Article provides Comparative summary of amendments proposed in GST vide Finance Bill, 2023. Author states relevant Clause of Finance Bill, 2023, Nature of Amendment, Proposed amendment and existing Provisions.
Comparative summary of amendments proposed in GST vide Finance Bill 2023
Clause of Finance Bill, 2023 | Particulars | Proposed amendment | Existing Section relevant bare text |
Central Goods and Service Tax | |||
128 | Amendment of section 10 | Clause 128 of the Bill seeks to amend clause (d) of sub-section (2) and clause (c) of sub-section (2A) in section 10 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to remove the restriction imposed on registered persons engaged in supplying goods through electronic commerce operators from opting to pay tax under the composition levy. |
Section 10(2)(d) The registered person shall be eligible to opt under sub-section (1), if he is not engaged in making any supply of goods or services through an electronic commerce operator who is required to collect tax at source under section 52
Section 10(2A)(d)-Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, but subject to the provisions of sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 9, a registered person, not eligible to opt to pay tax under sub-section (1) and sub-section (2), whose aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year did not exceed fifty lakh rupees, may opt to pay, in lieu of the tax payable by him under sub-section (1) of section 9, an amount of tax calculated at such rate as may be prescribed, but not exceeding three per cent. of the turnover in State or turnover in Union territory, if he is not a manufacturer of such goods or supplier of such services as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council |
129 | Amendment of section 16 | Clause 129 of the Bill seeks to amend second and third provisos to sub-section (2) of section 16 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act to align the said sub-section with the return filing system provided in the said Act. |
Second proviso to Section 16(2) Provided further that where a recipient fails to pay to the supplier of goods or services or both, other than the supplies on which tax is payable on reverse charge basis, the amount towards the value of supply along with tax payable thereon within a period of one hundred and eighty days from the date of issue of invoice by the supplier, an amount equal to the input tax credit availed by the recipient shall be added to his output tax liability, along with interest thereon, in such manner as may be prescribed: Third proviso to Section 16(2) Provided also that the recipient shall be entitled to avail of the credit of input tax on payment made by him of the amount towards the value of supply of goods or services or both along with tax payable thereon. |
130 | Amendment of section 17 | Clause 130 of the Bill seeks to amend Explanation to sub-section (3) of section 17 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to restrict availment of input tax credit in respect of certain transactions specified in clause (a) of paragraph 8 of Schedule III of the said Act, as may be provided by rules, by including the value of such transactions in the value of exempt supply. It also seeks to amend sub-section (5) so as to provide that input tax credit shall not be available in respect of goods or services or both received by a taxable person which are used or intended to be used for activities relating to his obligations under corporate social responsibility referred to in section 135 of the Companies Act, 2013. |
Explanation to sub-section (3) of section 17- For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression “value of exempt supply” shall not include the value of activities or transactions specified in Schedule III, except those specified in paragraph 5 of the said Schedule;
Section 17(5)- (5) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) of section 16 and sub-section (1) of section 18, input tax credit shall not be available in respect of the following… |
131 | Substitution of new section for section 23 | Clause 131 of the Bill seeks to substitute, with effect from the 1st day of July, 2017, section 23 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act relating to persons not liable for registration so as to provide overriding effect to the said section over sub-section (1) of section 22 and section 24 of the said Act. |
Section 23 Persons not liable for registration.-
(1) The following persons shall not be liable to registration, namely:- (a) any person engaged exclusively in the business of supplying goods or services or both that are not liable to tax or wholly exempt from tax under this Act or under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act; (b) an agriculturist, to the extent of supply of produce out of cultivation of land. (2) The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, specify the category of persons who may be exempted from obtaining registration under this Act. |
132 | Amendment of section 37 | Clause 132 of the Bill seeks to insert a new sub-section (5) in section 37 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to provide a time limit of three years upto which the details of outward supplies under sub-section (1) of the said section for a tax period can be furnished by a registered person. It further seeks to empower the Government, on the recommendation of the Council, to extend by notification, the said time limit for a registered person or a class of registered persons, subject to certain conditions and restrictions. |
Section 37. Furnishing details of outward supplies (1) Every registered person, other than an Input Service Distributor, a non-resident taxable person and a person paying tax under the provisions of section 10 or section 51 or section 52, shall furnish, electronically subject to such conditions and restrictions and in such form and manner as may be prescribed, the details of outward supplies of goods or services or both effected during a tax period on or before the tenth day of the month succeeding the said tax period and such details shall, subject to such conditions and restrictions, within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, be communicated to the recipient of the said supplies. |
