Category: Media

Posted on

A Comprehensive Review of the 50th Council Meeting of GST

GST Council Meet

The 50th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was held on July 11, 2023, in New Delhi, with Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman leading the proceedings. This landmark meeting marked a significant milestone in the journey of the GST Council, as it deliberated on a range of important recommendations. From changes in GST rates to measures aimed at facilitating trade and streamlining compliances, the 50th GST Council meeting addressed key issues impacting the Indian economy. In this article, we will delve into the noteworthy recommendations made during this meeting and shed light on their implications.

Recommendations on Changes in GST Rates

The GST Council put forth several recommendations pertaining to changes in GST tax rates on goods and services. These recommendations aimed to simplify the taxation system, provide exemptions where necessary, and promote certain industries. Let’s explore the key changes in GST rates discussed during the meeting:

  1. Changes in GST Rates of Goods: To promote ease of doing business and encourage specific sectors, the Council recommended the following changes in GST rates for certain goods:
    • Reduced Rates for Snack Pellets and Imitation Zari Thread: The Council decided to reduce the GST rate on uncooked/unfried snack pellets from 18% to 5%. This move aims to make these products more affordable for consumers. Additionally, the GST rate on imitation zari thread or yarn, known by any name in trade parlance, has been lowered from 12% to 5%. This reduction is expected to benefit the textile industry.
    • Exemptions for Medicines and Food for Special Medical Purposes: In a significant step towards supporting the treatment of rare diseases listed under the National Policy for Rare Diseases, 2021, the Council announced exemptions on IGST for medicines and Food for Special Medical Purposes (FSMP) when imported for personal use. This exemption also extends to FSMP imported by Centres of Excellence for Rare Diseases or any person or institution recommended by these centers. Moreover, the Council granted IGST exemption on Dinutuximab (Quarziba) medicine when imported for personal use, aiming to alleviate the financial burden on patients.
    • Promoting Environmental Protection and Utilization: In a bid to encourage better utilization of LD slag and protect the environment, the GST rate on LD slag has been reduced from 18% to 5%. The Council recognizes the importance of promoting sustainable practices and aims to incentivize the use of LD slag in various industries. Additionally, the GST rate on fish soluble paste has been reduced from 18% to 5%, aligning it with the GST rates of other similar products.
  2. Changes in GST Rates of Services: Apart from changes in GST rates for goods, the Council also recommended certain changes in the GST rates of services. These changes aim to address industry-specific concerns and streamline tax obligations. Here are the key service-related changes discussed during the 50th GST Council meeting:
    • GST Rate Reduction for Food Served in Cinema Halls: The Council decided to reduce the GST rate on foods served in cinema halls from 18% to 5%. This reduction follows the clarification that the supply of food and beverages in cinema halls is taxable as a restaurant service, as long as it is supplied by way of or as part of a service and is supplied independently of the cinema exhibition service. However, in cases where the sale of cinema tickets and the supply of food and beverages are bundled together as a composite supply, the entire supply will attract GST at the rate applicable to the service of exhibition of cinema, which is the principal supply.
    • Taxation of Online Gaming and Casinos: In a significant development, the Council decided to levy a 28% GST rate on the full value of online gaming, casinos, and horse racing. This decision eliminates the distinction between games of skill and chance in the case of online gaming. The tax will be applicable on the face value of the chips purchased in the case of casinos, the full value of the bets placed with bookmakers/totalisators in the case of horse racing, and the full value of the bets placed in the case of online gaming. These changes will come into effect after an amendment in the GST law.

Measures for Facilitating Trade and Streamlining Compliances

Apart from changes in GST rates, the 50th GST Council meeting focused on measures aimed at facilitating trade and streamlining compliances. These measures are aimed at making the GST system more efficient and business-friendly. Let’s explore the key recommendations made in this regard:

