 8.02 lakh crore from taxes on petrol and diesel during the last three fiscal years, of which more than Rs 3.71 lakh crore was collected in FY21 alone, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman informed Parliament on Tuesday. The minister was responding to queries on the hike in excise duty on petrol and diesel during last three years and the details of the revenue earned through various taxes on these fuels. Read more

After financing around ₹2.7 trillion of states’ GST compensation shortfall by way of debt and transferring proceeds of cess collected, the provisional GST compensation dues stood at ₹51,798 crore, minister of state for finance Pankaj Chaudhary informed Parliament on Monday. Read more

After ice cream, papad and paratha, cheese balls is another food item that triggered the dispute of goods and services tax (GST). The dispute has for now been settled by the appellate authority for advance ruling in Uttar Pradesh Read more

The centre is planning to meet in first week of January with the GST council. The meeting is likely to discuss inverted duty structure for a few more items and will also serve as a platform for pre-budget discussion as reported by business standard. The current winter session of parliament ends on 23rd December, 2021 followed by the Christmas- New year period. “After that we would like to have a meeting of the GST Council, depending on whether there can be a quorum” according to government sources. Read more

In a good news, the Ministry of Finance on Sunday announced new relaxations for the goods and services tax (GST) taxpayers. Taking to Twitter, the Ministry said that taxpayers with Annual Aggregate Turnover (AATO) up to Rs 5 crore are not required to file the reconciliation statement in Form GSTR-9C for fiscal year (FY) 2020-21 onwards. Read more

As per the recent tweet of Ministry of Finance, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (“the CBIC”) has sanctioned IGST refund of Rs. 27,778 crore during F.Y. 2020 – 21 via a special drive to enhance liquidity.

Telangana Authority for Advance Ruling (TAAR) has held that a a charitable religious institution will be liable to pay GST (Goods & Services Tax) on renting of rooms to devotees and shops for religious programmers provided rent is more than Rs.1,000 a day and Rs.10,000 per month, respectively. Read more

The officers of the Anti-evasion wing of Vizag Central GST (Govt. of India) have busted a fake invoice racket involving a network of companies and arrested three persons including the mastermind Madan Mohan Reddy. Enquiries made and searches conducted on M/s. Krishna Sai Constructions Private Limited and M/s. Dew Drops Granite Private Limited revealed that fake ITC worth more than Rs.18 crore was transacted by created fictitious invoices without actual supply of goods or services. Read more

The Punjab government on Wednesday said the Goods and Services Tax (GST) cash collection in November 2021 grew by 32% to Rs.1,845 crore — the second highest since the central tax regime came into force. An official spokesperson said the collection is second only to that in April 2021, but also the growth rate experienced is third highest in the country across the major states after Odisha and Kerala. Read more

Last Council meeting recommended 18% GST, companies seek clarity on date of imposition. The GST Council, expected to meet later this month, is likely to take up the issue related with levy mechanism on ice cream parlour. Ice cream companies have urged for clarification on the applicability of GST at the rate of 18 per cent on parlour. “The matter is expected to be placed before the GST Council. Read more

In a comprehensive ruling, the GST Authority for Advance Ruling (GST-AAR) Maharashtra bench, has addressed a host of issues, typically faced by co-operative housing societies. In response to questions raised by Bhandup-based Mahindra Splendour Co-operative Housing Socities (CHS), the GST-AAR bench stated that if monthly charges collected from members (flat owners) exceeds Rs.7,500 per month, GST will be levied and collected on the entire sum and not on the differential value which is in excess of this threshold. Read more

A GST Council meeting had decided against the inclusion of petrol and diesel under the GST in view of high revenue implications of such decision and fiscal constraints induced by the COVID pandemic, according to a statement filed before Kerala the High Court by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Read more

A parliamentary committee has recommended to the government to increase the subsidy on buying of private electric 3 and 4 wheelers as has been done for promoting the adoption of electric two wheelers under FAME-II. It has also sought an increase in import duty on child parts i.e. small parts that are assembled together to create vital parts – in a phased manner till these components are manufactured locally, while taking note that some of these items are still imported from countries including China. Read more

