CBIC extends deadline for filing GST Annual Returns

 CBIC extends deadline for filing GST Annual Returns

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has extended the filing of GST Annual Returns ( GSTR-9 ) for the Financial Year 2019-2020 till February 28th, 2021.

Earlier, the due date was December 31. There have been demands to extend the date for two reasons: first, the pandemic, and second, the due date for annual returns for FY19-20 is December 31.

GSTR-9 is an annual return to be filed yearly by taxpayers registered under GST. It consists of details regarding the outward and inward supplies made/received during the relevant previous year under different tax heads i.e. CGST, SGST & IGST and HSN codes. Basically, it is a consolidation of all the monthly/quarterly returns (GSTR-1, GSTR-2A, GSTR-3B) filed in that year. Though complex, this return helps in extensive reconciliation of data for 100% transparent disclosures. The late fees for not filing the GSTR 9 within the due date is Rs 100 per day, per act. That means late fees of Rs 100 under CGST & Rs 100 under SGST will be applicable in case of delay. Thus, the total liability is Rs 200 per day of default. This is subject to a maximum of 0.25% of the taxpayer’s turnover in the relevant state or union territory. However, there is no late fee on IGST yet.

CBIC extends due date of filing GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C

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The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has extended the Due Date for furnishing GST Annual Return and Reconciliation Statement (GSTR-9 / 9A and GSTR-9C) for FY 2017-18.
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The CBIC said that, Considering the difficulties being faced by taxpayers in filing GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for FY 2017-18 it has been decided to extend the due dates in a staggered manner for different groups of States to 3rd, 5th and 7th February 2020 as under.
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Group 1: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Other Territory – 3rd February 2020
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Group 2: Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Gujarat- 5th February 2020.
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Group 3: Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Jharkhand, Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh- 7th February 2020.
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GSTR-9 is an annual return to be filed yearly by taxpayers registered under GST. It consists of details regarding the outward and inward supplies made/received during the relevant previous year under different tax heads i.e. CGST, SGST & IGST and HSN codes. Basically, it is a consolidation of all the monthly/quarterly returns (GSTR-1, GSTR-2A, GSTR-3B) filed in that year. Though complex, this return helps in extensive reconciliation of data for 100% transparent disclosures.
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The late fees for not filing the GSTR 9 within the due date is Rs 100 per day, per act. That means late fees of Rs 100 under CGST & Rs 100 under SGST will be applicable in case of delay. Thus, the total liability is Rs 200 per day of default. This is subject to a maximum of 0.25% of the taxpayer’s turnover in the relevant state or union territory. However, there is no late fee on IGST yet.

Salaries are not subject to GST, Media Report alleging Tax Authorities want to impose GST on Salaries is Factually Incorrect: CBIC

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The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) today clarified that salaries are not subject to GST and no GST has been demanded on salaries paid to CEOs or employees.
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The CBIC said that the media report in this regard alleging that tax authorities want to impose GST on salaries paid to employees is factually incorrect and misrepresents tax authorities.
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The Board emphasised the GST law position which clearly states under Section 7(2) read with Schedule III of the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 (CGST Act) that the salaried services by an employee to the employer shall be treated neither as a supply of goods nor as a supply of services. So, salaries as such cannot be subject to GST. CBIC said that in this regard no notice has been issued to any companies demanding GST on salaries whatsoever.
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The CBIC further clarified that it has already been made amply clear vide its press release dated 10′ July, 2017 that the services by an employee to the employer in the course of or in relation to his employment is outside the scope of GST (neither supply of goods nor supply of services).
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The CBIC also said that the GST charged on the prices/charges by any supplier of goods or services from his consumers does comprise all costs including the cost of raw material, capital goods, input services and employee costs, etc. But this does not mean that salaries paid to the employees by the employer are being taxed under GST.
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It must also be made clear that offices of an organisation in different States are regarded as distinct persons under Section 25 of CGST Act. Hence, what is taxable under GST is the supply of goods and services by the head office to its branch office/s and vice versa. Any tax charged on such supplies is available to the recipient as an input tax credit. This is not any additional cost to the organisation. Also, it is a worldwide practice under GST laws.

GST Council Recommends reduced GST Rate on Services

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The GST Council in the 37th meeting held on 20th September, 2019 at Goa took following decisions relating to changes in GST rates, ITC eligibility criteria, exemptions and clarifications on connected issues.

