E way bill threshold for consignments above a set value; inter state rollout begins with phased intra state implementation.
The GST Council recommended a national e-way bill regime triggered by consignments exceeding a prescribed value for inter State movement with intra State rollout to follow; exempted goods' value is excluded and an intended conveyance aggregate rule was deferred. Responsibility to generate e way bills lies with consignor or consignee, who may authorize transporters or agents to complete PART A; railways are exempted from carrying e way bills but must carry invoices or delivery challans and may withhold delivery without e way bill. The framework includes validity rules, extensions for over dimensional cargo and transhipment, one time conveyance checks across jurisdictions, job work generation rights, PART B distance exceptions, and post commencement generation for certain transport modes.

Return filing extension under GST continues while reverse charge and TDS/TCS remain deferred pending new return and IT integration.
Extension of the existing return filing arrangement under GST will continue while a new return model is finalised; implementation of the reverse charge mechanism and the provisions for deduction and collection at source (TDS/TCS) are deferred for the transitional period. Authorities will work on linking central and state accounting systems with the GST network to ensure seamless input credit for affected taxpayers. The GST Implementation Committee is tasked with administering grievance redressal for IT related taxpayer issues.

Export tax exemptions extended to maintain relief for exporters; e wallet rollout deferred and refund processing expedited.
The GST Council extended existing tax exemptions and export concession arrangements for a further six months pending implementation of an e Wallet scheme, and directed GSTN to expeditiously forward outstanding IGST and input tax credit refund claims to the relevant Customs/Central/State authorities for immediate sanction and disbursal.

E-way bill implementation: national system for intra-State movement required by June deadline under Rule 138A(5), jointly by Centre and States.
Centralized e-way bill system adopted for inter-State movement under GST; 1 February 2018 was set for commencement for inter-State provisions but trial phase extended due to technological difficulties. States may choose any date before 1 June 2018 to implement intra-State e-way bills, with mandatory implementation by 1 June 2018, effected jointly under Rule 138A(5) of the CGST/SGST Rules, 2017.

Dual GST framework establishes concurrent central and state taxation with IGST for inter state supplies and unified governance.
The document describes a destination based dual GST system where the Centre and States concurrently levy GST on a common base, the Centre levies IGST on inter state supplies and imports to maintain the credit chain, and the Goods and Services Tax Council, with a specified voting structure, harmonizes rates, exemptions and procedures. It sets out Input Tax Credit rules preventing cross utilisation of CGST and SGST except via IGST, threshold exemption and composition schemes for small taxpayers, electronic return filing, anti profiteering measures, transitional provisions and institutional arrangements including GSTN and appellate mechanisms.

GST credit fraud prompts arrest of company directors for alleged use of ineligible input tax credits and fake invoices.
Two directors were arrested for allegedly obtaining substantial ineligible credit under GST by exchanging invoices that recorded only paper sale and purchase transactions with no actual movement of goods, and by opening Letters of Credit on fake purchase transactions, conduct described as undertaken with a malafide intention to defraud the exchequer. One alleged offence is classified as non-bailable due to the scale of claimed credits while the other is within bailable limits.

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.

GST data shows a 50% rise in indirect taxpayers and many voluntary registrations seeking Input Tax Credit.
GST data shows 9.8 million unique registrants and a net increase of about 3.4 million indirect taxpayers (over 50%). Voluntary registrations-notably by small firms seeking Input Tax Credit-are substantial. The GST tax base distribution corresponds to state economic size, five states account for roughly 70% of exports, and firm-level export concentration in India is lower than comparable countries. Formal sector payroll is higher when measured by GST inclusion (about 53%), and the GST tax base excluding exports is estimated at Rs. 65-70 lakh crore, implying an incidence around 15.6% and a Revenue Neutral Rate of 15-16%.

GST gross tax collections on track; indirect taxpayer base up fifty percent, influencing revenue distribution and fiscal outcomes.
Gross tax collections through April-November 2017 were broadly on track after introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), with centre direct tax growth of 13.7% and indirect tax growth of 18.3%. Final indirect tax outcomes depend on the State Centre settlement under GST, IGST timing and possible spillover of last month collections. Preliminary GST data show a ~50% increase in indirect taxpayers, significant voluntary registrations for input tax credits, and a state distribution of the tax base correlated with economic size.

GST collections rise, signalling improved monthly tax receipts and continued compliance via quarterly and monthly return filings.
A reversal in short-term revenue decline under the Goods and Services Tax regime occurred in December 2017, with monthly collections rising relative to the prior two months. The statement also summarises compliance activity: roughly one crore registrations, a large number of composition dealers obliged to file quarterly returns, substantial GSTR-3B filings for December, and GSTR-4 filings by composition dealers for relevant quarters by their statutory deadlines.

GST compliance: revenue collections and return filing status highlight registration and composition dealer obligations updates.
Report of GST operational metrics for December 2017 as of 24-25 January 2018: consolidated monthly GST receipts, filing deadline for GSTR 3B, number of GSTR 3B returns filed for December, and the tally of registered taxpayers including those under the composition scheme who file quarterly. It also summarises GSTR 4 quarterly filings and aggregate GST remitted by composition dealers for the July-September and October-December quarters, noting respective filing deadlines.

Goods and Services Tax expansion to include petrol and diesel could unify central-state levies and influence retail prices.
Attempt to place petrol, diesel and kerosene within the Goods and Services Tax framework is being pursued, with government seeking GST Council approval to subsume these petroleum products, a move that would interact with and potentially supersede existing state-level cesses and levies affecting retail fuel prices, while international crude price volatility is identified as a factor in domestic fuel cost changes.

Compensation cess amendment increases ad valorem rate for certain passenger motor vehicles and affirms ordinance repeal.
The Act inserts a Schedule entry classifying motor vehicles for the transport of not more than thirteen persons, including the driver, under specified tariff headings and subjects that classification to a Twenty-five per cent. ad valorem rate; it substitutes the corresponding entry for the adjacent serial with the same Twenty-five per cent. ad valorem specification, declares commencement from 2 September 2017, repeals the earlier Amendment Ordinance and saves actions taken under that Ordinance as having been taken under this Act.

Late fee reduction for GST return filings and procedural relaxations announced, plus trial e-way bill rollout and rule amendments.
Reductions and procedural relaxations in GST compliance were recommended, focusing on late fee reductions for specific return forms, permission for voluntarily registered persons to apply for cancellation before completing one year, and an extension of the deadline for migrated taxpayers to file cancellation. A trial e-way bill facility for generation, modification and cancellation was authorised with planned migration to a permanent portal, and e-way bill rule amendments were approved for phased nationwide implementation. The Council also accepted the Committee on Handicrafts report and recommendations.