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.
The Centre on Tuesday permitted 20 states to raise Rs 68,825 crore through open market borrowings to bridge the GST revenue shortfall.
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.
Agra has long been known for the Taj Mahal, but it is also a manufacturing hub filled with micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that make everything from electronic components to metal products, from paints and chemicals to footwear. And five years after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the MSMEs here complain that while the indirect tax regime has been transformative, cutting out the need to file multiple taxes, its biggest drawback has been the delay in credit refunds. Whoever you speak to - MSME owners, tax lawyers, or industry bodies like the National Chambers of Industries and Commerce (NCIC), Agra Footwear Manufacturers and Exporters Chamber (AFMEC) and Agra Shoe Manufacturers Association (ASMA) - they all emphasise that the GST continues to face some key challenges.
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.
This may leave those not opting for any of the two options offered by the Centre before the GST Council meet scheduled for October 5 in the lurch. It is clear from the present situation that these states will have to wait till June 2022 to get their compensation, subject to the council extending the cess collection period beyond June 30, 2022.
Compliance requirements, valuation, input tax credit transfers are likely to lead to tax litigation, says Sayan Ghosal.
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.
The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha in December.
Claiming taxes collected from the south were being distributed to north India and that the former were not getting their due share, Congress MP D K Suresh on Thursday said the southern states will be forced to demand for a separate nation if the 'injustice' was not rectified.
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 governments of Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan want a lower limit of Rs 100,00,00 gross annual turnover.
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.
It is now becoming increasingly clear that rising imports have played a significant role in sustaining the buoyancy in revenues from GST, notes A K Bhattacharya.
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.
States' demand for 5 years and Constitutional provision ruled out
The states have unanimously pitched for sole administrative powers to carry out assessment, scrutiny and enforcement for entities up to an annual turnover of Rs 1.5 crore.
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.
GST collections touched a record high of over Rs 1.15 lakh crore in December, reflecting festive demand and reflating economy. The gross GST revenue collected in the month of December 2020 is Rs 115,174 crore and is the highest since the introduction of Goods and Services Tax from July 1, 2017, the finance ministry said in a statement.
The passage of the bill will pave the way for setting up of a GST council that will decide the tax rate, cess and surcharges.
GST revenue for the month of June stood at Rs 92,849 crore, a 2 per cent increase over the same month a year ago, the Finance Ministry said on Tuesday. The gross GST revenue collected in the month of June 2021 stands at Rs 92,849 crore of which central GST is Rs 16,424 crore, state GST Rs 20,397, Integrated GST Rs 49,079 crore (including Rs 25,762 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 6,949 crore (including Rs 809 crore collected on import of goods), the ministry said. The GST revenues for the month of June 2021 are 2 per cent higher than Rs 90,917 crore collected in June 2020.
18% cent GST on iPhones continues to weigh heavily on the final cost to Indian consumers, limiting the impact of price cuts.
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.
The Centre is likely to introduce the Central GST and integrated GST bills in late November or early December in the ongoing session in the form of money Bills.
At a meeting of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers, the Centre's plan to bring petroleum goods under GST regime was opposed.
The change in the peak rate will not alter the 4-slab rate structure of 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent agreed upon last year, but is only a provision being built into the model law to take care of contingencies in future, two officials in the know told PTI.
Inching towards rolling out of GST, the GST Council on Saturday approved a law to compensate states for any loss of revenue from the implementation of the new national sales tax but deferred approval for enabling laws to next meeting.
The Madhya Pradesh government on Monday presented an alternative model of the GST but some states immediately raised objections to it.
The GST Council has set up a Group of Ministers, chaired by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, to suggest required changes in the law for setting up the GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT). The GST Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state ministers, had last week decided to constitute a Group of Ministers (GoM) to address various concerns raised by states in relation to constitution of the GSTAT. As per the Terms of Reference (ToR) of the GoM, the panel would recommend required amendments in the GST law to ensure that the legal provisions maintain the right federal balance and are in line with the overall objective of uniform taxation within the country.
The liquidity will move into deficit after advance tax payments and GST outflows. It will rebound in October because of government spending.
The panel might also decide on a new chairman.
As the Centre tried to build consensus on its proposal on constitution amendment bill, required for the rollout of GST, and even floated revised draft to please states, some states came out with alternative model that would not require the amendment of constitution.
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 GST Council on Tuesday approved changes in tax rates on some goods and services while allowing states to issue an e-way bill for intra-state movement of gold and precious stones, officials said. The Council, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, also cleared a host of compliance procedures for GST-registered businesses along with a GoM report on high-risk tax payers to check evasion. The discussion on the crucial issues of extension of compensation to states beyond June 2022 and the imposition of 28 per cent GST on casinos, online gaming and horse racing, will take place on Wednesday.
GST collections in March touched a record high of over Rs 1.23 lakh crore, a 27 per cent growth over the year-ago period, the Finance Ministry said on Thursday. "GST revenues crossed above Rs 1 lakh crore mark at a stretch for the last six months and a steep increasing trend over this period are clear indicators of rapid economic recovery post pandemic," the ministry said. Closer monitoring against fake-billing, deep data analytics using data from multiple sources including GST, income tax and customs IT systems and effective tax administration have also contributed to the steady increase in tax revenue over last few months, it added.
GST seeks to subsume many indirect taxes at the Central and state levels.
The government has decided to compensate states for any revenue loss on account of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a move that will encourage states to go in for the new tax structure scheduled to be implemented from April 1, next year.
Following passage of the Constitution Bill, 2014, Dass and Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who introduced it in the House, exchanged sweets.
'We revolutionised the system in a manner so that the chances of leakage will be much lower than it was in the beginning.'
The 47th GST Council meeting that is currently underway is slated to discuss a host of issues, including a mechanism for compensating states for revenue loss, tax rate tweaks in some items and relaxed registration norms for small online suppliers. Further, the meeting of the Council, chaired by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprising state counterparts, will also clear levying the highest tax of 28 per cent on online games, casinos and horse racing, besides, measures to curb tax evasion, especially devising ways to tackle high-risk taxpayers in GST. "The meeting is being chaired by Hon'ble Union Minister of Finance @nsitharaman and many important decisions are expected to be taken at the meet," PIB Chandigarh tweeted.
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