Revenue mobilisation for natural calamities: Group to examine modalities for levying cess on state GST and reporting recommendations.
Constitution of a Group of Ministers to examine modalities for mobilising revenue in response to natural calamities and disasters, including proposals to levy a cess on SGST for rehabilitation and relief works; the GoM, comprising the convenor and specified state finance ministers, is tasked to assess levy mechanisms, administrative coordination, and institutional arrangements and to submit recommendations and a report within the prescribed timeframe to inform policy decisions.

Government ownership increase in GSTN transfers private equity to public ownership and mandates board reconstitution.
The Government will acquire non-government equity in the Goods and Services Tax Network, converting GSTN to full government ownership with equal equity between the Centre and the States, and the GSTN Board is authorised to initiate the acquisition process; board composition will be revised to include Centre and State directors, board-nominated independents, a Chairman and a CEO to align governance with the new ownership.

Fraudulent Input Tax Credit issuance leads to arrests and investigation into circular fake invoicing and tax evasion.
Arrests were made in a scheme of fraudulent issuance and utilisation of Input Tax Credit invoices without actual supply, involving circular fake billing, third party year end adjustments in place of invoice wise payments, and fabricated supplies with no movement of goods; searches recovered incriminating documents, investigations continue as the evasion quantum may increase, and the conduct is being treated as a non-bailable cognizable offence under the GST legal framework with some accused absconding.

GST practitioner examination requirement: confirmation exam mandated with specified registration, format, syllabus and administrative conditions.
Confirmation examination requirement for enrollment as Goods and Services Tax Practitioners (GSTPs) is mandated under Rule 83(3); NACIN is authorised to conduct a Computer Based Test with specified registration procedures, fee payment, a help desk, and administrative conditions for continued recognition of eligible GSTPs.

Late fee waiver for delayed GSTR 1 filing extended with revised deadlines and transitional relief for migrating taxpayers.
A one time late fee waiver and extension of due dates for furnishing FORM GSTR 1 for July 2017-September 2018 to 31 October 2018 has been announced, with differentiated treatment for taxpayers above and up to the stated aggregate turnover threshold and specific location based provisions. Separate extensions permit taxpayers migrating under the prescribed procedure to furnish FORM GSTR 1 and file FORM GSTR 3B for July 2017-November 2018 by 31 December 2018. The release cautions that input tax credit claims remain subject to the time bar under section 16(4) of the CGST Act and advises timely filing to protect credit entitlement.

Devolution principles: balancing equity and efficiency in state transfers while accommodating demographic and fiscal performance concerns.
Finance Commission will assess populist schemes in totality, avoid penalising states performing well on demographic and economic fronts, and balance equity and efficiency in intergovernmental transfers. It will make realistic GST revenue projections in consultation with revenue authorities, account for fiscal pressures from urbanisation, migration and ageing, and consider adjustments to vertical and horizontal devolution criteria-including environmental performance, demographic contribution and calibrated treatment for forested and tribal areas-alongside requests for flexible Debt/GSDP norms.

GST: India's destination based dual tax subsuming multiple indirect levies to create a unified national market and preserve ITC chains.
The document summarizes the Indian Goods and Services Tax as a destination based, dual model that subsumes multiple central and state indirect taxes; constitutional amendments (101st Amendment) conferred concurrent GST powers, created the GST Council and IGST apportionment mechanisms, and provided for a multi rate structure, compensation cess and five year revenue protection. It sets out institutional roles (CBIC, GSTN), core features (thresholds, composition scheme, zero rating, ITC cross utilisation), operational measures (e way bill, new return formats) and implementation challenges with remedial measures.

GST on international air tickets undermines carrier competitiveness and conflicts with international aviation norms, raising policy concerns
Levying GST on international air tickets is presented as conflicting with international civil aviation norms and as diminishing airline competitiveness. The commentary emphasizes that imposing GST on tickets for overseas travel departs from established international practice and has adverse competitive effects for carriers. It also identifies related sectoral pressures-jet fuel costs, infrastructure shortcomings, and airport privatisation-that bear on the ability to sustain projected growth in air travel.

GST revenue collection dips as late rate reduction timing and seasonal filing patterns reduce monthly receipts.
Total GST revenue for August 2018 was Rs. 93,960 crore with breakdowns for CGST, SGST, IGST and cess; GSTR 3B filings for July numbered 67 lakh and one State received a filing extension. Post settlement receipts to Centre and States included a provisional settlement and compensation release. The modest decline versus prior months is attributed to late July tax rate reductions that likely delayed purchases and to a recurring seasonal pattern where August typically records a smaller share of annual collections.

GST Amendment Acts confirm amendments across central, integrated, UT and compensation GST laws with staggered commencement.
Four GST Amendment Acts received Presidential assent on 29 August 2018 and were notified on 30 August 2018, amending the Central, Integrated, Union Territory and Compensation to States GST statutes; some amendments are effective from 1 July 2017 while the Government may appoint different commencement dates for particular provisions.

