Summary of 39th GST Council Meeting Decisions

Summary of 39^th GST Council Meeting Decisions taken on 14th March 2020

1. Related to Interest Liability: – Interest to be charged on Net Cash Liability (retrospective amendment from 01.07.2017) Earlier the department had issued Lacs of Notices involving the Penal Interest running in thousands of crores demanding Interest on Gross Amount. Now, this controversy is settled & the Interest would be applicable in case of only Net Cash Liability I.e. Gross Liability – Input credit available.

2. Extension of GSTR 3B and GSTR 1: – Existing filing of GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 to be continued to 30.09.2020. New GST Return forms were introduced causing a lot of hardship as the taxpayers were already facing problems in the existing GST Portal. Now New Returns would be applicable from 1st Oct 2020 onwards

3. Threshold Limit for GST Audit: – Relaxation for filing of GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement) for the FY 2018-19 up to aggregate turnover of Rs. 5 crores. Earlier Limit was Rs. 2 Crore so now most of the MSME would be out of the preview of the audit.

4. Due Date Extension of Annual Returns and Reconciliation Statement: – Due date for filing the GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for FY 2018-19 to be extended to 30.06.2020 from the earlier due date of 31st March 2020.

5. Late Fees Waiver of Annual Return and Reconciliation Statement: – Late fees to be waived for delayed filing of GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for FY 2017-18 and 2018-19 for taxpayers with aggregate turnover less than Rs. 2 crores. This is a relief for the Tax papers as earlier penalties for the delay were there.

6. Revocation of Cancelled GST Number: – One-time measure proposed for filing of an application for revocation of cancellation of registration up to 30.06.2020 (applicable to canceled registration till 14.03.2020). GSTN cancellation was done in the number of cases, so now Taxpayers can apply for revocation.

7. KYS Scheme: – Approval given for “Know your Supplier” scheme. The MSME could get an overview regarding the Potential supplier so that loss of the Input credit could be avoided.

8. E-Invoicing: – Dates for implementation of e-invoicing and QR Code to be extended to 01.10.2020.

9. Exemptions Under IGST: – Extension of the present exemptions from IGST and Cess on the imports made under the AA/EPCG/EOU schemes up to 31.03.2021.

10. Refund: – Allow for the refund to be sanctioned in both cash and credit in case of excess payment of tax.

11. Recovery of GST Refund: – To provide for recovery of refund on the export of goods where export proceeds are not realized within the time prescribed under FEMA.

12. Ceiling Limit of Export Supply for Refund: – Ceiling to be fixed for the value of the export supply for the purpose of calculation of refund on zero-rated supplies.

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