Chief Economic Advisor of India is of the view and Indian economy can grow for prolonged period (8-10 years) without running into overheating problem. He also expects growth rate to be over 7 percent in current financial year 2023-24.
OECD has raised India’s GDP forecast to 8% in financial year 2023-24. In contrast, China is 5.4%, US 1.6% and world average @ 2.7%.
According to media reports, MoF may soon decide a new Convener for Group of Ministers on GST rate rationalization, post new government in Karnataka State. Also, CBIC is considering to have pre-filled consolidated GST return forms on the lines of annual information statement in income tax and to allow taxpayers to view transaction details & e- invoices to arrive at correct tax liability. This may be launched in the current fiscal itself.
GST Council is likely to have its 50th meeting on 11 July, 2023 wherein two items on top agenda may be setting up of GST Appellate Tribunals as well as taxation of online games / winnings. It is understood that state Governments have been asked to amend the GST law by October, 2023. GST Tribunals may see the light of the day by year-end or early 2024. It may also review CBIC’s plans for additional validations in return filing to check tax evasion.
Central Government has once again extended the due dates for filing GST returns, viz, GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and GSTR-7 for April and May 2023 in the State of Manipur till 30th June, 2023. It was earlier extended upto 31st May, 2023. Notification Nos. 14 to 16/2023-CT, all dated 19.06.2023 have been issued to this effect. CBIC also issued new instructions to stipulate new registration guidelines.
GST department has so far detected around 11000 fake entities in its ongoing fake registration drive. Overall, it has identified over 60000 such cases. CBIC will also undertake 50000 new cases in financial year 2023-24 for audit, based on risk parameters.
As GST enters into 7th year of its existence in India next week from 1st July, 2024, it is expected from the GST Council, MoF and all concerned that it is high time (6 years of GST completed) that disputes should be addressed and settled, besides bringing the redressal system (Appellate Tribunal) in place at the earliest. Government can even think of an one-time amnesty scheme to reduce litigation from the beginning itself. GSTAT should not be burdened from day one with compliance related disputes.
Due date for Form GSTR-1 further extended for Manipur State
- CBIC for notified the extension of due date for furnishing Form GSTR-1 (Details of outward supplies of goods or services) for April and May, 2023 for all the registered persons whose principal place of business is in State of Manipur.
- The date has now been extended till the 30th June, 2023.
- Thus, those registered taxpayers in State of Manipur who are required to file return under section 39(1) of CGST Act, 2017 can now file return in Form GSTR-1 for April and May, 2023 till 30th June, 2023.
- For this purpose, Notification No. 83/2020-CT dated 10.11.2020 has been amended by inserting a new proviso to the effect that the time limit for furnishing the details of outward supplies in FORM GSTR-1 of the said rules for the tax period April and May, 2023, for the registered persons required to furnish return under section 39 (1) of the said Act whose principal place of business is in the State of Manipur, shall be extended till the 30th June, 2023.
- This Notification shall be deemed to come into force w.e.f. 31.05.2023.
(Source: Notification No. 14/2023-Central Tax dated 19.06.2023)
Due date for Form –GSTR 3B further extended for Manipur State
- CBIC for notified the extension of due date for furnishing Form GSTR-3B for April and May, 2023 for all the registered persons whose principal place of business is in State of Manipur.
- The date has further been extended till the 30th June, 2023
- Thus, those registered taxpayers in State of Manipur who are required to file return under section 39(1) of CGST Act, 2017 can now file return in Form GSTR-3B for April and May, 2023 till 30th June, 2023.
- This Notification shall be deemed to come into force w.e.f. 31.05.2023.
(Source: Notification No. 15/2023-Central Tax dated 19.06.2023)
Due date for Form –GSTR 7 further extended for Manipur State
- CBIC for notified the extension of due date for furnishing Form GSTR-7 (Return for tax deducted at source) for April and May, 2023 for all the registered persons whose principal place of business is in State of Manipur.
- The date has now been extended till the 30 June, 2023.
- Thus, those registered taxpayers in State of Manipur who are required to file return under section 39(3) of CGST Act, 2017 can file return in Form GSTR-7 for April & May, 2023 till 30th June, 2023.
- For this purpose, Notification No. 26/2019-CT dated 28.06.2019 has been amended by inserting a new proviso to the effect that the return by a registered person, required to deduct tax at source under the provisions of section 51 of the said Act in FORM GSTR-7 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 under section 39(3) of the said Act read with rule 66 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, for the month of April and May, 2023, whose principal place of business is in the State of Manipur, shall be furnished electronically through the common portal, on or before the 30th June, 2023.
- This Notification shall be deemed to come into force w.e.f. 30.05.2023.
