Key Statistics and Performance of Goods and Service Tax for Calendar Year 2019
On 1st January, 2020, India’s GST Laws has completed its 30 months or 900 days of Implementation.
While GST has been a breakthrough step by the present government paving way for various accolades world-wide in the form of Improvement in Ease of Doing Business Index, Transparency in systems and collections, Increase in Revenue thereby more allocation for social welfare schemes etc.,. However, at the same time, It had its own share of cons like reduction in domestic industrial output, fall in employment and exports not only during the transitional period but till now.
Some Statistics for the year 2019 as follows:
Particulars | Statistics during the year |
Total Registered Taxpayers | 1.21 crores |
Total Returns filed | 37.50 crores |
Total No. of payment transactions | 11.92 crores |
Total Invoices uploaded | 756 Crores |
Total Payment excluding IGST on Imports | Rs. 20.42 lakh crore |
Total e-Way Bills generated | 100 crore |
Highest Return filed / day | 23.58 Lakhs Highest Payment transactions / day 9.00 Lakh |
GST Performance in terms of Revenue
As far as gross GST collections concerned, for 2019, it can be termed as a ‘Mixed Bag’. Out of 12 months of the 2019, It has been a neutral performance as half the months has exceeded the targets of Rs. 1 L and other half almost touching the target with September recording a huge difference.
Month | Gross Collections (In Crores) |
January | 1,02,503 |
February | 97,247 |
March | 1,06,577 |
April | 1,13,865 |
May | 1,00,289 |
June | 99,939 |
July | 1,02,083 |
August | 98,202 |
September | 91,916 (Recorded the lowest in the year) |
October | 95,380 |
November | 1,03,492 |
December | 1,03,184 |
Revenue Augmentation Measures:
Various Revenue Augmentation Measures Include:
1. Exchange of information such as high input tax credit availed but details not matching with their income tax returns, turnovers and other financial transactions between the two Boards to nab the tax evaders.
2. In appropriate cases, suitable instructions to tax payers to file revised Returns, if he has missed out any such correct tax information.
3. GST officials to make sure if the GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are being promptly filed by the taxpayers.
4. Strict actions including blocking of e-way bill generation, availment of input tax credits, cancellation of registration, if failed to comply.
5. Likely field visits, special drive, campaigns to recover past arrears during the next three months.
GST Council Meetings and Recommendations:
While framing the Constitutional Amendment Bill, an independent constitutional body named as GST Council (GSTC) consisting of Union Finance Minister as its Chairman and Finance or Tax heads of the 28 States and 09 Union Territories as its Members has been provided suitably.
Tha Articles of the Constitution empowered the GST Council to make critical recommendations with regard to provisions and amendments to GST law.(Example: Rate changes, Levy of Cess and other Augmentation measures)
For the Current Calendar year 19-20, 32nd to 38th GST council meetings were conducted and following were the meeting wise recommendations which were subsequently made as law:
32nd GST Council Meeting (Conducted on 10th January 2019):
1. Basic exemption limit for suppliers of goods will be increased from Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 40 lakhs. However, this limit remains Rs 20 lakhs for suppliers of services. For the special category States, the limit for registration is currently at Rs 10 lakhs. This limit in case of supply of goods is increased up to Rs 20 lakhs.
2. Those suppliers rendering either independent services or providing a mixed supply of goods & services with a turnover of up to Rs 50 lakhs p.a in the preceding financial year, can join this scheme. The Tax rate is fixed at 6% (3% CGST +3% SGST).
3. Increase in the limit to opt into the scheme will be increased up to Rs 1.5 crore effective from 1st April 2019. Tax to be paid Quarterly and GST Returns to be filed annually.
4. Kerala has been given an approval to charge Disaster/calamity cess of up to 1% on all the intra-state supplies of goods and services within Kerala, for up to two years.
5. Free Accounting and Billing Software shall be provided to Small Taxpayers by GSTN.
33rd GST Council Meeting (Conducted on 24th February 2019)
1. GST Rate for affordable housing slashed to 1% without the benefit of the Input tax credit (ITC) as against the earlier rate of 8%. However, the earlier proposal had pointed out that the rate will be slashed down to 3% without the ITC benefit.
2. Affordable Housing has been redefined under the GST law with a twin definition to it as follows:
3. GST rate for non-affordable housing reduced to 5% without ITC from the existing rate of 12%.
4. GST exemption proposed on Transfer Development Rights (TDR)/ Joint Development Agreement(JDA), long term lease (premium), FSI- Press release states that an Intermediate tax on development rights such as the above mentioned will be exempt from GST for such residential properties on which GST is payable.
34th GST Council Meeting (19th March 2019)
1. GST Council has approved the transition plan for the implementation of the new tax structure for housing units.
2. GST rates for new projects will be mandatory from April 1.
3. Builders of existing housing projects that are completing construction by 31st March 2019 get to choose either of the two alternatives:
4. Those who choose the 2nd alternative must reverse the accumulated ITC on their closing stock of under-construction properties in a proportion laid down in rules (to be notified) within six months.
