Reserve Bank Governor Shaktikanta Das on Tuesday said the fiscal-monetary coordination was at its best during the last six years even as he thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving the opportunity to head the monetary authority of the country. Das, in a series of posts on X, on his last day of his six-year term as RBI Governor, also thanked the Finance Minister, various stakeholders and his colleagues at the central bank.
Over 100,000 small and medium-sized businesses are non-compliant with e-invoicing norms under the goods and services tax (GST) regime, a mandatory requirement for businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs 5 crore. E-invoicing provides real-time access to invoices that are prepared by the supplier on the purchase of goods, allowing faster accessibility to input tax credit, thereby limiting the manipulation of fake credit as it has to be generated before the transaction. "The default has been reported mainly in businesses with a turnover between Rs 5 crore and Rs 20 crore," a senior official informed
Packed frozen 'paratha' is not 'roti or chapatti' as it requires further cooking before consumption and despite wheat flour being the 'common thread' there are other ingredients used in making parathas, said an order by the Gujarat Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling. Such parathas, whether named Malabar, Mixed vegetable, Onion, Methi, Alu, Laccha, Mooli or Plain, have ingredients like margarine, salt, emulsifying agent, oil, potato, peas, cauliflower, coriander powder, bread improver and water, apart from wheat flour, which make 'quite different' from plain roti or chapatti and hence are not eligible for 5 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) rate, the ruling said. The percentage of wheat flour used by Vadilal Industries, which had approached the AAAR, in the eight varieties of paratha manufactured and supplied by it ranges from 36-62 per cent, whereas the ingredient for plain roti or chapatti is wheat flour apart from water.
Sree Annapoorna Sree Gowri Shankar is a familiar name across the country. With over 1,500 employees, it is renowned for its filter coffee and Keerai Vada throughout Tamil Nadu. Its operating revenues range from Rs 100 crore to Rs 500 crore.
Expanding investigation into allegedly wrongful claims of input tax credit by insurance companies, the tax authorities are probing a section of automobile dealers who have supposedly generated fake invoices without providing any service, which is a punishable offence under goods and services tax (GST) law. The authorities are learnt to have questioned the car dealers to explain the services they provided general insurance companies. The investigators suspect car dealers pitched for insurance schemes that give them commissions in excess of those insurance regulations permit.
Provisions in the Central GST Act say reduction in GST rates or the benefit of ITC must be passed on to consumers.
GST collections rose 12 per cent to over Rs 1.49 lakh crore in February, the finance ministry said on Wednesday. February 2023 witnessed the highest cess collection of Rs 11,931 crore since implementation of GST. The collections are, however, lower than the second highest Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up recorded in January at over Rs 1.57 lakh crore.
Automobile dealers' body FADA on Thursday sought a cut in GST on two-wheelers from 28 per cent to 18 per cent, saying the segment being essential for millions should not be categorised as luxury item. The industry body said it has appealed to the finance minister, chair of the GST Council, all GST Council members, the ministry of heavy industries, which supervises the automobile sector, and the ministry of road transport & highways. This timely and decisive intervention would help in making two-wheelers more affordable, reviving demand and reinvigorating an industry that has seen a significant slump in sales over the past few years, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said in a statement.
Kharge's remarks came after Modi on Friday said the Congress stands "badly exposed" in front of people for promising to them what the party knows it will never be able to deliver.
18% cent GST on iPhones continues to weigh heavily on the final cost to Indian consumers, limiting the impact of price cuts.
The output of eight key infrastructure sectors expanded by 2 per cent in September, though the growth was slower than the 9.5 per cent registered in the same month last year, according to official data released on Wednesday. The output of these sectors had contracted by 1.6 per cent in August. Out of the eight key sectors, three -- crude oil, natural gas and electricity -- recorded negative growth in September.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday said GST compensation to some states is delayed due to non-availability of AG's authenticated certificate, and that Kerala has not sent even a single such certificate since 2017-18. Replying to a supplementary question, she also said that Rs 86,912 crore has been released for the Goods and Services Tax (GST) compensation payable to all states up to May 31, 2022. She said as per law, GST Council decides to whom the GST compensation is to be released, not by the central government.
Notwithstanding protests by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, he said the first session of the newly elected Jammu and Kashmir Assembly is "short in duration but historic in terms of agenda".
The liquidity will move into deficit after advance tax payments and GST outflows. It will rebound in October because of government spending.
