Ahead of the first meeting of the top decision-making body in nearly eight months, finance ministers of eight states ruled by non-Bharatiya Janata Party and like-minded parties -- Rajasthan, Punjab, Chhattisgarh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Kerala and West Bengal -- have devised a joint strategy to press for a zero tax rate on Covid essentials, sources said.
The aim of the exercise was to further simplify GST forms and make the filing process more user-friendly, the finance ministry said in a tweet, reports Dilasha Seth.
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
'I found it unbelievable that L&T said 45,000 jobs were waiting to be filled because of unavailability of suitable skillsets.' 'So, when the Opposition sweepingly says there are no jobs, I'm sorry... I'm not saying it's raining jobs, but there are jobs. The (skill) gap has to be bridged.'
After the GST Council's meeting in March, the Centre had sought views from Attorney General K K Venugopal -- who is the chief legal officer of the government -- on the legality of market borrowing by the council to make good any shortfall in the compensation fund. The AG in his view said there is no obligation on the central government to pay the GST compensation shortfall, according to the sources.
The GST Council also decided that a committee of officers will be constituted to examine the simplification of forms for annual return and reconciliation statement.
'It's better to be over-insured than underinsured.' 'Ensure your home insurance includes STFI (storm, tempest, flooding, and inundation) cover for protection against monsoon rains.'
However, where the directors' remuneration is in the nature of professional fees and not salary, GST will be levied on a reverse charge basis.
'There are obvious concerns regarding revenue leakage which is understandable, but there are also concerns about whether or not well accepted, judicially tested, fair and proper procedures are being followed during such arrests.'
Unincorporated enterprises in the manufacturing sector lost nearly 1.8 million establishments and shed 5.4 million jobs between July 2015-June 2016 and October 2022-September 2023, an analysis of the fact sheet on 'Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)' and the comparable 73rd round survey in 2015-16 by the National Statistical Office (NSO) showed. An estimated 17.82 million unincorporated enterprises operated in the manufacturing sector in October 2022-September 2023, nearly 9.3 per cent down from 19.7 million unincorporated enterprises in July 2015- June 2016.
Durable, automobile and real estate players have been lobbying hard for a tax cut, saying it will boost demand.
With the reality of coalition politics staring the BJP in its face, this was inevitable, points out Ramesh Menon.
'The professional or the freelancer needs to pay taxes from his pocket first and then wait for payments from his clients.'
If the items and services such selected subsequently pass the test from the fitment committee and the GST Council, this would be the first of such rate hikes, after a series of cuts in the process of rate rationalisation that started in November 2017.
Ironically, West Bengal, which has been seeking a postponement of the GST roll-out, has fared better among most other states.
Does a doctor need to pay GST and other queries...
GST will now apply to mutual funds, loan instalments and credit card dues.
The real estate sector wants "high-impact" measures, like special schemes and tax breaks for developers, to revive the fortunes of the affordable housing segment in the country, multiple executives told Business Standard. This segment has been struggling since the Covid-19 outbreak, in contrast to larger and costlier homes which have been selling like hot cakes. The demand comes at a time when the government is taking suggestions from industry players before tabling the General Budget in the Parliament next month.
GST rates would depend upon whether the commodity is used by a rich person or a common man
Hospitality players want the government to accord infrastructure status to hotels to make investments on new properties more attractive rather than categorising them as luxury or even 'sin goods' in the upcoming Union Budget considering the sector's potential to play a key role in India's growth. They also want the government to consider incentives in the form of tax breaks or subsidies for adopting sustainable and eco-friendly practices, while asserting that the upcoming budget must accelerate the tourism agenda saying it is an opportunity to make Indian hospitality the emerging engine for GDP growth and employment generation.
Rates may be raised from 5 per cent to 8 per cent and 12 per cent to 15 per cent. The Council can explore possibility of merger of slabs to bring down the number of slabs to three. The Central GST collection fell short of the Budget Estimate by nearly 40 per cent during the April-November period of 2019-20
Experts warn of over-interpreting the numbers and said their sustainability needed to be watched beyond November, says Indivjal Dhasmana.
'If the portfolio growth rate is higher, take this loan. If it is lower, liquidate your investments.'
Is the curated and limited data put out by the central government sufficient enough to pass a judgement on the trend in GST collections, particularly that of the Centre?
After adding 11.7 million workers in the October 2022-September 2023 period from the pandemic lows in April 2021-March 2022, total workers employed in the vast informal sector in India - at 109.6 million - still remains below the pre-pandemic period.
States are planning to pass resolutions in their legislative assemblies; however, such tactics will be used as the last resort if the Centre continues to stall allocations.
Criticising the police for arresting an SUV driver and blaming him for the incident, the high court said, "Mercifully, you have not challaned the rainwater for entering into the basement."
Although the markets could see a knee-jerk reaction, they rule out a sharp fall.
Hybrids have helped Maruti acquire leadership in SUVs, a segment that was never its forte. Toyota has also risen with the hybrid tide to clock its highest-ever annual sales in 2023.
The finance ministry on Monday said the recent raid on perfume trader Peeyush Jain's house in Kanpur, from where more than Rs 177 cr unaccounted cash was unearthed, was the "biggest ever seizure of cash" by an enforcement agency. The December 26 raid, which resulted in Jain's arrest, included searches at Jain's residential/factory premises in Kannauj, where about Rs 17 crore in cash have been recovered, the ministry said in a release. Further searches are underway at Jain's residential/factory premises in Kannauj.
The collections stood at Rs 98,202 crore in the month, against Rs 1.02 trillion in July. The figures indicate continuation of economic slow down which was reflected in the gross domestic product (GDP) growth which plummeted to a 25-quarter low of 5 per cent in the first quarter of 2019-20, experts said.
As the triangular political contest in Telangana intensifies, many believe that for the regional major BRS, it is a battle for survival after being routed in the assembly polls held late last year. What is haunting the party this time is the scams, the 10-year anti-incumbency factor, and family dominance in the party.
Have companies overlooked the impact of GST on employee benefits such as health check-up facilities, mediclaim, mobile handsets, house lease, long service awards, employee welfare schemes, and so on, asks Anita Rastogi, partner-GST and indirect tax, PwC
Experts said the rate hike would improve working capital position of the manufactures as it would correct the inverted duty structure but may lead to increase in price of the finished goods.
To improve compliance, govt may introduce lottery reward for filing GST. The Consumer Welfare Fund, where anti-profiteering proceeds are deposited, will be used to reward the lucky winners on monthly and annual bases. The prize money, yet to be fixed, may run into several lakhs of rupees for the annual draw, and about Rs 50,000 for monthly draws.
The council also cut GST rates on affordable housing to 1 per cent from the current 8 per cent.
GST Council extends anti-profiteering authority's tenure, sends rate cut on EVs to fitment panel and also extended the date for filing annual returns under the GST by two months to August 30.
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As corporate India gears up to be GST-ready, the ongoing litigation and tax dispute cases are something most businesses are cagey about.
To shed more light on how GST will affect the individual as well as the nation, Rediff Chat has lined up experts to field your queries.
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