• (A) EXEMPTIONS / CHANGES IN GST RATES / ITC ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:

Rate reduction sector wise:
Hospitality and tourism:

• To reduce the rate of GST on hotel accommodation service as below: -

Transaction Value per Unit (Rs) per day	GST
Rs 1000 and less	Nil
Rs 1001 to Rs 7500	12%
Rs 7501 and more	18%

• To reduce rate of GST on outdoor catering services other than in premises having daily tariff of unit of accommodation of Rs 7501 from present 18% with ITC to 5% without ITC. The rate shall be mandatory for all kinds of catering. Catering in premises with daily tariff of unit of accommodation is Rs 7501 and above shall remain at 18% with ITC.

Job work service:

• To reduce rate of GST from 5% to 1.5% on supply of job work services in relation to diamonds.
  
• To reduce rate of GST from 18%to 12% on supply of machine job work such as in engineering industry, except supply of job work in relation to bus body building which would remain at 18%.

Exemption sector wise: Warehousing:

• To exempt prospectivelyservices by way of storage or warehousing of cereals, pulses, fruits, nuts and vegetables, spices, copra, sugarcane, jaggery, raw vegetable fibres such as cotton, flax, jute etc., indigo, unmanufactured tobacco, betel leaves, tendu leaves, rice, coffee and tea.
  

Transportation:

• To increase the validity of conditional exemption of GST on export freight by air or sea by another year, i.e. till 30.09.2020.

Insurance:

• To exempt “BANGLA SHASYA BIMA” (BSB) crop insurance scheme of West Bengal Government.
• To exempt services of life insurance business provided or agreed to be provided by the Central Armed Paramilitary Forces (under Ministry of Home Affairs) Group Insurance Funds to their members under the respective Group Insurance Schemes of these Central Armed Paramilitary forces.
  

Export promotion:

• To exempt services provided by an intermediary to a supplier of goods or recipient of goods when both the supplier and recipient are located outside the taxable territory.
  
• To issue a notification under Section 13(13) of IGST Act notifying the place of supply of specified R&Dservices (such as Integrated discovery and development, Evaluation of the efficacy of new chemical/ biological entities in animal models of disease,Evaluation of biological activity of novel chemical/ biological entities in in-vitro assays,Drug metabolism and pharmacokinetics of new chemical entities,Safety Assessment/ Toxicology,Stability Studies,Bio Equivalence and Bio Availability Studies, Clinical trials,Bio analytical studies) provided by Indian pharma companies to foreign service recipients, as the place of effective use and enjoyment of a service i.e. location of the service recipient.
  
• To clarify that the place of supply of chip design software R&Dservices provided by Indian companies to foreign clients by using sample test kits in India is the location of the service recipient and section 13(3)(a) of IGST Act, 2017 is not applicable for determining the place of supply in such cases.

Miscellaneous

• To allow the registered authors an option to pay GST on royalty charged from publishers under forward charge and observe regular GST compliance.
  
• To notify grant of liquor licence by State Governments against payment of license fee as a “no supply” to remove implementational ambiguity on the subject.
  
• To exempt services related to FIFA Under-17 Women's World Cup 2020 similar to existing exemption given to FIFA U17 World Cup 2017.
  
  
   
  • (B) RATIONALIZATION/ TRADE FACILITATION MEASURES:
    
•  To allow payment of GSTon securities lending service under reverse charge mechanism (RCM) at the merit rate of 18% and to clarify that GST on securities lending service for period prior to RCM period shall be paid on forward charge basis. IGST shall be payable on supply of these services and in cases where CGST/SGST/UTGST have been paid, such taxpayers will not be required to pay tax again.
  
• To allow RCM to suppliers paying GST @ 5% on renting of vehicles, from registered person other than body corporate (LLP, proprietorship) when services provided to body corporate entities.
  
  
  • (C) CLARIFICATIONS:
    
•  To clarify the scope of the entry ‘services of exploration, mining or drilling of petroleum crude or natural gas or both”.
  
• To clarify taxability of Passenger Service Fee (PSF) and User Development Fee (UDF) levied by airport operators.

Note: It is proposed to issue notifications giving effect to these recommendations of the Council on 1^st October, 2019.

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37th GST Council Meeting: Major Recommendations

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The 37th GST Council met in Goa today under the Chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman. The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Shri Anurag Thakur besides Chief Minister of Goa Shri Pramod Sawant, Finance Ministers of States & UTs and seniors officers of the Ministry of Finance.
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The GST Council, in its meeting, recommended the following Law & Procedure related changes :

1. Relaxation in filing of annual returns for MSMEs for FY 2017-18 and FY 2018-19 as under:
   • waiver of the requirement of filing FORM GSTR-9A for Composition Taxpayers for the said tax periods; and
   • filing of FORM GSTR-9 for those taxpayers who (are required to file the said return but) have aggregate turnover up to Rs. 2 crores made optional for the said tax periods.

