GST revenue collections for January 2018 reached Rs.86,318 crore; 1.03 crore taxpayers, 69% monthly returns filed.
GST revenue collections for January 2018 total Rs. 86,318 crore (receipts up to 25 February). There are 1.03 crore registered taxpayers, including 17.65 lakh composition dealers (1.23 lakh opted out, leaving 16.42 lakh quarter-filers and 87.03 lakh monthly filers). For January, 57.78 lakh GSTR-3B returns were filed (69% of monthly filers). Collections comprised Rs. 14,233 crore CGST, Rs. 19,961 crore SGST, Rs. 43,794 crore IGST and Rs. 8,331 crore Compensation Cess; Rs. 24,806 crore was settled from IGST to CGST/SGST, yielding total CGST and SGST of Rs. 25,560 crore and Rs. 33,440 crore.

Concessional GST on affordable housing: builders must absorb input tax credit benefits unless ex tax prices are reduced accordingly.
The government requires builders not to recover GST from buyers of affordable housing where the effective tax burden is offset by input tax credits; developers must use available input tax credit to pay output GST and may charge GST to buyers only after reducing the ex-tax price to reflect full credit utilisation. The concessional GST treatment extends to housing components under the affordable housing mission and to buyers benefiting from the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme, aligning interest subsidy benefits with the lower effective GST incidence.

GST threshold exemption increased for admission tickets, extending exemption coverage to cultural, sporting events and planetarium visits.
The admissible ticket price limit for GST exemption on admissions to circus, dance, theatrical performances (including drama and dance), award functions, pageants, concerts, musical performances and recognized sporting events has been increased from Rs.250 per person to Rs.500 per person, and the same threshold benefit has been extended to planetarium admissions; notifications giving effect to this recommendation were issued on 25 January 2018, making admissions up to Rs.500 per person exempt from GST.

RWA contribution exemption increased, limiting GST liability to contributions above the revised threshold and subject to turnover condition.
The GST exemption threshold for monthly member contributions to Resident Welfare Associations has been raised so that contributions up to the revised per-member monthly amount are exempt from GST; amounts above the revised threshold attract GST only if the RWA's annual turnover from supplies of goods and services meets the statutory turnover condition. Taxable RWAs are eligible to claim Input Tax Credit on capital goods, goods and input services used in supplying those services. The recommendations have been implemented by notification effective from the notification date.

GST rate reduction on amusement park admissions aims to lower tax burden and benefit families and children.
A GST rate reduction has been implemented for admission services to amusement parks, including theme parks, water parks, joy rides, merry go rounds, go carting and ballet, pursuant to GST Council recommendations and subsequent notifications; the communication also urges local authorities not to increase entertainment levies so the reduced GST benefit reaches families and children.

Concessional GST extended to CLSS housing, exempting land and aligning tax relief with affordable housing measures.
Extension of concessional rate of GST to houses constructed or acquired under the Credit Linked Subsidy Scheme brings CLSS transactions within the lower tax regime while preserving deduction of land value from taxable supply. The recommendation also extends concessional treatment to varied affordable housing components, exempts government leasing of land to government entities, and exempts land transfers forming part of composite flat sales, so that only the dwelling value attracts GST.

E-way bill requirement: electronic transport document mandatory for specified consignments, with Part A/Part B and penalties for noncompliance.
E-way bill is an electronic transport document required for movement of goods above the prescribed value and comprises Part A (transactional details) and Part B (transport details). Part A must be furnished by the person causing movement and Part B by the transporter; Part A is immutable once generated while Part B may be updated within validity. Consignment value includes taxes and customs duty; e-way bills must be generated prior to movement, are valid for distance-based periods, and non-compliance attracts penalties and possible detention or seizure. Exemptions, consolidated bills, RFID mapping, enrolment requirements and portal generation modes are provided.