27th GST Council Meeting: Final Decisions Disclosed

The 27th GST council meeting scheduled for today has been commenced from 12:30 PM and now let’s check out the discussions taken by the GST council meeting on the issues for simplification of GST returns and including GSTN under government undertaking. While there is also a suggestion for three models of new return form. Also, some major consideration and further petty issues like whether or not to levy Cess Tax on sugar are discussed in the meeting:

• 04:16 PM – Various provisions for B2B dealers are the display of entire turnover and invoice details
• 04:15 PM – There is the provision for only one return per month except for the composition scheme dealers and NIL transactions
• 04:12 PM – The simplification process will take time up to 6 months for the correction in the software
• 04:10 PM – The council has decided to keep the filing of GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 to be continued as same
• 04:05 PM – The council will look into the matter of cess on sugar and digital transactions but has not taken the decision till now
• 03:50 PM – GST Council approved the undertaking of GSTN as a government-owned subsidiary with 51 percent stakes in the GSTN. While centre and state government further divide the stake into 50 percent each

The meeting would witness the three models of new return form proposed by the Sushil Modi-led Group of Ministers. In its March meeting, the GST Council had already discussed two of the proposed models for GST returns. The Council had directed GOM for further simplification of the new GST return format. Reportedly, one of the models suggested on limiting the provisional credit to only those taxpayers who file returns and pay taxes. A second model proposed grant of provisional credit followed by return filing within three-four months. The model is based on the motto of ‘Pay taxes to avail credit benefits’. It would be interesting to see how things pan out after the May 4th meeting.

Read Also: Reasons: Why Taxpayers Avoiding GST Returns Filing?

Another major development that has attracted the Council’s attention is of bringing the GSTN within complete government ownership. In this, the government has decided to bring the GSTN under the government ownership and will buy 51 percent stake in the GSTN from the private entities and will further divide the stake in 50-50 ratio among the central and state government.

The GST Network which is the central government for the GST is currently a non-profit non-government organization. Private ownership amounts to 51% of the GSTN whereas the remaining ownership is shared equally between the central and state government. In addition to the initial capital funding of ₹10 crore, the Government has recently pumped a whopping Rs. 315 crores of non-recurring grant for the maintenance and operations of the heavily burdened GST Network.

In addition to these, cane farmers and sugar mill owners will have their eyes fixed on the meeting. It is speculated that the GST Council chaired by the Honourable Finance Minister will take a decision on whether or not to levy Cess Tax on sugar. The decision could come as a welcome move against the freefall of sugar prices driven primarily by record production of 10 million tonnes. The government in an earlier move had made export mandatory for mills. All in all, the GST Council in its 27th meeting on the 4th of May will try to find answers to very important questions that concern the common taxpayer as well as the poor farmers. It would be interesting to see what amendments are in store for India’s second tryst with destiny, ‘The GST’.

Cashback and Discounts on Digital Payments

The 27th GST meeting may also witness discussions on the proposal of offering cashback and/or discounts on 100 percent digital payments for supplies. Under the proposal, if consumers choose to pay for a B2C supply in full digital payment mode, they would be offered a discount of as much as 2 percent on the GST liable on B2C sales. The proposal aimed to promote digital payments is under consideration for a discussion by the GST Council.

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Tax Reduction For Cement and Paints

The Council may also discuss the possibility of cutting the GST rate on cement and paints from the current 28 percent to 18 percent. The tax rate on these supplies was increased after the implementation of the new tax regime. Cement manufacturers have been since protesting to cut the GST rate to 18% or less, as cement is one of the key elements of the infrastructure and the government’s target to make affordable homes for everyone.

The meeting may also witness discussions on reducing the GST rate on some electronic appliances and automobile parts manufactured by small sector companies.