2. A Committee of Officers to be constituted to examine the simplification of Forms for Annual Return and reconciliation statement.
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3. Extension of last date for filing of appeals against orders of Appellate Authority before the GST Appellate Tribunal as the Appellate Tribunals are yet not functional.
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4. In order to nudge taxpayers to timely file their statement of outward supplies, imposition of restrictions on availment of input tax credit by the recipients in cases where details of outward supplies are not furnished by the suppliers in the statement under section 37 of the CGST Act, 2017.
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5. New return system now to be introduced from April, 2020 (earlier proposed from October, 2019), in order to give ample opportunity to taxpayers as well as the system to adapt and accordingly specifying the due date for furnishing of return in FORM GSTR-3B and details of outward supplies in FORM GSTR-1 for the period October, 2019 - March, 2020.
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6. Issuance of circulars for uniformity in application of law across all jurisdictions:
   -procedure to claim refund in FORM GST RFD-01A subsequent to favourable order in appeal or any other forum;
   -eligibility to file a refund application in FORM GST RFD-01A for a period and category under which a NIL refund application has already been filed; and
   -clarification regarding  supply  of  Information Technology  enabled  Services  (ITeS services) (in supersession of Circular No. 107/26/2019-GST dated 18.07.2019) being made on own account or as intermediary.
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7. Rescinding of Circular No.105/24/2019-GST dated 28.06.2019, ab-initio, which was issued in respect of post-sales discount.
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8. Suitable amendments in CGST Act, UTGST Act, and the corresponding SGST Acts in view of creation of UTs of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
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9. Integrated refund system with disbursal by single authority to be introduced from 24^th September, 2019.
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10. In principle decision to link Aadhar with registration of taxpayers under GST and examine the possibility of making Aadhar mandatory for claiming refunds.
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11. In order to tackle the menace of fake invoices and fraudulent refunds, in principle decision to prescribe reasonable restrictions on passing of credit by risky taxpayers including risky new taxpayers.
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GST Rate on Goods as Recommended by The GST Council in Its 37th Meeting

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The 37th GST Council met in Goa today under the Chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman. The meeting was also attended by Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Shri Anurag Thakur besides Chief Minister of Goa Shri Pramod Sawant, Finance Ministers of States & UTs and seniors officers of the Ministry of Finance.
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The council took the following decisions in respect to rates relating to goods.