133 | Amendment of section 39 | Clause 133 of the Bill seeks to insert a new sub-section (11) in section 39 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to provide a time limit of three years upto which the return for a tax period can be furnished by a registered person. It further seeks to empower the Government, on the recommendation of the council, to extend by notification, the said time limit for a registered person or a class of registered persons, subject to certain conditions and restrictions. |
Section 39. Furnishing of returns (1) Every registered person, other than an Input Service Distributor or a non-resident taxable person or a person paying tax under the provisions of section 10 or section 51 or section 52 shall, for every calendar month or part thereof, furnish, a return, electronically, of inward and outward supplies of goods or services or both, input tax credit availed, tax payable, tax paid and such other particulars, in such form and manner, and within such time, as may be prescribed. |
134 | Amendment of section 44 | Clause 134 of the Bill seeks to insert a new sub-section (2) in section 44 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to provide a time limit of three years upto which the annual return under sub-section (1) of the said section for a financial year can be furnished by a registered person. It further seeks to empower the Government, on the recommendation of the Council, to extend by notification, the said time limit for a registered person or a class of registered persons, subject to certain conditions and restrictions. |
Section 44. Annual return Every registered person, other than an Input Service Distributor, a person paying tax under section 51 or section 52, a casual taxable person and a non-resident taxable person shall furnish an annual return which may include a self-certified reconciliation statement, reconciling the value of supplies declared in the return furnished for the financial year, with the audited annual financial statement for every financial year electronically, within such time and in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed. |
135 | Amendment of section 52 | Clause 135 of the Bill seeks to insert a new sub-section (15) in section 52 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to provide a time limit of three years upto which the statement under sub-section (4) of the said section for a month can be furnished by an electronic commerce operator. It further seeks to empower the Government, on the recommendation of the Council, to extend by notification, the said time limit for an operator or a class of operators, subject to certain conditions and restrictions. |
Section 52. Collection of tax at source.- (1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, every electronic commerce operator (hereafter in this section referred to as the “operator”), not being an agent, shall collect an amount calculated at such rate not exceeding one per cent., as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council, of the net value of taxable supplies made through it by other suppliers where the consideration with respect to such supplies is to be collected by the operato |
136 | Amendment of section 54 | Clause 136 of the Bill seeks to amend sub-section (6) of section 54 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act by removing reference to the provisionally accepted input tax credit so as to align the same with the present scheme of availment of self-assessed input tax credit as per sub-section (1) of section 41 of the said Act. |
Section 54 Refund of tax (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (5), the proper officer may, in the case of any claim for refund on account of zero-rated supply of goods or services or both made by registered persons, other than such category of registered persons as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council, refund on a provisional basis, ninety per cent. of the total amount so claimed, excluding the amount of input tax credit provisionally accepted, in such manner and subject to such conditions, limitations and safeguards as may be prescribed and thereafter make an order under sub-section (5) for final settlement of the refund claim after due verification of documents furnished by the applicant. |
137 | Amendment of section 56 | Clause 137 of the Bill seeks to amend section 56 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to provide by rules the manner of computation of period of delay for calculation of interest on delayed refunds. | Section 56. Interest on delayed refunds If any tax ordered to be refunded under sub-section (5) of section 54 to any applicant is not refunded within sixty days from the date of receipt of application under sub-section (1) of that section, interest at such rate not exceeding six per cent. as may be specified in the notification issued by the Government on the recommendations of the Council shall be payable in respect of such refund from the date immediately after the expiry of sixty days from the date of receipt of application under the said sub-section till the date of refund of such tax.. |
138 | Amendment of section 122 | Clause 138 of the Bill seeks to insert a new sub-section (1B) in section 122 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to provide for penal provisions applicable to electronic commerce operators in case of contravention of provisions relating to supplies of goods or services made through them by unregistered persons or composition taxpayers |
Section 122. Penalty for certain offences |
139 | Amendment of section 132 | Clause 139 of the Bill seeks to amend sub-section (1) of section 132 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to decriminalise offences specified in clauses (g), (j) and (k) of the said sub-section and to increase the monetary threshold from one hundred lakh rupees to two hundred lakh rupees for launching prosecution for the offences under the said Act, except for the offences related to issuance of invoices without supply of goods or services or both. |