Anmi said that Indian capital market is burdened with numerous transaction cost which includes various direct and indirect taxes, such as STT, GST, and stamp duty. The Association of National Exchanges of Members of India (Anmi), on behalf of its 900 stock brokers, has written to the GST Council on rationalizing goods and services tax (GST) rates for capital markets, and urged the government to consider it in the upcoming Union budget for financial year FY23. Read more

Apps to collect tax, deposit on behalf of restaurants with the government. E-commerce Operators (ECOs) in food delivery space like Swiggy and Zomato will not get input tax credit (ITC) under the new GST mechanism coming into effect from January 1. This will be included in the frequently asked questions (FAQs) expected to be released soon. “We received representation on ITC eligibility and other issues. Since restaurants paying GST at the rate of 5 per cent are not eligible for ITC and the only the onus to deposit the GST has changed there is no possibility of ITC for food delivery… Read more

Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad on Monday said there is no recommendation under consideration of the GST Council to reduce Goods and Services Tax (GST) on health insurance premium. In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Karad said the GST levied on health insurance premium is 18 per cent. “The rate of GST is decided on the recommendations of the GST Council, which is a constitutional body comprising members from the central government and state governments. At present, no recommendation to reduce the GST rate on health insurance premium is under consideration of the GST Council, ” he said. Read more

All eyes are on chief minister Basavaraj Bommai as he heads a group of ministers on rate rationalisation in the hope that it will lower the Centre’s proposed 12% GST on readymade garments, textile materials and footwear. It’s a steep hike from the current 5%. The GST council in September decided to hike the GST on all types of apparel, textile goods and footwear costing up to Rs 1,000 from 5% to 12% effective January 1, 2022 and the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on November 18 issued a notification about it. Read more

A division bench of Kerala High Court on Wednesday said it was not satisfied with the reasons pointed out by the Centre and the GST Council on why petroleum products could not be brought under the GST regime. One of the reasons cited by the Council was that during the pandemic, it would be difficult to bring petroleum products under the GST regime. Last month, while hearing a petition of Kerala Pradesh Gandhi Darshanavedi, challenging the decision of the GST Council not to include petroleum products under GST, the High Court had directed the Council to file a statement. Read more

Higher Education Minister K. Ponmudi has written to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, urging her to exempt educational services from the Goods and Services Tax (GST). In his letter, the Minister said according to the Central Tax (Rate) notification, issued on June 28, 2017, education was exempted from the GST. He said educational services were classified under the heading 9992, which was subdivided into six groups, which were exempted from GST. These included services provided by educational institutions to students, faculty and staff. Read more

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has since last November detected Rs.38,000 crore of bogus claims from businesses for input tax credit in a technology and data analytics enabled drive against tax evasion, said a person familiar with the development. The result of the CBIC’s year-long compliance drive points to the potential goods and services tax (GST) has in widening the tax base buoyancy, one of the key goals of the 2017 indirect tax reforms. Read more

The 45th GST Council has decided not to include petrol and diesel and ATF under GST until India overcomes the COVID-19 pandemic. Government officials told CNBC-TV18 that the call to levy GST on petroleum products is on hold considering the current COVID situation. Read more

The Centre is committed to compensate states for five years for the revenue loss due to GST implementation as provided in the statute, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday. The GST Constitutional Amendment Act provides for the centre compensating the state for five years for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax (GST) and during the transition period, the states’ revenue is protected at 14 per cent per annum over the base year revenue of 2015-16. Read more.