• GST rates reduction, –
  -18% to 12% on parts of Slide Fasteners
  -18% to 5% on Marine Fuel 0.5% (FO)
  -12% to 5% on Wet Grinders(consisting stone as a grinder)
  -5% to Nil on:-
  -Dried tamarind
  -Plates and cups made up of leaves/ flowers/bark
  -3% to 0.25% on cut and polished semi- precious stones
  -Applicable rate to 5% on specified goods for petroleum operations undertaken under Hydrocarbon Exploration Licensing Policy (HELP)
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• Exemptions from GST/IGST on:-
  -imports of specified defence goods not being manufactured indigenously (upto 2024)
  -supply of goods and services to FIFA and other specified persons for organizing the Under-17 Women’s Football World Cup in India.
  -supply of goods and services to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for specified projects in India.
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• GST rates have been recommended to be increased from, –
  -5% to 12% on goods, falling under chapter 86 of tariff like railway wagons, coaches, rolling stock (without refund of accumulated ITC). This is to address the concern of -ITC accumulation with suppliers of these goods.
  -18% to 28% +12% compensation cess on caffeinated Beverages
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• Measures for Export Promotion
  -Exemption from GST/IGST:-
  -at the time of import on Silver/Platinum by specified nominated agencies
  -supply of Silver/Platinum by specified nominated agency to exporters for exports of Jewellery,
  -Inclusion of Diamond India Limited (DIL) in the list of nominated agencies eligible for IGST exemption on imports of Gold/ Silver/Platinum so as to supply at Nil GST to Jewellery exporters.
  -A uniform GST rate of 12% on Polypropylene/Polyethylene Woven and Non- Woven Bags and sacks, whether or not laminated, of a kind used for packing of goods (from present rates of 5%/12%/18%)
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• GST concession in certain cases for specific period: –
  -Exemption to Fishmeal for the period 01.07.17 to 30.09.19. There were doubts as regards taxability offishmeal in view of the interpretational issues. However, any tax collected for this period shall be required to be deposited.
  -12% GST duringthe period 1.07.2017 to 31.12.2018, on pulley, wheels and other parts (falling under Heading 8483) and used as parts of agricultural machinery.
  -Passenger vehicles of engine capacity 1500 cc in case of diesel, 1200 cc in case of petrol and length not exceeding 4000mm designed for carrying upto 9 persons attract compensation cess of 1% for petrol and 3% for a diesel vehicle. Council recommended same compensation cess rate for vehicles having these specifications (length and engine capacity) but designed for carrying more than 10 persons but up to 13 persons. (Presently these vehicles attract compensation cess at the rate of 15%)
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• Other miscellaneous Changes:
  -Aerated drink manufacturers shall be excluded from the composition scheme.
  -Option to pay GST at the rate of 18% on transaction value at the time of disposal of specified goods for petroleum operations (on which concessional GST rate of 5% was paid at the time of original supply) provided that the goods are certified by Director General Hydrocarbon(DGH) as non-serviceable.
  -Restriction on refund of compensation cess on tobacco products (in case of inverted duty structure)
  -Prescribing modalities for allowing concessions on spare parts imported temporarily by foreign airlines for the repair of their aircraft, while in India in transit in terms of the Chicago Convention on Civil Aviation.
  -Certain other changes of technical nature for the sake of clarity in the application of notification.
  -Clarifications as regards applicability of GST rate in respect of certain goods recommended by GST Council which inter-alia includes:
  -Mere heating ofleguminous vegetables (gram/lentil) for removing moisture, or to soften and puff it or removing the skin, and not subjecting to any other processing or addition of any other ingredients (salt, oil etc.) would be classified under HS code 0713.
  -All “mechanical sprayers” falling under HS Code 8424 would attract 12% GST.
  -Parts like Solar Evacuation tubes for solar power based devices like solar water heater, solar steam, generation systems, would be eligible to 5% GST rate.
  -Exclusive parts and accessories suitable for use solely or principally with a medical device (falling under headings 9018, 9019, 9021 or 9022) would fall in respective headings and attract GST at the concessional rate of 12%.
  -Almond milk is classifiable under HS code 22029990 and attracts GST rate of 18%.
  -Imported stores for Navy would be entitled to exemption from IGST

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The rate changes shall be made effective with effect from 1st October, 2019.

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CBIC releases Transition plan to new GST Return

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The GST Council in its 31st meeting decided that a new GST return system will be introduced to facilitate taxpayers. In order to ease transition to the new return system, a transition plan has been worked out. The details of the indicative transition plan are as follows: –
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i. In May, 2019 a prototype of the offline tool has already been shared on the common portal to give the look and feel of the tool to the users. The look and feel of the offline tool would be same as that of the online portal. Taxpayers may be aware that there are three main components to the new return –one main return (FORM GST RET-1) and two annexures (FORM GST ANX-1 and FORM GST ANX-2).
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ii. From July, 2019, users would be able to upload invoices using the FORM GST ANX-1 offline tool on trial basis for familiarisation. Further, users would also be able to view and download, the inward supply of invoices using the FORM GST ANX-2 offline tool under the trial program. The summary of inward supply invoices would also be available for view on the common portal online. They would also be able to import their purchase register in the Offline Tool and match it with the downloaded inward supply invoices to find mismatches from August 2019.
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iii. Between July to September, 2019 (for three months), the new return system (ANX-1 & ANX-2 only) would be available for trial for taxpayers to make themselves familiar. This trial would have no impact at the back end on the tax liability or input tax credit of the taxpayer. In this period, taxpayers shall continue to fulfil their compliances by filing FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B i.e. taxpayers would continue to file their outward supply details in FORM GSTR-1on monthly / quarterly basis and return in FORM GSTR-3B on monthly basis. Non-filing of these returns shall attract penal provisions under the GST Act.
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iv. From October, 2019 onwards, FORM GST ANX-1 shall be made compulsory and FORM GSTR-1 would be replaced by FORM GST ANX-1. The large taxpayers (i.e. those taxpayers whose aggregate annual turnover in the previous financial year was more than Rs. 5 Crore) would upload their monthly FORM GST ANX-1 from October, 2019 onwards. However, the first compulsory quarterly FORM GST ANX-1 to be uploaded by small taxpayers (with aggregate annual turnover in the previous financial year upto Rs. 5 Crore) would be due only in January, 2020 for the quarter October to December, 2019. It may be noted that invoices etc. can be uploaded in FORM GST ANX-1 on a continuous basis both by large and small taxpayers from October, 2019 onwards. FORM GST ANX-2 may be viewed simultaneously during this period but no action shall be allowed on such FORM GST ANX-2.
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v. For October and November, 2019, large taxpayers would continue to file FORM GSTR-3B on monthly basis. They would file their first FORM GST RET-01 for the month of December, 2019 by 20th January, 2020.
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vi. The small taxpayers would stop filing FORM GSTR-3B and would start filing FORM GST PMT-08 from October, 2019 onwards. They would file their first FORM GST-RET-01 for the quarter October, 2019 to December, 2019 from 20th January, 2020.
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vii. From January, 2020 onwards, all taxpayers shall be filing FORM GST RET-01 and FORM GSTR-3B shall be completely phased out.
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2. Separate instructions shall be issued for filing and processing of refund applications between October to December, 2019.
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Transition plan to the new GST Return-20190611070952.pdf

