The 53rd GST Council meeting focused on easing compliance burdens and providing relief to taxpayers. Here’s a summary of the key takeaways from 53rd GST Council meeting :
Exemptions:
Railway tickets, waiting room charges, and other railway services are now exempt from GST.
Additionally, hostel accommodation charges (up to Rs 20,000 per person per month) outside educational institutions are exempt.
Reduction in rate of TCS to be collected by the ECOs for supplies being made through them
TCS rate by ECOs reduced from 1% to 0.5% to ease financial burden on suppliers.
Taxpayer Relief:
Interest and penalties on demand notices issued under Section 73 of CGST (applicable for fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20) are waived for cases not involving fraud, suppression, or misstatement. Taxpayers must pay the full amount by 31st March 2025.
GSTR-4 Filing Deadline Extension:
The deadline for filing GSTR-4 extended until 30th June 2024 for fiscal year 2024-25 onwards.
No Interest on Cash Ledger Amount
Interest won’t be charged on the amount available in the electronic cash ledger at the due date of filing GSTR-3B.
FORM GSTR 1A
Form GSTR 1A facilitate taxpayer to add any particulars of supply of the current tax period missed out in reporting in FORM GSTR-1 of the said tax period or to amend any particulars already declared in FORM GSTR-1 of the current tax period (including those declared in IFF, for the first and second months of a quarter, if any, for quarterly taxpayers), to ensure that correct liability is auto-populated in FORM GSTR-3B.
GST Rate Changes:
12% tax rate recommended for:
- All milk cans (regardless of material)
- All carton boxes (corrugated and non-corrugated paperboard)
- All types of sprinklers
- All solar cookers (single or dual energy source)
Biometric Aadhaar Authentication:
Biometric-based Aadhaar authentication for GST registration to be rolled out PAN-India.
Streamlining Litigation:
Monetary limits have been set for filing GST appeals to reduce the burden on the judicial system.
The tax department can file appeals with the following monetary limits:
- GST Appellate Tribunal: ₹20 lakh
- High Court: ₹1 crore
- Supreme Court: 2 crore.
Reduced Pre-Deposit for Appeals:
Maximum pre-deposit for filing an appeal before appellate authorities reduced from ₹25 crore (CGST and SGST) to 20 crore each.
Extended ITC Time Limit:
Taxpayers can now avail Input Tax Credit (ITC) for invoices or debit notes filed up to 30th November 2021 (applicable for fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020- 21).
Schedule III Additions
Co-insurance Premium: Declared as no supply under Schedule III with regularization of past cases.
Re-insurance Commission: Also declared as no supply under Schedule III with regularization of past cases.
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