Section 132. Punishment for certain offences.-
(1)Whoever commits, or causes to commit and retain the benefits arising out of, any of the following offences, namely- (g) obstructs or prevents any officer in the discharge of his duties under this Act; (k) fails to supply any information which he is required to supply under this Act or the rules made thereunder or (unless with a reasonable belief, the burden of proving which shall be upon him, that the information supplied by him is true) supplies false information; or |
140 | Amendment of section 138 | Clause 140 of the Bill seeks to amend first proviso to sub-section (1) of section 138 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to exclude the persons involved in offences relating to issuance of invoices without supply of goods or services or both from the option of compounding of the offences under the said Act. It further seeks to amend sub-section (2) so as to rationalise the amount for compounding of various offences by reducing the minimum as well as maximum amount for compounding. |
Section 138. Compounding of offences.-
(1) Any offence under this Act may, either before or after the institution of prosecution, be compounded by the Commissioner on payment, by the person accused of the offence, to the Central Government or the State Government, as the case be, of such compounding amount in such manner as may be prescribed: Provided that nothing contained in this section shall apply to-. (2) The amount for compounding of offences under this section shall be such as may be prescribed, subject to the minimum amount not being less than ten thousand rupees or fifty per cent. of the tax involved, whichever is higher, and the maximum amount not being less than thirty thousand rupees or one hundred and fifty per cent. of the tax, whichever is higher. |
141 | Insertion of new section 158A | Clause 141 of the Bill seeks to insert a new section 158A in the Central Goods and Services Tax Act so as to provide for the manner and conditions for sharing of the information furnished by the registered person in his application for registration or in his return filed or in his statement of outward supplies, or the details uploaded by him for generation of electronic invoice or E-way bill or any other details, as may be provided by rules, on the common portal with such other systems, as may be notified. | Newly Inserted Section |
142 | Retrospective exemption to certain activities and transactions in Schedule III to the Central Goods and Services Tax Act | Clause 142 of the Bill seeks to amend Schedule III of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act to give retrospective applicability to paragraphs 7 and 8 and the Explanation 2 to the said Schedule with effect from the 1st day of July, 2017 |
SCHEDULE III- ACTIVITIES OR TRANSACTIONS WHICH SHALL BE TREATED NEITHER AS A SUPPLY OF GOODS NOR A SUPPLY OF SERVICES Para 7 Supply of goods from a place in the non-taxable territory to another place in the non-taxable territory without such goods entering into India. Para 8(a) Supply of warehoused goods to any person before clearance for home consumption;Para 8(b) Supply of goods by the consignee to any other person, by endorsement of documents of title to the goods, after the goods have been dispatched from the port of origin located outside India but before clearance for home consumption.Explanation 2.- For the purposes of paragraph 8, the expression “warehoused goods” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in the Customs Act, 1962 (50 of 1962) |
Integrated Goods and Services Tax | |||
143 | Amendment of section 2 | Clause 143 of the Bill seeks to amend clause (16) of section 2 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, by omitting certain words therein, so as to restrict the meaning of the term “non-taxable online recipient” to mean any unregistered person receiving online information and database access or retrieval services located in the taxable territory.It further seeks to clarify that the persons registered solely in terms of clause (vi) of section 24 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act shall be treated as unregistered person for the purpose of the said clause.It also proposes to amend clause (17) of the said section by removing certain words therein so as to remove the condition of “essentially automated” and “involving minimal human intervention” from the said definition. |
Section 2(16) of IGST Act, 2017 “non-taxable online recipient” means any Government, local authority, governmental authority, an individual or any other person not registered and receiving online information and database access or retrieval services in relation to any purpose other than commerce, industry or any other business or profession, located in taxable territory.
Section 24 of CGST Act, 2017 Compulsory registration in certain cases.- Section 2(17) of IGST Act, 2017 “online information and database access or retrieval services” means services whose delivery is mediated by information technology over the internet or an electronic network and the nature of which renders their supply essentially automated and involving minimal human intervention and impossible to ensure in the absence of information technology and includes electronic services such as…….. |
144 | Amendment of section 12 | Clause 144 of the Bill seeks to omit the proviso to sub-section (8) of section 12 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act so as to remove the confusion regarding availment of input tax credit and other matters |
Section 12. Place of supply of services where location of supplier and recipient is in India Sub-section (8) The place of supply of services by way of transportation of goods, including by mail or courier to,- (a) a registered person, shall be the location of such person; (b) a person other than a registered person, shall be the location at which such goods are handed over for their transportation. Provided that where the transportation of goods is to a place outside India, the place of supply shall be the place of destination of such goods |