(Source: Notification No. 16/2023-Central Tax dated 19.06.2023)
New Guidelines for GST Registration
- CBIC has issued guidelines for processing of applications for registration under GST law to check menace of fake registrations and issuance of bogus invoices for passing of fake ITC.
- These guidelines are aimed at strengthening the process of verification of applications for registration at the end of tax officers in a uniform manner.
- Accordingly, immediately on receipt of the application for the registration in the Task List of the concerned officer on ACES-GST application, the officer shall initiate the process of scrutiny and verification of the details filled by the applicant and the documents uploaded by the applicant.
- To the extent possible, the authenticity of the documents furnished as proof of address will be cross-verified from the publicly available sources, such as websites of the concerned authorities such as land registry, electricity distribution companies, municipalities, and local bodies, etc.
- Proper officer shall check the risk rating made available by the DGARM in respect of the concerned ARN and take the same into consideration while verifying and processing the said application.
- Where the application is found to be deficient, he shall issue a notice to the applicant electronically in FORM GST REG-03 within the prescribed time limit.
- It will be ensured by the proper officer that the application is either rejected or accepted or relevant query is raised within the prescribed time limit and no application for grant of registration is approved on deemed basis for want of timely action on the part of tax officers.
- The concerned Commissionerate may get such physical verification of the place of business got conducted in other cases also, where ever required, based inter alia on various risk parameters and risk ratings as per tools available in ADVAIT/ BIFA or as per reports provided by DGARM, so as to verify authenticity of such registrations.
(Source: CBIC Instruction No. 03/2023-GST dated 14.06.2023)
Cases pending before Hon’ble Supreme Court and CESTAT – Streamlining the system of briefing of cases to Law Officers, Advocates, Counsels and DRs – Guidelines
Consequent upon concerns having been raised by some policy sections/field formations that they do not get a proper chance to brief the Law officers (AG/ ASG), panel advocates etc. in important court cases, the CB.I. & C has, inter alia, laid down following guidelines to streamline the system of briefing both for the Apex Court and the CEST AT:
(i) Field formations should access the CB.I. & C/Directorate of Legal Affairs (DLA) website regularly and checklisting of their cases and should be ready to brief the Law Officers/Counsels at short notice from DLA.
(ii) Field formations should follow their cases uploaded on C.B.I. & C. as well as DLA website to ensure compliance as may be required.
(iii) Field officers should track their cases listed in the monthly summary /bulletin of the proceedings in the Supreme Court issued by DLA and take follow up action as may be required swiftly.
(iv) Field officers should verify pendency from the Quarterly list of cases uploaded on the CB.I. & C/DLA website.
(v) Where briefing of Law Officers (AG/SG/ ASG) or other Government Panel Advocates is required, communications from DLA should be attended with utmost seriousness and promptness and a well versed officer should be deputed for briefing.
(vi) The DLA should be kept informed regularly regarding the briefing having been done.
(vii) In case, the field formations or any other wing e.g. Policy section of Board, TRU etc. want to brief the Law Officer/panel advocate, they should send a communication to DLA who will arrange the conference through Central Agency Section.
(viii) As regards Cases in the CESTAT, field formations should access the cause list available on the Tribunal website as well as the LIMBS and communicate with the Office of CC (AR) and request for briefing should be made to the DR under intimation to the office of CC (AR) and JS Review for effective defence of the case.
(Source: – CBIC, Directorate of Legal Affairs Circular No. 1/2023, dated 16.05.2023)
E-Invoice System
- The e-Invoice System is for GST registered person for uploading all the B2B invoices to the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP).
- The IRP generates and returns a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN), digitally signed e-invoice and QR Code to the user.
- Taxpayers with Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) between Rs. 5 Crore to Rs. 10 Crore are enabled for e-invoicing.
(Source: E-invoice 1 Portal dated 02.06.2023)
Pre-import conditions & IGST
CBIC has issued a clarificatory Circular to implement Supreme Court judgment in Union of India v. Cosmo Films Ltd. case (2023) 97 GST 544; (2023) 5 TMI 42; (2023) 149 taxmann.com 473 (SC)
- As per Apex Court, the relevant imports that do not meet the pre-import condition requirements, are to pay IGST and Compensation Cess to that extent.
- Supreme Court had directed the Revenue to permit claim of refund or input credit (whichever applicable and/or wherever customs duty was paid). For the sake of convenience, the revenue shall direct the appropriate procedure to be followed, conveniently, through a circular in this regard.
- Under GST law, the Bill of Entry (BE) for the assessment of integrated tax/ compensation cess on imports is one of the documents based on which the input tax credit may be availed by a registered person. A TR-6 challan is not a prescribed document for the purpose.