The South India Hosiery Manufacturers Association (Sihma) urged Centre to roll back the revised GST rate on apparel items. The GST council, in its previous meeting, raised tax up to 12% from 5% on several textile and apparel items, and footwear from January. GST rate on woven garments of any value has been raised to 12% from 5% on products priced up to Rs 1,000. Industry experts said it would impact working capital requirement, besides sales that were gradually increasing following Covid crisis. The new tax will impact hosiery manufacturers, Sihma president A C Eswaran said. Read more

Central GST’s Surat unit busted a tax evasion racket of a scrap trader who purchased scrap from local traders without mandatory billing or even paying GST. Later, the trader was found to be putting up fake bills to claim GST refund. Read more

BSE-listed Suumaya Corp has dragged the Goods and Services Tax (GST) authorities to the Bombay High Court, arguing revenue officials don’t have the power to arrest corporate executives. The company has challenged the constitutional validity of the tax department’s right to make arrests in cases where GST is exempt, as in the case of the agro products company. Read more

A meeting of the panel of state finance ministers looking into GST rate rationalisation has been deferred, sources said. The Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation, headed by Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, also includes West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra, Kerala Finance Minister K N Balagopal, and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad. Read more

The indirect tax authority urged senior officials to guide field officers to gently remind all taxpayers to file returns and deposit the due tax amount in time. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has asked field officers to help further improve November goods and service tax (GST) collections from October, which was the second-highest since the government implemented the indirect tax reform in 2017. Read more

Auto-rickshaw services provided through e-commerce platforms would attract 5 per cent GST from January 1, 2022. The Revenue Department under the Finance Ministry through a notification dated November 18 withdrew the GST exemption available to auto rickshaws providing passenger transport services through e-commerce platforms. Read more

In earlier meetings, phone and allied component makers have in their submissions told the Ministry that the levy of 18% GST on mobile phones had “led to very high costs’, and should be brought down to 12%. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is likely to meet mobile phone and allied component makers again this week to discuss possible steps on rationalisation of levies such as Goods and Services Tax (GST). The meeting will be held before the scheduled meeting of GST Group of Ministers (GoM) meeting on November 27, sources said. Read more

Mumbai GST zone has detected tax evasion of Rs 265 crore by JSW Steel. GST authorities claim that JSW Steel had wrongly availed input tax credit of compensation cess on coking coal used for captive consumption. The credit of unutilised cess was consequently claimed as refund by GST authorities and it is learnt that JSW Steel has repaid around Rs 261.7 crore in various tranches back to the GST authorities. CNBC-TV18 has written to JSW Steel for formal comment and is awaiting its response. Read more

Over two dozen traders in Prayagraj zone have come under the radar of commercial tax department for allegedly evading goods and services tax (GST) worth several lakhs, said an official. The department is collecting details of purchase and sale data and transactions of bank accounts of these traders following which the GST that has to be deposited by them is being calculated and compared to what the individual firms have deposited in the state exchequer, the official said. Read more

The panel of state finance ministers looking into GST rate rationalisation will meet on November 27 and finalise its report on rate changes to expand the tax base. Currently, GST is a four-tier slab structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) fitment committee has proposed raising slab of 5 percent to 7 percent and 18 percent to 20 percent, sources said. There have been demands for merging the 12 and 18 per cent slab. Read more

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said the recent government notification on uniform goods and services tax (GST) at 12 per cent for the textile and apparel sector was aimed at correcting the inverted duty structure that was leading to accumulation of input tax credit by companies. She did not subscribe to the industry’s fears that this would lead to higher prices of finished products. “Every time adjustments in rates do not lead to price increase for customers. Read more

Gadkari said he will also approach the Finance Minister on giving some rebates on the GST to customers buying new vehicles after scrapping the old ones.

Retailers Association of India (RAI) on Tuesday urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, state governments and GST Council to reconsider the proposed hike in GST rates on several textiles and apparel items to 12 % from January saying it will adversely impact 85 % of the sector. Stating that the apparel retail businesses are already ailing, RAI said the 7 % hike has been proposed to address the issue of inverted duty structure in the textile industry faced by a small segment of the total textile. Read more

Industry representatives are seeking more clarity in provisions to cut down litigation as the anti-profiteering provision in goods and services tax (GST) regime is set to stay longer than anticipated by businesses. Read more

