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Important Highlights of 38TH GST Council Meeting

Important Highlights of 38TH GST Council Meeting

Important Highlights of 38TH GST COUNCIL MEETING

38th GST Council Meeting held on 18th December 2019 in New Delhi headed by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. During the meeting, the Council fixed tax rate on lotteries discussed annual return filing dates, penalty, and ITC related provisions and proposed certain other changes in GST. Main propositions in 38th GST Council Meeting are as follows:

1.    Uniform tax on Lotteries- The GST Council decided to levy a uniform tax of 28% on both state-run and state-authorized lotteries. This tax rate on lotteries will come into effect from 1st March 2020. Currently, the taxes levied on state-owned and state-authorized lotteries are 12% and 28% respectively. While 21 members in favour of a uniform tax rate, 7 members voted against it and 3 members abstained from voting.

2.    Extension of due dates for GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C- The GST Council has extended the due date of annual return form GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C till 31 January 2020 from the earlier date of 31 December 2019 for FY 2017-18.

3.    Due dates for filing GST returns in North-eastern states- For north-eastern states, the due date for filing GST returns for the month of November 2019 has been extended till 31st December 2019. 

4.    Input Tax Credit Claim restriction- The GST Council has decided to restrict the amount of Input Tax Credit from 20% to 10% in cases where the invoices or debit notes have not been uploaded.

5.    Rationalization of GST rate to remove inverted tax structure- the GST Council has decided to remove the inverted tax structure by increasing the GST rate on bags belonging to HSN code 3923/6305 from 12% to 18%. This rate will come into effect from 1 January 2020 and is applicable to woven and non-woven bags and sacks of polythene or polypropylene strips, both laminated and non-laminated.

6.    GST Exemption- industrial or financial infrastructure plots on long-term lease are exempted from paying GST. For this exemption, the Central or State Government shall hold more than 20% ownership and not 50% as specified earlier. 

7.    Late fee waiver on GSTR-1- 38th GST Council Meeting has decided to waive the late fee for GSTR-1 from July 17 to Nov 19. This waiver has been introduced under the amnesty scheme and can be availed only if the GSTR-1 is filed before 10 January. 

8.    Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)- A Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) will be defined for tax officers in cases where GSTR- 3B has not been filed.

9.    Grievance Redressal Units- The GST Council proposed setting up of grievance redressal units at Zonal or State levels to address the issues or grievances of the taxpayers.

The 38th GST Council Meeting also proposed certain recommendations for the Union budget 2020. It was for the very first time that the members of the Council decided to vote. Also, no hike in tax rates was proposed by any member of the Council directly or indirectly.

Author:

eStartIndia Team



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