The government on Friday said GST will not be applicable on residential units if they are rented out to private persons for personal use. The government dismissed media reports which claimed that there is an 18 per cent Goods and Services Tax (GST) on house rent paid by tenants. In a tweet, the government said GST would be levied only when the residential unit is rented out to a business entity.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday launched a scathing attack on the Congress party, accusing it of repeatedly "wounding" the Indian Constitution. He claimed that the Congress, driven by its "lust for power," has consistently undermined the principles of the Constitution. Modi, however, praised India's democratic journey since its independence, highlighting the country's strong democratic roots and its unwavering commitment to its founding principles. He underscored the importance of unity for India's future development and emphasized that the Constitution is the bedrock of that unity.
'Challenge is basically near-term growth as the outlook has turned a bit adverse.'
GST authorities have detected GST fraud of Rs 55,575 crore over the last two years and arrested over 700 persons for causing loss to the exchequer, an official said on Thursday. Over 22,300 fake GST identification numbers (GSTIN) were detected by the officers of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI). The government on November 9, 2020, launched a nationwide special drive against unscrupulous entities for availing and passing on Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraudulently by issuing fake/bogus invoices, thereby evading Goods and Services Tax (GST).
The government has notified a host of procedural changes in the GST rules, including levy of interest for wrongful utilisation of ITC and turnover threshold for filing annual returns for the 2021-22 fiscal. The changes were vetted by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council at its meeting last week. With the amendments notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), businesses have also been allowed to make tax payments on the GSTN portal by using IMPS and UPI payment modes.
GST revenues rose by 11 per cent to about Rs 1.46 lakh crore in November over the year-ago period, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. This is the ninth straight month when collections from Goods and Services Tax (GST) has remained above Rs 1.40 lakh crore. The gross GST revenue collected in the month of November 2022 is Rs 1,45,867 crore of which Central GST is Rs 25,681 crore, State GST is Rs 32,651 crore, Integrated GST is Rs 77,103 crore (including Rs 38,635 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 10,433 crore (including Rs 817 crore collected on import of goods).
The broad trends of GST collections will make you wonder if indeed the biggest indirect tax reform in the country has led to a real improvement in revenues, notes A K Bhattacharya.
Traversing from being just vehicle manufacturers to mobility solutions providers amid a raging debate over which eco-friendly technology must be incentivised, the Indian automobile industry is driving in the new year under the shadow of a slowdown in sales with the post-pandemic pent-up demand in distant memory. The shift in the auto industry -- where advanced technologies like autonomous driving, vehicle intelligence, connected features and electrification are quickly gaining traction -- will be reflected in the upcoming Bharat Mobility Global Expo in which India's flagship Auto Expo has been clubbed to be held from January 17-22, 2025 in Delhi-NCR.
Chaudhary also said that 66 per cent of government-sponsored health insurance schemes in the country are being run by the central government. "When the COVID-19 pandemic started, a decision was made for sale of all medicines at the GST rate between 5 and 12 per cent and the GST rate for COVID-19 related medicines and instruments has been reduced to five per cent," he said during the Question Hour.
GST authorities have expanded the probe into alleged tax evasion by fintech firm BharatPe to include reported issuance of fake invoices by those close to the firm's ousted co-founder Ashneer Grover, an official said. GST authorities are now scrutinising BharatPe books of the last four years to see if bogus invoices were issued for services as well. BharatPe had stripped Grover and his wife Madhuri Jain of all positions after a preliminary report of an external audit commissioned by the fintech firm's board showed that the duo indulged in alleged misdeeds and financial irregularities.
GST officers can now launch prosecution against offenders in cases where the amount of evasion or misuse of input tax credit is more than Rs 5 crore, the finance ministry has said. However, this monetary threshold will not be applicable in the case of habitual evaders or in cases where arrests have been made at the time of investigation. "One of the important considerations for deciding whether prosecution should be launched is the availability of adequate evidence," the GST investigation wing under the finance ministry said, while issuing instructions for launching prosecution.
The government intends to continue with the top GST slab of 28 per cent for luxury and sin goods, but is open to discuss narrowing down the three slabs of 5, 12 and 18 per cent into two, Revenue Secretary Tarun Bajaj said on Monday. Addressing the industry leaders, Bajaj said the rate rationalisation exercise of the GST Council is a result of introspection of GST, five years after its rollout, and the policymakers do not have a "fetish" to raise the tax rates to the revenue-neutral level of 15.5 per cent. On the industry demand for bringing petroleum products under GST net, he said since fuel constitutes a larger part of their revenues, both the Centre and states have some apprehension.
The government on Monday announced the implementation of a 5 per cent uniform IGST rate on all aircraft and aircraft engine parts to boost the industry. The decision, which comes into force with immediate effect, marks a significant milestone for the domestic Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) industry, aimed at making India a global aviation hub, an official release said. Earlier, IGST rates on all aircraft and engine parts were ranging from 5 per cent to 28 per cent.