GST Council to meet on 20th, may discuss E-Invoice for Businesses above 50 Crore Threshold

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The first meeting of the GST Council post- Lok Sabha polls will be on 20th June where the Government is likely to propose Rs 50 crore as the turnover threshold for entities to generate e-invoice on a centralised government portal for business-to-business (B2B) sales as it looks to curb GST evasion, reports said.
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The meeting would be chaired by the new Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
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Analysis of return filing shows that as many as 68,041 businesses have reported a turnover of over Rs 50 crore and accounted for 66.6 percent of total GST paid in 2017-18.
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Further, while these businesses account for just 1.02 percent of GST payers, they make up almost 30 percent of the B2B invoices generated in the system.
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“The turnover threshold for entities to generate e-invoice for B2B sales is likely to be fixed at Rs 50 crore if the GST Council agrees. With this threshold, big taxpayers who are better placed technologically to integrate their software would have to generate e-invoice for B2B sales,” the official told PTI.
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The ministry is planning to roll out the e-invoice system by September. The twin objectives of the move are to ease compliance by the entities with turnover above Rs 50 crore by saving them from filing returns and uploading invoices and to curb tax evasion through invoice misuse.
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So far, there are so many tax evasion cases reported by the tax department where the businesses used fake invoices as a tool to evade tax and claim input tax credit which ultimately caused revenue leakage.
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The official further said that under the current system, there is a gap between the time of generation invoices and filing of sales returns.
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The number of entities filing monthly summary sales return GSTR-3B and paying GST is higher than those filing outward supply return GSTR-1, in which invoice-wise details have to be filed. Analysis suggests the gap could be either because of genuine difficulty in uploading invoices or with the intention of misusing Input Tax Credit (ITC), the official said.
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The official said 1 crore invoice generation per day can be handled by GSTN/NIC as this would be similar to the number of e-way bills currently being generated on the portal.

CBIC extends Due Dates for GSTR-1 and GSTR 3-B in Odisha [Read Notifications]

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In a major relief to the businesses in the cyclone-ravaged areas of Odisha, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has extended the due dates for filing of GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B for the month of April in Odisha.
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A Notification issued by the Board has said that “Provided that the return in FORM GSTR-3B of the said rules for the month of April, 2019 for registered persons whose principal place of business is in the districts of Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak , Cuttack , Dhenkanal , Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khordha, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh and Puri in the State of Odisha shall be furnished electronically through the common portal, on or before the 20th June, 2019.”
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In a separate notification, the Board extended the due date for GSTR-1 and said that “Provided that the details of outward supply of goods or services or both in FORM GSTR-1 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 for the month of April, 2019 for registered persons whose principal place of business is in the districts of Angul, Balasore, Bhadrak , Cuttack , Dhenkanal , Ganjam, Jagatsinghpur, Jajpur, Kendrapara, Keonjhar, Khordha, Mayurbhanj, Nayagarh and Puri in the State of Odisha shall be furnished electronically through the common portal, on or before the 10th June, 2019.”
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Due date of filing FORM GSTR-7 TDS under GST extended till 12th April 2019

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GSTR 7 is a return to be filed by the persons who is required to deduct TDS (Tax deducted at source) under GST. GSTR 7 contains the details of TDS deducted, TDS liability payable and paid, TDS refund claimed if any etc.
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CBIC Extends Due date of filing FORM GSTR-7 TDS under GST extended till 12th April 2019. A registered person required to deduct tax at source under GST required to file FORM GSTR-7 for the month of March, 2019 till the 12th day of April, 2019.
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Due date for GSTR-1 for the month of March extended to 13th April 2019

