Recommendations of 53rd GST Council Meeting in brief

The 53rd GST Council Meeting brought forth pivotal decisions aimed at refining India’s Goods and Services Tax framework. From amendments in tax laws to procedural simplifications and reduction in litigation, these recommendations promise significant benefits for taxpayers and businesses across the country.

Recommendations of 53rd GST Council Meeting

1. Insertion of Section 128A in CGST Act, to provide for conditional waiver of interest or penalty or both, relating to demands raised under Section 73, for FY 2017-18 to FY 2019-20.

2. Reduction of Government Litigation by Fixing monetary limits for filing appeals under GST

3. Amendment in Section 107 and Section 112 of CGST Act for reducing the amount of pre-deposit required to be paid for filing of appeals under GST:

4. Reduction in rate of TCS to be collected by the ECOs for supplies being made through them:

From present  1% (0.5% CGST+0.5% SGST/UTGST, or 1% IGST) to 0.5% (0.25% CGST+0.25% SGST/UTGST, or 0.5% IGST)

5. Time for filing appeals in GST Appellate Tribunal: The GST Council recommended amending Section 112 of the CGST Act, 2017 to allow the three-month period for filing appeals before the Appellate Tribunal to start from a date to be notified by the Government in respect of appeal/ revision orders passed before the date of said notification. This will give sufficient time to the taxpayers to file appeal before the Appellate Tribunal in the pending cases.

6. Relaxationinconditionofsection16(4)of the CGST Act:

The GST Council recommended that the time limit to avail input tax credit in respect of any invoice or debit note under Section 16(4) of CGST Act, through any return in FORM GSTR 3B filed upto 30.11.2021 for the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 and 2020-21, may be deemed to be 30.11.2021. For the same, requisite amendment in section 16(4) of CGST Act, retrospectively, w.e.f. 01.07.2017, has been recommended by the Council.

The GST Council recommended retrospective amendment in Section 16(4) of CGST Act, to be made effective from July 1st, 2017, to conditionally relax the provisions of section 16(4) of CGST Act in cases where returns for the period from the date of cancellation of registration/ effective date of cancellation of registration till the date of revocation of cancellation of the registration, are filed by the registered person within thirty days of the order of revocation.

7. Change in due date for filing of return in FORM GSTR-4 for composition taxpayers from 30th April to 30th June :The GST Council recommended an amendment in clause (ii) of sub-rule (1) of Rule 62of CGST Rules, 2017 and FORM GSTR-4 to extend the due date for filing of return in FORM GSTR-4 for composition taxpayers from 30th April to 30th June following the end of the financial year. This will apply for returns for the financial year 2024-25 onwards.

8. Amendment of Rule 88B of CGST Rules, 2017 in respect of interest under Section 50 of CGST Act on delayed filing of returns, in cases where the credit is available in Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) on the due date of filing the said return.

9.  Insertion of Section 11A in CGST Act for granting power not to recover duties not levied or short-levied as a result of general practice under GST Acts.

10. Refund of additional Integrated Tax (IGST) paid on account of upward revision in price of the goods subsequent to export:

The GST Council recommended to prescribe a mechanism for claiming refund of additional IGST paid on account of upward revision in price of the goods subsequent to their export. This will facilitate a large number of taxpayers, who are required to pay additional IGST on account of upward revision in price of the goods subsequent to export, in claiming refund of such additional IGST.

11. Clarification regarding valuation of supply of import of services by a related person where recipient is eligible to full input tax credit.

12. Clarification regarding availability of Input Tax Credit (ITC) on ducts and manholes used in the network of Optical Fiber Cables (OFCs):  The Council recommended to clarify that input tax credit is not restricted in respect of ducts and manhole used in network of optical fiber cables (OFCs), under clause (c) or under clause (d) of sub-section (5) of section 17 of CGST Act.

13. Clarification on the place of supply applicable for custodial services provided by banks:    The Council recommended to clarify that place of supply of Custodial services supplied by Indian Banks to Foreign Portfolio Investors is determinable as per Section 13(2) of the IGST Act, 2017.