  1. Utility Vehicle Classification: To bring clarity and consistency in the classification of utility vehicles, the Council decided to amend the entry 52B in the compensation cess notification. As per the amendment, all utility vehicles meeting the parameters of Length exceeding 4000 mm, Engine capacity exceeding 1500 cc, and having Ground Clearance of 170 mm & above will be included under the compensation cess notification. Additionally, the Council provided an explanation clarifying that ‘Ground clearance’ means ground clearance in an unladen condition.
  2. Inclusion of Banks for IGST Exemption on Gold, Silver, and Platinum Imports: The Council recommended the inclusion of RBL Bank and ICBC Bank in the list of specified banks for which IGST exemption is available on imports of gold, silver, or platinum. This move aims to expand the list of eligible banks/entities and streamline the IGST exemption process.
  3. Clarifications on Compensation Cess and Retail Sale Price: To address concerns related to the levy of Compensation Cess on products where it is not legally required to declare the retail sale price, the Council decided to notify the earlier ad valorem rate that was applicable on March 31, 2023, for the levy of Compensation Cess on products such as pan masala and tobacco. This step aims to ensure compliance with the Compensation Cess regulations.
  4. GST Appellate Tribunal and Compliance Relaxations: The Council recommended the rules governing the appointment and conditions of the President and Members of the proposed GST Appellate Tribunal. These recommendations aim to enable the smooth constitution and functioning of the GST Appellate Tribunal. Furthermore, the Council recommended the continuation of the relaxations provided in the financial year 2021-22 for various tables of FORM GSTR-9 and FORM GSTR-9C in the financial year 2022-23. Additionally, to ease the compliance burden on smaller taxpayers, the exemption from filing an annual return (in FORM GSTR-9/9A) for taxpayers with an aggregate annual turnover of up to two crore rupees will be continued for the financial year 2022-23 as well.
  5. TCS Liability Clarification for E-commerce Operators: The Council decided to issue a circular to provide clarification regarding Tax Collected at Source (TCS) liability under Section 52 of the CGST Act, 2017, in cases where multiple e-commerce operators (ECOs) are involved in a single transaction of supply of goods or services. This clarification aims to address any ambiguity and ensure proper compliance with TCS obligations.
Posted on

GST Highest Revenue collection for April 2022

GST

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of April, 2022 is Rs 1,67,540 crore of which CGST is Rs 33,159 crore, SGST is Rs 41,793 crore, IGST is Rs 81,939 crore (including Rs 36,705 crore collected on import of goods) and cess is Rs 10,649 crore (including Rs 857 crore collected on import of goods).

The gross GST collection in April 2022 is all time high, Rs 25,000 crore more than the next highest collection of Rs. 1,42,095 crore, just last month.

The government has settled Rs 33,423 crore to CGST and Rs 26962 crore to SGST from IGST. The total revenue of Centre and the States in the month of April 2022 after regular settlement is Rs 66,582 crore for CGST and Rs 68,755 crore for the SGST.

The revenues for the month of April 2022 are 20% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. During the month, revenues from import of goods was 30% higher and the revenues from domestic transaction (including import of services) are 17% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

For the first time gross GST collection has crossed Rs 1.5 lakh crore mark. Total number of e-way bills generated in the month of March 2022 was 7.7 crore, which is 13% higher than 6.8 crore e-way bills generated in the month of February 2022, which reflects recovery of business activity at faster pace.

Month of April 2022 saw the highest ever tax collection in a single day on 20th April 2022 and highest collection during an hour, during 4 PM to 5PM on that day. On 20th April 2022, Rs 57,847 crore was paid through 9.58 lakh transactions and during 4-5 PM, almost Rs 8,000 crore was paid through 88,000 transactions. The highest single day payment last year (on the same date) was Rs 48,000 crore through 7.22 lakh transactions and highest one hour collection (2-3PM on the same date last year) was Rs 6,400 crore through 65,000 transactions.

During April 2022, 1.06 crore GST returns in GSTR-3B were filed, of which 97 lakh pertained to the month of March 2022, as compared to total 92 lakh returns filed during April 2021. Similarly, during April 2022, 1.05 crore statements of invoices issued in GSTR-1 were filed. Till end of the month, the filing percentage for GSTR-3B in April 2022 was 84.7% as compared to 78.3% in April 2021 and the filing percentage for GSTR-1 in April 2022 was 83.11% as compared to 73.9% in April 2021.

This shows clear improvement in the compliance behaviour, which has been a result of various measures taken by the tax administration to nudge taxpayers to file returns timely, to making compliance easier and smoother and strict enforcement action taken against errant taxpayers identified based on data analytics and artificial intelligence.

The chart below shows trends in monthly gross GST revenues during the current year. The table shows the state-wise figures of GST collected in each State during the month of April 2022 as compared to April 2021.