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GSTR-1 is a monthly or quarterly return that should be filed by every registered dealer. It contains details of all outward supplies.
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GSTR 1 Due date for the month of March 2019 extended to 13th April 2019. The Commissioner, on the recommendations of the Council, hereby extends due date of FORM GSTR-1 details of outward supply of goods or services or both. Now GSTR-1 for the month of March, 2019 shall be furnished electronically through the common portal, on or before the 13th April, 2019
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CBIC lays down Norms for Verification of Applications for granting New GST Registrations [Read Circular]

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The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has laid down the norms for the verification of applications for grant of new GST registrations.
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The GST Act provides for rejection of application for registration if the information or documents submitted by the applicant are found to be deficient. It is possible that the applicant may suppress some material information in relation to earlier registration. Some of the information that may be concealed in the application for registration in FORM GST REG -01 are S. No. 7 “Date of Commencement of Business”, S. No. 8 “Date on which liability to register arises”, S. No. 14 “Reason to obtain registration” etc. Such persons may also not furnish the details of earlier registrations, if any, obtained under GST on the same PAN.
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The CBIC circular instructed that the officers should exercise due caution while processing the application for registration submitted by the taxpayers, where the tax payer is seeking another registration within the State although he has an existing registration within the said State or his earlier registration has been cancelled.
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It is clarified that not applying for revocation of cancellation of registration along with the continuance of the conditions specified in clauses (b) and (c) of sub-section (2) of section 29 of the CGST Act shall be deemed to be a “deficiency” within the meaning of sub-rule (2) of rule 9 of the CGST Rules.
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“The proper officer may compare the information pertaining to earlier registrations with the information contained in the present application, the grounds on which the earlier registration(s) were cancelled and the current status of the statutory violations for which the earlier registration(s) were cancelled. The data may be verified on common portal by fetching the details of registration taken on the PAN mentioned in the new application vis-a-vis cancellation of registration obtained on same PAN. The information regarding the status of other registrations granted on the same PAN is displayed on the common portal to both the applicant and the proper officer. Further, if required, information submitted by applicant in S. No. 21 of FORM GST REG-01 regarding details of proprietor, all partner/Karta/Managing Directors and whole time Director/Members of Managing Committee of Associations/Board of Trustees etc. may be analysed vis-à-vis any cancelled registration having same details,” the circular said.
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It further advised that where the applicant fails to furnish sufficient convincing justification or the proper officer is not satisfied with the clarification, information or documents furnished, then, his application for fresh registration may be considered for rejection.
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To Read the full text of the Circular
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CBIC extends Due Date of FORM GST ITC-04 in respect of Goods dispatched to a Job Worker [Read Notification]

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The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs ( CBIC ) has extended the due date for furnishing of FORM GST ITC-04 for the period July 2017 to March 2019 till 30th June 2019 in respect of goods dispatched to a job worker or received from a job worker, during the period.
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FORM GST ITC-04 must be submitted by the principal every quarter. He must include the details of challans in respect of the following-

• Goods dispatched to a job worker or
• Received from a job worker or
• Sent from one job worker to another

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As per the GST Act, job work means any treatment or process undertaken by a person on goods belonging to another registered person.
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To Read the full text of the Notification

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GST Council Meeting today to declare Relief to Real Estate Sector

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The most powerful GST Council will meet today to announce relief to the real estate sector and to declare a uniform tax rate on the lottery.
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Last week, the Group of Ministers headed by Gujarat deputy chief minister Nitin Patel had recommended cutting tax rates on under-construction properties to 5 percent, without input credit, from 12 percent and for affordable housing, 3 percent from 8 percent.
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Though the Council met on Thursday through video conference, to discuss the proposal, it was deferred to Sunday, some states had opposed announcing of the decision in their absence in the last meeting.
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“The discussion remained incomplete today through video conferencing. Few ministers expressed their opinion and the rest will express their opinion and we will try and take a decision on this issue on Sunday… I have always followed the approach of moving as per consensus and some of the states wanted meeting where members are physically present, keeping the idea of consensus in mind, I adjourn the meeting to Sunday (February 24),” finance minister Arun Jaitley said after the meeting.
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A PTI report had said that the move would boost buying of under-construction houses as the current GST rates forced buyers to go for ready-to-move-in properties.
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Meanwhile, the meeting is also expected to address the issue of the tax rate on the lottery. A panel headed by Maharashtra finance minister Sudhir Mungatiwar has recommended a uniform rate of 18 percent or 28 percent on the lottery.