The decision to impose a 28 per cent tax on the full face value of bets placed on online games will be implemented from October 1 even though there was demand for a review from states like Delhi and Goa, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Wednesday. The GST Council -- the highest decision making body of the new indirect tax regime that comprises Union finance minister and representatives of all states -- discussed the language of amendments that will be needed to enabling taxing online gaming, she said after the panel meeting.
One reason the fee can't be lower than 3 per cent is that it is difficult for an RIA to do a good job and remain viable even at 3 per cent.
'We revolutionised the system in a manner so that the chances of leakage will be much lower than it was in the beginning.'
The impact of Trump's announcement of increasing import tariffs will have negligible benefit for India not because of companies trying to shift from China to other countries or their supply chains being affected due to their Chinese operations but because of our faulty policies, explains Mudit Jain.
GST collections in September rose 26 per cent to over Rs 1.47 lakh crore, the finance ministry said on Saturday. Goods and Services Tax (GST) mop-up has been over Rs 1.40 lakh crore for seven months in a row.
GST revenues rose 16.6 per cent to about Rs 1.52 lakh crore in October -- making it the second highest collection ever. Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection had touched a record high of nearly Rs 1.68 lakh crore in April. In October last year, the revenues stood at over Rs 1.30 lakh crore.
The government should bring natural gas under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime to realise Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for a gas-based economy and raising the share of the environment-friendly fuel in India's energy basket, an industry body that represents the likes of Reliance Industries as well as state-owned firms, has said. Natural gas is currently outside the ambit of GST, and existing legacy taxes -- central excise duty, state VAT, central sales tax -- continue to be applicable on the fuel. In its pre-Budget memorandum to the finance ministry, Federation of Indian Petroleum Industry (FIPI), which boasts of members from across the oil and gas spectrum, also demanded rationalisation of GST on transportation of natural gas through pipeline as well as on re-gasification of imported LNG to help bring down cost of the environment friendly fuel.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has intervened in the matter concerning alleged irregularities by Trafiksol ITS Technologies, which had come out with a Rs 45 crore initial public offering (IPO) last month. In an ex-parte order, the market regulator has said it will undertake a detailed examination into the disclosures made by the small and medium enterprise (SME) company in its draft offer document. BSE had halted the listing of Trafiksol, a software provider for traffic systems, amid complaints around use of the issue proceeds and wrongful disclosures.
The GST Council in its next meeting may look at raising the lowest tax slab to 8 per cent, from 5 per cent, and prune the exemption list in the Goods and Services Tax regime as it looks to increase revenues and do away with states' dependence on Centre for compensation, sources said on Sunday. A panel of state finance ministers is likely to submit its report by this month end to the Council suggesting various steps to raise revenue, including hiking the lowest slab and rationalising the slab. Currently, GST is a four-tier structure attracting a tax rate of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent.
Online skill-based gaming industry has made a case for retaining the service under 18 per cent GST slab instead of putting it into the highest 28 per cent tax rate category, saying the move will badly hit the $2.2-billion sector. The increase in taxation would not only have catastrophic impact on the industry but also encourage offshore operators who would circumvent Indian tax jurisdiction by hosting games in some other country, Games24x7 Co-CEO Trivikraman Thampy said. "It would be a triple whammy -- the industry loses out, the government loses out on tax revenue and players loses out as they would be exposed to unscrupulous operators," he said.
India SME Forum, an organisation for small and medium businesses, has called for creating a dedicated fund of Rs 5000 crore for the export capacity development, promotion, and marketing of Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in its Budget recommendation. The forum for MSMEs with over 98,000 members said that to enhance India's global competitiveness and increase its market share in global exports, it was "crucial to increase the number of active exporters and enable at least 3-4 lakh first-time micro, small, and medium exporters while supporting them in promoting Indian products globally."
The collections from Goods and Services Tax (GST) grew by 15 per cent to over Rs 1.49 lakh crore in December 2022, indicating improved manufacturing output and consumption demand, besides better compliance. This is the 10th month in a row that the revenues have remained above the Rs 1.4 lakh crore mark. The collection in November was about Rs 1.46 lakh crore. "The gross GST revenue collected during December 2022 is Rs 1,49,507 crore, of which CGST is Rs 26,711 crore, SGST is Rs 33,357 crore, IGST is Rs 78,434 crore (including Rs 40,263 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 11,005 crore (including Rs 850 crore collected on import of goods)," the ministry said in a statement.
With 7 per cent economic growth, India is not creating enough jobs as reflected by the number of applicants for vacant posts in some states, Reserve Bank's former governor Raghuram Rajan said and suggested the government needs to focus on promoting labour-intensive industries to generate employment. Rajan further said some Indians, especially those at upper level, are comfortable and have high incomes, but consumption growth from the lower half of the country has still not recovered to pre-pandemic level.
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