The sale of platform tickets and services such as retiring rooms,
waiting rooms, cloakroom facilities, and battery-operated car services are now
exempt from GST.
Finance Minister
Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the next meeting of the Goods and Services
Tax (GST) Council is tentatively
scheduled for mid to late August. GST Council proposes exemption for
specific services offered by Indian Railways to the general public, as well as
for intra-railway transactions.
The sale of platform
tickets and services such as retiring rooms, waiting rooms, cloakroom
facilities, and battery-operated car services are now exempt from GST. This
session aims to address the pending agenda items from today's meeting.
Today's 22 June GST Council meeting was marked by
several key decisions aimed at easing the compliance burden and providing relief
to taxpayers. FM Sitharaman said,
"Todays GST Council meeting has taken a lot of decisions on trade
facilitation, easing compliance burden and relief to tax payers in terms of
compliance easing out." Among these, significant measures were taken to
facilitate trade and simplify processes for businesses and individuals alike. The GST Council recommended waiving
interest penalties on demand notices issued under Section 73 of the GST Act for
fiscal years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20. This section pertains to cases
not involving fraud, suppression, or misstatement. Taxpayers who pay the full
tax amount demanded in the notice by March 31, 2025, will benefit from this
waiver. The Council approved an
extension for availing input tax credit (ITC) on any invoice or debit note.
For returns filed up
to November 30, 2021, the deadline for ITC claims for the fiscal years 2017-18,
2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 is now deemed to be November 30, 2021. To curb
government litigation, the Council recommended setting monetary thresholds for
filing appeals by departments: Rs 20 lakh for the GST appellate tribunal, Rs 1
crore for high courts, and Rs 2 crore for the Supreme Court.
In a move to assist small taxpayers, the Council
extended the deadline for furnishing returns from April 30 to June 30 for the
fiscal year 2024-25 and subsequent years. The Council clarified that all types of
sprinklers, including fire and water sprinklers, will attract a uniform GST
rate of 12 percent. Furthermore, accommodation services valued up to Rs 20,000
per person per month, provided for a continuous period of at least 90 days,
will also be exempt. This exemption will benefit hostels and similar
accommodations run by various social and community organizations.
The Council
recommended the phased rollout of biometric-based Aadhaar authentication for
GST registration applicants across India..The GoM will present a status report
in the next meeting, followed by work on rate rationalization. The Council
recommended a uniform GST rate of 12 percent on all milk cans, regardless of
their material (steel, iron, aluminum), to eliminate disputes. A 12 per cent
GST rate was also recommended for all types of carton boxes and cases made from
both corrugated and non-corrugated paper or paperboard... A uniform GST rate of 12 percent was recommended for solar cookers,
whether single or dual energy source, reflecting the Council's support for
renewable energy initiativesShe highlighted that the groundwork for this
inclusion was laid during the initial implementation of GST and emphasized that
the decision now lies with the state governments… . The central government has
long maintained that incorporating petrol and diesel into GST would streamline
tax rates and potentially reduce prices for consumers. However, the Finance
Minister clarified that this move requires consensus among the states, as they
play a crucial role in determining the rate of taxation. The 53rd meeting of the GST Council, presided over by Union Finance
Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, took place at Bharat Mandapam in New Delhi today.