GST Council Meet approves 1% Tax on Affordable Houses

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The 33rd Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) Council meeting in New Delhi has made some important decisions regarding the real estate sector. Reportedly, the Council has approved the lowest rate of 1% tax on the affordable houses, sources said. According to sources, the non-affordable houses will be charged at 5% GST without the input tax credit.
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The council has also recommended in relaxing the definition of affordable houses to grant relief. In metro cities, houses with a carpet area up to 60 sq meter will be classified under affordable housing In non-metro cities, houses with a carpet area of up to 90 sq meters will be classified under affordable housing.
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These changes would be applicable from 1st April 2019.
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“For affordable housing GST rate reduced from 8 to 1 % & for non affordable from 22 to 5 % without ITC. Definition of affordable changed to 90 & 60 sq mtr for non metro & metro with a capping of 45 Lakh for both,” Bihar Minister Sushil Kumar Modi tweeted.
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Reportedly, the Council is also considering to lower the tax rate on under-construction flats.
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Though the Council met on Thursday through video conference, to discuss the proposal, it was deferred to Sunday, some states had opposed announcing of the decision in their absence in the last meeting.
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The meeting is also expected to address the issue of the tax rate on the lottery. A panel headed by Maharashtra finance minister Sudhir Mungatiwar has recommended a uniform rate of 18 percent or 28 percent on the lottery.
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REGARDS
ACA SOURAV BAGARIA

Major Recommendations of the 33rd GST Council Meeting

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Real estate sector is one of the largest contributors to the national GDP and provides employment opportunity to large numbers of people. “Housing for All by 2022” envisions that every citizen would have a house and the urban areas would be free of slums.
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There are reports of a slowdown in the sector and low off-take of under-construction houses which needs to be addressed. To boost the residential segment of the real estate sector, the following recommendations were made by the GST Council in its 33rd meeting held today:

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GST rate:

• GST shall be levied at an effective GST rate of 5% without ITC on residential properties outside the affordable segment;
• GST shall be levied at effective GST of 1% without ITC on affordable housing properties.

Effective date: The new rate shall become applicable from 1st of April, 2019.
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Definition of affordable housing shall be:-

A residential house/flat of carpet area of upto 90 sqm in non-metropolitan cities/towns and 60 sqm in metropolitan cities having value upto Rs. 45 lacs (both for metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities).
Metropolitan Cities are Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi NCR (limited to Delhi, Noida, Greater Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurgaon, Faridabad), Hyderabad, Kolkata and Mumbai (whole of MMR).
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GST exemption on TDR/ JDA, long term lease (premium), FSI:

Intermediate tax on development right, such as TDR, JDA, lease (premium), FSI shall be exempted only for such residential property on which GST is payable.
Details of the scheme shall be worked out by an officers committee and shall be approved by the GST Council in a meeting to be called specifically for this purpose.
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Advantages of the recommendations made:

The new tax rate in principle was approved by the Council taking into consideration the following advantages:-

• The buyer of house gets a fair price and affordable housing gets very attractive with GST @ 1%.
• Interest of the buyer/consumer gets protected; ITC benefits not being passed to them shall become a non-issue.
• Cash flow problem for the sector is addressed by the exemption of GST on development rights, long term lease (premium), FSI etc.
• Unutilized ITC, which used to become cost at the end of the project gets removed and should lead to better pricing.
• Tax structure and tax compliance become simpler for builders.

GST Council decided that the issue of the tax rate on lottery needs further discussion in the GoM constituted in this regard.
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The decisions of the GST Council have been presented in this note in simple language for easy understanding. The same would be given effect to through Gazette notifications/ circulars which alone shall have the force of law.
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REGARDS
ACA SOURAV BAGARIA