- For purpose of carrying forward the Court’s directions, the following procedure can be adopted at the port of import (POI):-
(a) for the relevant imports that could not meet the said pre-import condition and are hence required to pay IGST and Compensation Cess to that extent, the importer (not limited to the respondents) may approach the concerned assessment group at the POI with relevant details for purposes of payment of the tax and cess along with applicable interest.
(b) the assessment group at POI shall cancel the OOC and indicate the reason in remarks. The BE shall be assessed again so as to charge the tax and cess, in accordance with the above judgment.
(c) the payment of tax and cess, along with applicable interest, shall be made against the electronic challan generated in the Customs EDI System.
(d) on completion of above payment, the port of import shall make a notional OOC for the BE on the Customs EDI System [so as to enable transmission to GSTN portal of, inter alia, the IGST and Compensation Cess amounts with their date of payment (relevant date) for eligibility as per GST provisions].
(e) the procedure specified at (a) to (d) above can be applied once to a BE.
- Accordingly, the input credit with respect to such assessed BE shall be enabled to be available subject to the eligibility and conditions for taking input tax credit under Section 16, Section 17 and Section 18 of the CGST Act, 2017 and rules made thereunder.
- In case such input tax credit is utilized for payment of IGST on outward zero-rated supplies, then the benefit of refund of such IGST paid may be available to the said registered person as per the relevant provisions of the CGST Act, 2017 and the rules made thereunder, subject to the conditions and restrictions provided therein.
(Source: Circular No. 16/2023-Customs dated 07.06.2023)
GSTN Advisory on E-invoice Verifier App
- GSTN has introduced E-invoice Verifier App to offer a convenient solution for verifying e-invoice and other related details.
- It provides a process of seamless e-invoice verification
- This App provides for:
- QR code verification
- User friendly interface
- Support verification of e-invoices reported across all IRPs
- Operates on a non-login basis / does not require any authentication process.
How to use E-invoice verification App of GSTN
- GSTN’s e-invoice verification App operates as follows:
(i) Download the App: Visit the Google Play Store and search for “E-Invoice QR Code Verifier.” Download and install the app on your mobile device free of charge. The iOS version will be available shortly.
(ii) QR Code Scanning: Utilise the app to scan the QR codes on your e-Invoices. The app will authenticate the information embedded in the code and one can compare it with information printed on the invoice.
(iii) GSTN emphasizes that the e-Invoice Verifier App does not require any user login or authentication process. Anyone can freely scan QR codes and view the available information.
[Source: GSTN Advisory dated 08.06.2023 (www.gst.gov.in)]
2 Factor Authentication under GST
- 2 Factor Authentication shall be made mandatory for all taxpayers with Average Annual Turnover (AATO) above Rs. 100 crore w.e.f. 15.07.2023.
- 2 Factor Authentication for logging into e-way bills / e-invoice system is aimed at enhancing security of e-way bills / e-invoice system.
- OTP can be generated through three modes – SMS on ‘sandes’ app and by using NIC –GST-Shield app.
- Registration will be required on e-way bill system.
- The OTP authentication is based on individual user accounts. The sub users of GSTIN will have separate authentication depending on their registered mobile number in the e-Way Bill/ e- Invoice System.
- Once registered for 2 Factor authentication, the same will be applicable for both e-Way bill and e-Invoice system.
[Source: GSTN Advisory dated 12.06.2023]
GSTN Advisory on e-invoicing
- GSTN has issued an advisory / update on enablement status for taxpayers for –e-invoicing.
- As per Notification No. 10/2023 – Central Tax dated 10th May 2023, the threshold for e-Invoicing for B2B transactions has been lowered from 10 crores to 5 crores. This change will be applicable from 1st August 2023.
- Accordingly, GSTN has enabled all eligible taxpayers with an Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) of Rs. 5 crores and above as per GSTN records in any preceding financial year for e-Invoicing. These taxpayers are now enabled on all six IRP portals including NIC-IRP for e-Invoice reporting.
- While the listing of enabled GSTINs is purely based on the turnover criteria reported in GSTR-3B, it is essential for taxpayers to confirm whether they fulfil the conditions outlined in the notification/rules. Thus, it is the legal responsibility of the concerned taxpayer, both buyers and suppliers, to ensure compliance.
- In case, a taxpayer who is otherwise but not auto enabled on the e-Invoice portal, can self-enable for e-Invoicing using the functionality provided on the portal.
- Enablement status can be checked on the e-Invoice portal at https://einvoice.gst.gov.in
[Source: GSTN Advisory dated 16.06.2023 (www.gst.gov.in)]
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