Decisions of 38th GST Council Meet

Recently GST council meet was held on 18^th December,2019. Here is the glimpse of the decisions taken in the council meet. Hope this article helps you to keep pace with all-time updating GST.

Following were major decisions taken by the council-

1. Extension of Due date – Due date to file GSTR-9 (Annual Return) and GSTR-9C (Reconciliation statement) for F.Y 2017-18 extended to 31^st January 2020 from 31^st December 2019.

2. E-way Bill would be blocked – Taxpayers who have not filed their GSTR-1 for two consecutive tax periods their E-way bill generation would be blocked.

So, now non-filing of GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B for two consecutive tax periods would lead to blocking of E-way Bill.

3. Waiver of Late fees – For all the taxpayers who have not filed their GSTR-1 from July 2017 to November 2019, their late fees would be waived off , if the pending returns are filed by 10/01/2020.

4. Restriction of 10% of eligible ITC not reflected in GSTR-2A – For the invoices or debit notes not reflected in GSTR-2A the recipient of goods/services can claim maximum ITC of upto 110% of the eligible ITC available in GSTR-2A. One should note earlier 20% was allowed instead of 10%.

5. Extension of Due Date for few North Eastern States- Due date for filing GST Returns for the month of November, 2019 has been extended for certain states.

6. GST rate for Lottery – With effect from 1^st March,2020 GST @28% would be levied on both state run and state authorized lottery.

7. Exemption for long term lease upfront amount – Upfront amount payable by an entity having 20% or more ownership of Central or State Government for long term lease of industrial/ financial infrastructure plots is being exempted. This exemption shall come into effect from 1^st January,2020 (Earlier this exemption was available to entity having 50% or more ownership of state/central Government)

8. GST @ 18% on Bags & sacks (woven/non-woven) made of polyethylene or polypropylene strips – From 1^st January 2020,  Woven and non-woven (bags/sacks) of polyethylene or polypropylene strips or like (laminated or not) classified under HSN code 3923/6305 to be charged at the rate of 18% GST (earlier this rate was 12% )

9.Blocking of fraudulently availed ITC: Suitable actions would be taken to block ITC which is taken fraudulently in certain situations.

10. Grievance Redressal Committee (GRC)- To address grievances of specific/general nature of taxpayers at the zonal/state level Grievance Redressal committee would be constituted . This committee would be constituted by CGST and SGST officers, representatives of trade and industry and other GST stakeholders.

Copy of Press Release Notes issued by the Ministry of Finance can be viewed by clicking at the links provided below:

This article is for guidance only, not intended to be substituted for detailed research or the exercise of professional judgment.