5. The new rate of 5% (1% for affordable housing) will apply to those residential properties whose construction is going on even after 31st March 2019 or any new projects launched after 1st April 2019. Here, the benefit of ITC on procurements will not be available to the builders.
6. 80% procurement of materials should be from the registered dealer.
7. Up to 15% of commercial space to be treated as residential property for GST purpose.
35th GST Council Meeting (Conducted on 21st June 2019)
1. The due date for filing GSTR-9, GSTR-9A, and GSTR-9C for the FY 2017-18 has been extended by two months, till 31 August 2019. Official notification can be made anytime soon.
2. Aadhaar-enabled GST Registration introduced:
3. Tenure of National Anti-profiteering Authority extended by two years
3. 10% penalty to apply for any delay in depositing profiteered amount more than 30 days.
4. E-invoicing to start from January 2020
5. E-ticketing made mandatory for multiplexes
6. Rate cut decision on electric vehicles, chargers & leasing thereof deferred; Fitment Committee to submit its report
7. Rate cut for lottery put on hold; Matter to be referred before an Attorney General
8. GSTAT to be GST Appellate Tribunal.
9. For non-filing of GST returns, E-way bills to be blocked
36th GST Council Meeting (Conducted on 27th July 2019)
1. The GST rate on all electric vehicles be reduced from 12% to 5%.
2. The GST rate on charger or charging stations for Electric vehicles be reduced from 18% to 5%.
3. Hiring of electric buses (of carrying capacity of more than 12 passengers) by local authorities be exempted from GST.
4. These changes shall become effective from 1st August, 2019.
5. Last date for filing of intimation, in FORM GST CMP-02, for availing the option of payment of tax under notification No. 2/2019-Central Tax (Rate) dated 07.03.2019 (by exclusive supplier of services), to be extended from 31.07.2019 to 30.09.2019.
6. The last date for furnishing statement containing the details of the self-assessed tax in FORM GST CMP-08 for the quarter April, 2019 to June, 2019 (by taxpayers under composition scheme), to be extended from 31.07.2019 to 31.08.2019.
37th GST Council Meeting (Conducted on 20th September 2019):
1. Waiver of GSTR-9A for Composition Taxpayers for FY 2017-18 & FY 2018-19
2. GSTR-9 for small taxpayers (Turnover of upto Rs. 2 crores) now not compulsory for FY 2017-18 & FY 2018-19
3. New GST Returns Deferred to April 2020
4. Restrictions on ITC claim in GSTR-3B
5. CBIC released Central Tax Circular number 105, dated 28 June 2019. Through the circular, they have clarified post-sale discount for promotional activities by the dealer, secondary discounts, and reversal of ITC on post-sale discount. The circular clarifies that whether the post-sale discount has to be included in the value of supply or not and whether ITC is to be reversed at the time of issuing a credit note or not in certain specified cases.
6. GST Exemptions
7. Other Significant Decisions
38th GST Council Meeting (Conducted on 18th December 2019):
1. Due dates extended for GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for FY 2017-18 till 31 January 2020
2. Provisional ITC claim in GSTR-3B further restricted to 10% from the earlier 20%, where invoices or debit notes are not reflected in GSTR-2A.
3. Late fee waiver on GSTR-1 through amnesty scheme for tax periods July 17 and Nov 19, if filed by 10th January 2020.
4. Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) in case of non filing of GSTR-3B defined for taxman.
5. The due date extension for GST returns for some North Eastern States (November 2019) to be extended till 31 Dec 2019.
6. The GST Council decided to levy 28% tax on all lotteries
i. State-owned – 12%
ii. State-authorised – 28%
7. GST Rate rationalised to remove inverted tax structure. The GST Council imposes a uniform rate of 18% from earlier 12% on bags belonging to HSN code 3923/6305 from 1 January 2020 (woven and non-woven bags and sacks of polythene or polypropylene strips or the like , whether or not laminated, of a kind used for packing of goods including FIBC).
8. Supply should be a long-term lease of an industrial or financial infrastructure plots. The Central or State Government holds 20% or more shares in the developer’s capital from the earlier share of atleast 50%. Exemption to apply from 1 January 2020.
9. Amendments to the GST law to be taken up in the Union Budget 2020-21. Grievance Redressal Committees (GRC) will be constituted at Zonal/State level to address grievances of specific/ general nature of taxpayers.
GST Compensation Cess
1. In recent times, many states were complaining about Central Government’s failure to honour its promise of compensation cess.
2. States dues were about Rs. 50,000 crore as of 1ST December, 2019. While implementing GST, the Central Government has guaranteed 14 per cent revenue growth during first five years and also agreed to compensate any such shortfall by levying compensation cess on such sin and luxury goods. Currently, the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017 levies the said cess at varied rates from 5 per cent to 22 per cent on five products considered as sin or luxury goods such as tobacco, pan masala, aerated drinks, coal and motor vehicles or auto mobiles. Compensation cess.
References: www.cleartax.com, www.taxman.com, www.gst.gov.in, www.pib.nic.in