Major Decisions taken in 32nd GST Council Meeting

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The GST council, in its 32nd meeting held at New Delhi, made the following decisions.
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Increase in turnover limit for the existing composition scheme: The limit of annual turnover in the preceding financial year for availing composition seller. for goods shall be increased. to Rs 1.5 crore. Special category States would decide within one week, about the composition limit in their respective States.
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Compliance simplification: The compliance under composition scheme shall be simplified as now they would need to file one annual return but payment of taxes would remain quarterly (along with a simple declaration).
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Higher exemption threshold limit for the supplier of goods: Time would be two threshold limits for exemption from registration and payment of GST for the suppliers of goods i.e. Rs 40 lakhs and Rs 20 lakhs. States would have an option to decide about on. of the limits within a weeks’ time. The threshold for registration for service providers would continue to be Rs 20 lakh and in case of Special category States Rs 10 lakhs.
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Composition scheme for services: A composition scheme shall be made available for suppliers a services (or mix. suppliers) with a tax rate of 6% (3% CGST +3% SGST) having an annual turnover in preceding financial year up to Rs 50 latch. The said scheme shall be applicable to both service providers as well as suppliers of goods and services, who are not eligible for the presently available composition scheme for goods. They would be liable to file one annual returns with quarterly payment of taxes (along with a simple declaration).
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The above decisions shall be made operational from the of April 2019.
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Free Accounting and Billing Software shall be provided to small taxpayers by GSTN.
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Matters referred to Group of Ministers: i. A seven-member Group of Ministers shall be constituted to examine the proposal of giving a composition scheme to boost the residential segment of the real estate sector. ii. A Group of Ministers shall be constituted to examine the GST rate structure on lotteries.
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Revenue mobilization for natural calamities: GST Council approved 1, or cess on the intra-State supply of goods and services within the State of Kerala at a rate not exceeding 1% for a period not exceeding 2 years.

GST Council Meet: Kerala to impose 1% Disaster Cess

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The 32nd GST Council meeting held at New Delhi has allowed the Kerala Government to impose 1 percent cess on intra-State sales.
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The disaster cess is a special tax to raise additional resources aimed at meeting the cost of reconstruction in Kerala in the aftermath of floods. The Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac brought the idea of levying cess.
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According to the recommendation of the Council, the cess can be imposed for sales within the Kerala State for a period of two years.
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“The levy is permitted under the Goods and Services Tax law,” Jaitley said while addressing the media persons.
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Though the last meeting of the Council discussed the proposal, a final decision could not be taken as some of the States are opposing the levy. Therefore, the Council had directed the Group of Ministers (GoM) to give further recommendations on it.
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The ministerial panel, on Sunday, had cleared the decks for levying state-specific calamity cess.

GST Council Meet: Exemption Limit Hiked, Composition Scheme extended to Services

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The 32nd GST Council meeting held in New Delhi has doubled the exemption limit under the Goods and Services Tax ( GST ) regime.
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After the meeting, the Union Finance Minister addressed the press and informed that the threshold limit has been enhanced to 40 lakhs from the current 20 lakhs. However, Rs. 20 lakhs will be applicable to North-East Small states.
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Presently, the threshold limit under the GST regime is 20 lakhs in case of businesses all over India. However, the business in the north-east region will get the exemption if the annual turnover is below 10 lakhs.
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consequently, 60% of the registered dealers falling out of the GST net with a negligible impact on the tax revenue.
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The Finance Minister said that the move is “primarily emotional.”
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In another significant move, the Council has rationalized the GST Composition Scheme. The Council recommended to enhance the Composition Scheme Threshold to 1.5 Crore w.e.f 1st April 2019.
Further, the council recommended the scheme of quarterly payment of tax and filing of annual return by the Composition Taxpayers.
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It was further said that the GST Composition Scheme must be extended to Service Providers with a turnover of up to 50 Lakhs. 6% GST would be applicable to such services, Jaitley said.

Key updates of 32nd GST Council Meeting

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The 32nd GST Council meeting concluded in New Delhi with a catena of changes in the present Goods and Services Tax regime.
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In a significant move, the Council has rationalized the Composition Scheme and approved disaster cess proposed by Kerala subject to conditions. Another important decision made by the Council is the hike in GST exemption Limit to 40 lakhs.
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Below are the Key Updates of 32nd GST Council Meeting.

• GST Council has decided to increase GST registration threshold limit to Rs 40 lakh from Rs 20 lakh. For hilly states and those in the North East, the threshold has been doubled to Rs 20 lakh.
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• Now states will be able to choose if they want to keep the GST exemption limit at Rs 20 lakh or Rs 40 lakh, Jaitley said.
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• GST Council agrees to allow composition tax payers to pay GST quarterly and file returns annually. The council also approved composition scheme for services.
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• GST Council decides to Increase the limit of annual turnover for composition scheme to 1.5 cr effective from 1st April 2019
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• Real estate issues referred to the Group of Ministers, the composition is expected to be announced soon
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• Compounding rate for services under composition scheme is fixed at 6 percent.
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• composition limit for services set at Rs 50 lakh
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• Kerala Govt to levy a 1 percent calamity cess for 2 years to shore up funds for rehabilitation
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• Yearly return for tax payers of composition scheme.
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• GST Council sets up committee to consider real estate GST rates says Finance Minister

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ACA SOURAV BAGARIA