Extension of GST return deadlines for taxpayers in flood affected Kerala, Mahe and Kodagu with revised filing dates.
Extension of GST filing deadlines was announced for taxpayers registered in flood affected Kerala, Mahe and Kodagu. GSTR 3B for July and August 2018 by all taxpayers is extended to 5th and 10th October 2018 respectively. GSTR 1 for taxpayers above the turnover threshold for July and August 2018 is extended to 5th and 10th October 2018 respectively, while quarterly GSTR 1 for July-September 2018 for taxpayers below the turnover threshold is extended to 15th November 2018. Notifications to formalise these extensions will be issued shortly.

GSTR-3B filing deadline extended; July returns may now be filed under the revised deadline pending official notification.
The competent authority extended the GSTR-3B filing deadline, setting the last date for filing FORM GSTR-3B for July, 2018 to 24th August, 2018 for all classes of taxpayers, and stated that the relevant notification implementing this extension will be issued shortly.

Simplified GST returns enable quarterly filing with monthly payments for eligible small taxpayers under new formats.
The Council approved a simplified filing regime allowing eligible small taxpayers to file quarterly returns with monthly tax payments on a self-declaration basis via new formats Sahaj and Sugam; taxpayers with no purchases, no output liability and no input tax credit in a quarter may file one NIL return for the quarter (including an SMS filing option). GSTN will develop the new return system, improve offline and UI tools, enable one-click NIL filing, perform GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B reconciliation, and produce analytic reports for tax authorities.

Anti-profiteering mechanism establishes NAA and DGAP to investigate complaints and adjudicate profiteering under GST.
The Anti-Profiteering mechanism under GST establishes a multi-tiered framework comprising the National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA), the Directorate General of Anti-Profiteering (DGAP), a National Standing Committee and State-level Screening Committees; complaints are screened, investigated by the DGAP and finally adjudicated by the NAA through an online complaint and tracking portal.

GST compensation mechanism: provisional two monthly payments to states for revenue shortfalls during the transition period.
Compensation under the GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017 is provisionally calculated and released every two months during a five year transition period; the base year for calculations is financial year 2015 16 and a projected nominal growth rate of 14% per annum is applied to subsumed revenues. Compensation payable in a financial year equals the difference between projected revenue and actual revenue collected by a State, and central disbursements were made to States/UTs for July 2017-March 2018 and April-May 2018 with state wise schedules.

GST outreach measures: multi-channel education and taxpayer assistance to promote understanding and compliance.
Government implemented a multi-channel outreach programme to raise awareness of the Goods and Services Tax, including workshops, publication of laws and FAQs, social and broadcast media outreach, GST Seva Kendras for in-person assistance with attention to the unorganized sector, and helpline/helpdesk and online grievance portals to address taxpayer queries and technical issues.

Distribution of Unutilised Compensation Fund - Centre and States share on Council recommendation; recovery mechanism for shortfalls.
The Bill permits distribution, on Council recommendation, of amounts unutilised in the Compensation Fund at any point in a financial year during the transition period: fifty per cent to be transferred to the Consolidated Fund of India as the Centre's share and fifty per cent to be distributed among States in the ratio of their base year revenue; for two month period shortfalls, fifty per cent (capped by prior transfers) to be recovered from the Centre and fifty per cent from States in the base year revenue ratio.

Reverse charge liability expanded to notified recipients for supplies from unregistered suppliers; ITC utilisation order clarified.
The Bill replaces section 7(4) to allow the Central Government, on Council recommendations, to notify classes of registered recipients who must pay tax on reverse charge basis for specified supplies from unregistered suppliers, treating such recipients as the person liable. It amends section 9 to limit utilisation of Union territory tax credit towards integrated tax only when central tax credit balance is unavailable, and inserts sections 9A and 9B to require integrated tax credit be utilised first and to permit the Government, on Council recommendations, to prescribe the order and manner of input tax credit utilisation across tax heads.

Reverse charge: specified registered recipients may be required to pay tax on supplies from unregistered suppliers under notification.
Defines export of services to include payment in Indian rupees where RBI permits and expands non taxable online recipient to cover functions entrusted to a Panchayat; empowers Government to notify classes of registered persons required to pay integrated tax on reverse charge basis for specified supplies from unregistered suppliers; clarifies place of supply for transport to outside India as the place of destination; preserves special treatment for temporarily imported goods sent out after repair; provides for ad hoc fifty fifty apportionment between Centre and States for unallocated amounts and caps pre deposit requirements for certain appeals.

Input tax credit verification required: suppliers must report outward supplies and recipients must validate entries before claiming credit.
The Bill inserts section 43A to require suppliers to furnish outward-supply details on a common portal and obliges recipients, in their returns, to verify, validate, modify or delete those details; it prescribes the procedure and safeguards for availing input tax credit, allows limited credit where supplier details are not furnished, deems supplier-submitted outward-supply tax as the supplier's liability, and makes supplier and recipient jointly and severally liable for tax or wrongly availed credit where returns are not furnished.