The Central Goods and Services Tax Commissionerate (Ludhiana) has unearthed a racket involving fake input tax credit (ITC) and Goods and Services Tax (GST) refund to the tune of Rs 13.78 crore. The accused had created 18 fake firms across the country for this purpose. These firms were involved in passing/availing the ITC without actual supply of goods and monetising the same by availing the GST refunds. The accused had also indulged in availing export benefits without meeting export requirements. They also availed input tax credit amounting to Rs 8.97 crore and its monetisation through the GST refund to the tune of Rs 4.80 crores (total Rs 13.78 crore). The District Attorney( Legal) in his opinion said the accused had caused huge monetary loss to the exchequer by issuance of fake GST bills involving fraudulent availment of the ITC. Read more

India could be eyeing a significant revamp of the goods and services tax (GST) structure as the regime completes five years in July next year when compensation to states is set to come to an end. Tax slab restructuring and reducing exemptions could be considered in the most comprehensive makeover of the single tax that was rolled out on July 1, 2017.

The new regime may have just three major tax rates covering most of the items against four now – 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. The recast will seek to simplify the regime as well as lift revenue.

In a letter to the Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraja Bommai, the convenor of the group of Ministers to review the rate slab structure, the President of Campco, Kishore Kumar Kodgi, said GST of 5 per cent is charged on arecanut and 18 per cent on copper sulphate. Requesting the GST Council to reduce the rate of arecanut from 5 per cent to 2 per cent, he said such measures would encourage farmers to sell their produce to cooperatives and regulated marketing committee platforms, and would discourage them from going to unregulated traders who do not remit applicable tax to the Government. Read more

Clothing Manufacturers Association of India or CMAI on Friday expressed “deep disappointment” at the Centre’s notification of higher goods and services tax (GST) rates on apparel, effective January 2022. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) on Thursday notified raising GST rate to 12% from 5% on fabrics, apparel from January 2022. Also, GST on apparel of any value has been increased to 12%. Earlier, GST was 5% for sale value up to ₹1,000 per piece. Read more

Man held for GST evasion for Rs.8.10 Crore. Based on intelligence inputs, the officers conducted an investigation and found that the two firms engaged in the purchase and sale of paper products, fast moving consumer goods, industrial chemicals and tiles had contravened the provisions of the CGST Act, 2017. Read more

A Group of Ministers (GoM) under Karnataka Chief Minister Basavraj S Bommai’s convenorship, which began thrashing out issues related to GST rate rationalisation on Friday, is expected to recommend raising rates on some goods and services to ensure that the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) reaches the level it was at the time of introduction of GST. Sources said a majority of the members in GoM supported increasing the tax rates. Read more

Goods and services tax authorities have started issuing notices to several companies, after uncovering a mismatch in tax credits using deep analytics tools embedded in the GSTN software. The tax department is of the opinion that the scrutiny of returns is not a mandatory step, and the authorities have the power to directly issue a show-cause notice. Read more

In its December meeting, the GST Council is likely to focus on rate rationalisation and suggest ways for revenue augmentation. Though the date for the meeting has not been finalised, it could take place immediately after the Winter Session of Parliament. The session is scheduled to end on December 23. Read more

Bringing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products under the single national GST regime will reduce taxes on these products and increase the revenue of both the Centre and states, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will definitely try to bring petrol and diesel under GST if she gets the support of the state governments, said Gadkari while addressing the Times Now Summit virtually. Read more

Regulatory checks on fake invoicing, including those of services, need to be strengthened for better tax compliance, according to an update on indirect tax administration from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) to field officers. CBIC said to facilitate trade, guidelines for scrutinising proper use of input tax credit under Central GST rules have been issued earlier this month. It seeks to bring clarity and transparency to both officers and the industry and is in line with the observations made by various courts, the tax authority said. Read more

Companies that were asked to pay additional indirect taxes on certain imports have come under the taxman’s lens again for availing of input tax credit on the additional amount paid earlier as penalties. The Department of Goods and Services Tax (DGST) has started issuing notices to the importers for availing of the tax credit against the additional GST paid. Read more.

Levy of 18% goods and services tax on ice-cream supplies with retrospective effect is a major concern to the thousands of ice-cream parlours. The Indian Ice-cream Manufacturers’ Association (IICMA) has written to the finance ministry to reconsider the levy and make it applicable from October 2021 rather than four years earlier. Read more