14. Clarification on valuation of corporate guarantee provided between related persons after insertion of Rule 28(2) of CGST Rules, 2017: GST Council recommended amendment of rule 28(2) of CGST Rules retrospectively with effect from 26.10.2023 and issuance of a circular to clarify various issues regarding valuation of services of providing corporate guarantees between related parties. It is inter alia being clarified that valuation under rule 28(2) of CGST Rules would not be applicable in case of export of such services and also where the recipient is eligible for full input tax

15. Clarification regarding applicability of provisions of Section 16(4) of CGST Act, 2017, in respect of invoices issued by the recipient under Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM): The Council recommended to clarify that in cases of supplies received from unregistered suppliers,where tax has to be paid by the recipient under reverse charge mechanism (RCM) and invoice is to be issued by the recipient only, the relevant financial year for calculation of time limit for availment of input tax credit under the provisions of section 16(4) of CGST Act is the financial year in which the invoice has been issued by the recipient.

16. The Council recommended providing an optional facility by way of FORM GSTR-1A to facilitate the taxpayers to amend the details in FORM GSTR-1 for a tax period and/ or to declare additional details, if any, before filing of return in FORM GSTR-3B for the said tax period.

17. The Council recommended that filing of annual return in FORM GSTR-9/9A for the FY 2023-24 may be exempted for taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover up to two crore rupees.

18. Amendment was recommended to be made in section 122(1B) of CGST Act retrospectively w.e.f. 01.10.2023, so as to clarify that the said penal provision is applicable only for those e-commerce operators, who are required to collect tax under section 52 of CGST Act, and not for other e-commerce operators.

19. The Council recommended amendment in rule 142 of CGST Rules and issuance of a circular to prescribe a mechanism for adjustment of an amount paid in respect of a demand through FORM GST DRC- 03 against the amount to be paid as pre-deposit for filing appeal.

20. Rolling out of bio-metric based Aadhaar authentication on All-India basis: The GST Council recommended to roll-out the biometric-based Aadhaar authentication of registration applicants on pan-India basis in a phased manner. This will strengthen the registration process in GST and will help in combating fraudulent input tax credit (ITC) claims made through fake invoices.

21. Amendm0ents in Section 73 and Section 74 of CGST Act, 2017 and insertion of a new Section 74A in CGST Act, to provide for common time limit for issuance of demand notices and orders irrespective of whether case involves fraud, suppression, willful misstatement etc., or not: Presently, there is a different time limit for issuing demand notices and demand orders, in cases where charges of fraud, suppression, willful misstatement etc., are not involved, and in cases where those charges are involved. In order to simplify the implementation of those provisions, the GST Council recommended to provide for a common time limit for issuance of demand notices and orders in respect of demands for FY 2024-25 onwards, in cases involving charges of fraud or willful misstatement and not involving the charges of fraud or willful misstatement etc. Also, the time limit for the taxpayers to avail the benefit of reduced penalty, by paying the tax demanded along with interest, has been recommended to be increased from 30 days to 60 days.

22. Amendment in Section 16 of IGST Act and section 54 of CGST Act to curtail refund of IGST in cases where export duty is payable: The Council recommended amendments in section 16 of IGST Act and section 54 of CGST Act to provide that the refund in respect of goods, which are subjected to export duty, is restricted, irrespective of whether the said goods are exported without payment of taxes or with payment of taxes, and such restrictions should also be applicable, if such goods are supplied to a SEZ developer or a SEZ unit for authorized operations.

23. The threshold for reporting of B2C inter-State supplies invoice-wise in Table 5 of FORM GSTR-1 was recommended to be reduced from Rs. 2.5 Lakh to Rs 1 Lakh.

24. The Council recommended that return in FORM GSTR-7, to be filed by the registered persons who are required to deduct tax at source under section 51 of CGST Act, is to be filed every month irrespective of whether any tax has been deducted during the said month or not. It has also been recommended that no late fee may be payable for delayed filing of Nil FORM GSTR-7 Further, it has been recommended that invoice-wise details may be required to be furnished in the said FORM GSTR-7 return.

Conclusion: The recommendations of the 53rd GST Council Meeting herald a new era in GST compliance and administration. With streamlined processes, reduced pre-deposit requirements, and clarity on various tax provisions, these decisions are set to enhance ease of doing business and compliance efficiency. Businesses are encouraged to stay updated with forthcoming circulars and notifications to effectively implement these reforms.

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ANKIT JAWARIA, PEEYUSH SAHLOT

Disclaimer: The content of this Article is for information purpose only. We shall not accept any liability for any decision taken based on the advice. You should carefully study and take instruction under respective Act, Rules, Notification, circular and press release before taking any decision.

Note: The recommendations of the GST Council have been presented in this article containing major item of decisions in simple language for information. The same would be given effect through the relevant circulars/ notifications/ law amendments by govt.