Goods and GST Bill passed

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Dear All,

GST Bill is passed in Rajya Sabha on 03. 08.2016.

A panel under chief economic adviser Arvind Subramanian has recommended a revenue-neutral rate of 15-15.5%, with a standard rate of 17-18% be levied on most goods and all services.

But, there has been no agreement yet on rates of various goods and services, which remains a tricky issue. According to the Bill, passed in the Lok Sabha in May 2015, the rates were to be decided by a GST council headed by the central finance minister with state finance ministers as members.

Let us wait.

Thanks.

[YAGAY and SUN]

Will meet April 1 target for GST rollout: Meghwal

[YAGAY and SUN]

Hope to resolve all pending issues on GST: Arun Jaitley

[YAGAY and SUN]

GST: Central govt, states agree on timetable for April 1 rollout

[YAGAY and SUN]

GST: States want to tax business with turnover below ₹ 1.5 crore

Revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia has said there could be a scenario of multiple GST rates on the lines of some European countries

[YAGAY and SUN]

Amit Mitra heads for GST rate talks but Mamata Banerjee keeps all guessing.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

268 page FAQs on GST released by CBEC; Over 500 questions answered. Click to Download

Frequently Asked questions (FAq) on GST - [PDF]

GST - FAQ - Chapter wise / Question Wise

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

GST Council to hold first meeting today; discussion on threshold and GST Rate likely

 

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Swamy and IRS officers Rebel: Centre to increases its stake in GSTN to 51%

For more Information visit:
http://gstindiaupdates.com/swamy-and-irs-officers-rebel-centre-to-increases-its-stake-in-gstn-to-51

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

IT infrastructure for GST 60% complete; ready for April 2017 roll out: Chairman, GSTN

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Along with the software development, the GSTN will also ensure migration of the existing payers of value added tax (VAT), which number about 6.5 million, and about 2 million service tax payers and about 300,000-400,000 Central excise tax payers.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

GST council meet: Centre, states agree on timetable for 1 April roll-out

Key issues like sharing of administrative control between the centre and states and compensation mechanism to be taken up by the GST council on Friday

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Remya Nair

Finance minister Arun Jaitley agreed to the continuation of the empowered committee of state finance ministers-the representative body of states-for discussions on matters other than GST. Photo: Ramesh Pathania/Mint

The goods and services tax (GST) will be rolled out on 1 April, members at the first meeting of the GST council decided by consensus on Thursday.

They also charted the steps to be taken over the next few months to meet the deadline.

Not only does it dispel doubts on the ability to meet the deadline, it also sets in motion India’s biggest tax reform ever.

Some key issues like sharing of administrative control between the centre and states and the mechanism for deciding on the compensation mechanism, law and formula for states will be taken up in the meeting on Friday-the final day of the two-day consultation.

On Thursday, the GST council agreed on a compounding scheme for small traders with revenues of up to ₹ 50 lakh wherein they can pay a flat tax to be decided at a future date. However, opinion was divided on what the revenue threshold under GST should be-Rs10 lakh or ₹ 25 lakh, with some larger states and the centre favouring the latter.

“The target also involves passage of the central GST law and the integrated GST law by Parliament and the state GST law by state assemblies in the winter session itself. We have roughly estimated that we have till 22 November to resolve all outstanding issues,” finance minister Arun Jaitley said. “The issue of cross empowerment to address the issue of dual control and compensation and the draft compensation law will be discussed on Friday.”

The meeting also finalized the rules of business and conduct of the GST council. In the absence of a state finance minister, state government officials will be able to represent the state but won’t be able to vote. Issues like tax rates, the threshold level and selection of a vice-chairman have been put off for later.

Some states, including Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, sought more voting powers arguing that their size merits more than one vote per state; this was however rejected. Jaitley also agreed to the continuation of the empowered committee of state finance ministers-the representative body of states-for discussions on matters other than GST.

Kerala finance minister Thomas Isaac said that many states, including Uttar Pradesh and Kerala, will be affected if the exemption limit is raised to ₹ 25 lakh. “We will go with what the majority decides,” he said.

On compensation, he added that the states want the amount to be decided based on the best three revenue earning years over the last five or six years, rather than just looking at the last three years’ revenues.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

The GSTN is a not-for-profit, non-government, private limited company promoted by the Central and state governments. This is going to be a very crucial task and will need to be completed by the end of this year if the GST is to be rolled out by 1 April 2017. At the same time, information technology changes and upgrades would be required at the Reserve Bank of India, Central Board of Excise and Customs, banks, state accounting authorities and principal chief controller of accounts and other state and Central financial institutions. Along with the software development, the GSTN will also ensure migration of the existing payers of value added tax (VAT), which number about 6.5 million, and about 2 million service tax payers and about 300,000-400,000 Central excise tax payers. This migration process is critical to the 1 April launch, since it’s expected to take around four to six months, and a further period of trials, testing and soft launching before it’s fully ready for nationwide operation.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Training and preparation of the Central Board of Excise and Customs and state taxation departments is another critical component for making the promise of smoother tax administration a reality-to come to terms with the nitty-gritty of the new law, its implementation and spirit. The government is planning to train more than 60,000 officers by March 2017 and the states would have to undertake similar training exercises. Unprepared tax staff can affect the transition, leading to consequent litigation and loss of revenue. Reforming tax departments is not an easy task, and preparing the administration for this is yet another challenge.

[YAGAY and SUN]

GST threshold fixed at ₹ 20 lakh, rate to be decided in October.

[YAGAY and SUN]

GST Council resolves threshold and dual control issues.

[YAGAY and SUN]

The Confederation of All India Traders’ (CAIT) today hailed the GST Council’s move to fix annual turnover limit for exemption at ₹ 20 lakh.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

On GST Council meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while addressing media said following

1. Exemption threshold for GST has been fixed as ₹ 20lacs, while threshold in North East statement has been set at ₹ 10lacs.

2. Players with annual turnover of less than ₹ 1.5 crores will be assessed by State authorities.

3. All cesses will be subsumed under the new regime.

4. GST council will finalise tax rate and slabs at its meeting on october 17 to 19.

Source PTI

[YAGAY and SUN]

Tax rate under GST would be declare in the Mid October' 2016.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

Tax slabs also to be discussed in GST Council meeting to be held on 17 to 19 October.

[Ganeshan Kalyani]

GST Presentation published in CBEC website. the link is given below.

http://www.cbec.gov.in/resources//htdocs-cbec/deptt_offcr/gst-dgtps-12092016.pdf

AI Summary

Goods and Services Tax consolidation creates a dual GST framework with GST Council oversight and a shared IT platform for compliance.
Goods and Services Tax establishes a destination based, dual tax framework subsuming central and state indirect levies, administered through a GST Council and implemented via a shared IT platform (GSTN). The model law sets out registration and return regimes, HSN/SAC classification by turnover bands, input tax credit carry forward, composition and reverse charge rules, refund and valuation procedures, compensation to states during transition, and institutional arrangements for cross empowerment, adjudication and dispute resolution.