Goods and Services Tax – GST – By: – Dr. Sanjiv Agarwal – Dated:- 15-3-2017 – In its 12th meeting of GST Council (GSTC) on 4th March, 2017, GSTC approved the two Bills, i.e. for Central Goods & Services Tax (CGST) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) which now have to be passed and legislated by the Parliament. Two other GST Bills, i.e., State Goods and Service Tax (SGST) and Union Territory Goods and Services Tax (UTGST) are slated to be approved by the GSTC in its next meeting to be held on 16th March, 2017. While SGST will be required to be passed by each of the State legislature Assemblies, UTGST which will administer levy of GST in the Union Territories (except Pondicherry and Delhi) will have to be legislated by the Parliament. All these enactments shall be enforced from a common appointed date which has to be before 16 September, 2017. While approving the draft statutory provisions, GSTC has, inter alia, agreed to the following : Payment of Tax in Installments – In
= = = = = = = =
Plain text (Extract) only
For full text:-Visit the Source
= = = = = = = =
as more and more transactions are likely to take place in states territorial waters, especially in the context of increased exploration, drilling for petroleum products and development of new sea-ports in territorial waters. Enhanced peak GST Rate – Against the earlier agreed upon CGST peak rate of 14 percent (14% CGST and 14% SGST aggregating to 28%), GSTC has agreed to a higher ceiling of 20% CGST leading to an aggregate GST rate of 40% (20% CGST and 20% SGST). It is understood that for the present, peak GST rate will be 28% only but this enhanced limit is an enabling provision so that in future, Government does not look at Constitutional amendment whenever GST rates are thought of being increased. This may not be desirable from tax payers view point but at the same time, Governments would have to exercise due restraint from increasing the rates just to get more tax revenue. However, it has to be seen how GSTC will ensure that the decision to enhance GST rates are taken by Centre an
= = = = = = = =
Plain text (Extract) only
For full text:-Visit the Source
= = = = = = = =
e, but states had wanted the levy. Registration – A State-wise single registration for a taxpayer for filing returns, paying taxes, and to fulfil other compliance requirements. Most of the compliance requirements would be fulfilled online, thus leaving very little room for physical interface between the taxpayer and the tax official. A business entity with an annual turnover of upto ₹ 20 lakhs would not be required to take registration in the GST regime, unless he voluntarily chooses to do so to be a part of the input tax credit (ITC) chain. The annual turnover threshold in the Special Category States (as enumerated in Article 279A of the Constitution such as Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and the other States of the North-East) for not taking registration is ₹ 10 lakhs. Return Filing – A taxpayer has to file one single return state-wise to report all his supplies, whether made within or outside the State or exported out of the country and p
= = = = = = = =
Plain text (Extract) only
For full text:-Visit the Source
= = = = = = = =
C accruing to him due to payment of IGST to discharge his tax liability of CGST / SGST / UTGST. Conversely, a taxpayer can use the ITC accruing to him on account of payment of CGST / SGST / UTGST, for payment of IGST. Such payments are to be made in a pre-defined order. In the Services sector, the existing mechanism of Input Service Distributor (ISD) under the Service Tax law has been retained to allow the flow of ITC in respect of input serviceswithin a legal entity. In order to prevent cascading of taxes, ITC would be admissible on all goods and services used in the course or furtherance of business, except on a few items listed in the Law. Other measures – To prevent lock-in of capital of exporters, a provision has been made to refund, within seven days of filing the application for refund by an exporter, ninety percent of the claimed amount on a provisional basis. In order to ensure a single administrative interface for taxpayers, a provision has been made to authorise officers of
= = = = = = = =
Plain text (Extract) only
For full text:-Visit the Source
= = = = = = = =