State-wise Growth of GST revenues during April 2022

State

Apr-21

Apr-22

Growth

Jammu and Kashmir

509

560

10%

Himachal Pradesh

764

817

7%

Punjab

1,924

1,994

4%

Chandigarh

203

249

22%

Uttarakhand

1,422

1,887

33%

Haryana

6,658

8,197

23%

Delhi

5,053

5,871

16%

Rajasthan

3,820

4,547

19%

Uttar Pradesh

7,355

8,534

16%

Bihar

1,508

1,471

-2%

Sikkim

258

264

2%

Arunachal Pradesh

103

196

90%

Nagaland

52

68

32%

Manipur

103

69

-33%

Mizoram

57

46

-19%

Tripura

110

107

-3%

Meghalaya

206

227

10%

Assam

1,151

1,313

14%

West Bengal

5,236

5,644

8%

Jharkhand

2,956

3,100

5%

Odisha

3,849

4,910

28%

Chattisgarh

2,673

2,977

11%

Madhya Pradesh

3,050

3,339

9%

Gujarat

9,632

11,264

17%

Daman and Diu

1

0

-78%

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

292

381

30%

Maharashtra

22,013

27,495

25%

Karnataka

9,955

11,820

19%

Goa

401

470

17%

Lakshadweep

4

3

-18%

Kerala

2,466

2,689

9%

Tamil Nadu

8,849

9,724

10%

Puducherry

169

206

21%

Andaman and Nicobar Islands

61

87

44%

Telangana

4,262

4,955

16%

Andhra Pradesh

3,345

4,067

22%

Ladakh

31

47

53%

Other Territory

159

216

36%

Center Jurisdiction

142

167

17%

Grand Total

1,10,804

1,29,978

17%
Posted on

All time high GST Collection of Fy 2021-22

All time high GST collection

Gross GST Collection in March touch an all-time high of over Rs 1.42 lakh crore, the Finance Ministry said on Friday.

The Gross GST revenue collected in March 2022 is Rs 1,42,095 crore, of which CGST is Rs 25,830 crore, SGST is Rs 32,378 crore, IGST is Rs 74,470 crore Including Rs 39,131 crore collected on Import of goods and cess is Rs 9,417 crore (including Rs 981 crore collected on import of goods).

The gross GST collection in March 2022 is all time high, breaching an earlier record of Rs 1,40,986 crore collected in January.

The revenues for march 2022 are 15 percent highest than the GST revenues in the same month last year.

The improvement in revenue has also been die to various rate rationalisation measures undertaken by the council to correct inverted duty structure, the ministry said in a statement.

Posted on

CGST officials bust network of 23 firms for claiming input tax credit of Rs 91 crore

GST

Based upon specific intelligence, the officers of the Anti Evasion branch of Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) Commissionerate, Delhi (West) have unearthed a case of availment/utilization and passing on of inadmissible input tax credit (ITC) through goods less invoices of Rs 91 crore (approx). The modus operandi involved floating of multiple firms with the intent to avail/utilize & passing on of inadmissible credit.

The firms involved in this network are M/s Girdhar Enterprises, M/s Arun Sales, M/s Akshay Traders, M/s Shree Padmavati Enterprises and 19 others. These 23 firms were floated in order to generate goods-less invoices with an intent to pass on fraudulent ITC without paying actual GST to the government. Late Shri Dinesh Gupta, Shri Shubham Gupta, Shri Vinod Jain and Shri Yogesh Goel were associated in the said business of generating/selling fake invoices. These entities are dealing in various commodities and involved in generation of goods-less invoices worth Rs. 551 croreand passing inadmissible ITC amounting to Rs. 91crore(approx.). All the three accused tendered their voluntary statement admitting their guilt.

Therefore, Shri Shubham Gupta, Shri Vinod Jain and Shri Yogesh Goel knowingly committed offences under Section 132(1)(b) and 132(1)(c) of the CGST Act, 2017 which are cognizable and non-bailable offences as per the provisions of Section 132(5) and are punishable under clause (i) of the sub section (1) of Section 132 of the Act ibid. Accordingly, they were arrested under Section 132 of the CGST Act on 10.07.2021 and remanded to judicial custody by the duty Metropolitan Magistrate for 14 days. Further Investigations are in progress.

Delhi Zone has been making sustained efforts to check evasion of GST, leading to detection of Rs. 91.256 crore in the present FY and 3 persons have been arrested in these matters.

Posted on

GST Revenue collection for June2021

GST Revenue Collection

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of June’ 2021 is₹92,849 crore of which CGST is ₹16,424 crore, SGST is ₹20,397, IGST is ₹49,079 crore (including ₹25,762 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is ₹6,949 crore (including ₹809 crore collected on import of goods).The above figure includes GST collection from domestic transactions between 5thJune to 5th July’2021 since taxpayers were given various relief measures in the form of waiver/reduction in interest on delayed return filing for 15 days for the return filing month June’21 for the taxpayers with the aggregate turnover uptoRs. 5 crore in the wake of covid pandemic second wave.

During this month the government has settled ₹ 19,286 crore to CGST and ₹ 16,939 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement.

The revenues for the month of June 2021 are 2% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year.

GST collection after posting above Rs. 1 lakh crore mark for eight months in a row, the collection in June’2021 dropped below Rs. 1 lakh crore. The GST collection for June’2021 is related to the business transactions made during May’2021. During May’2021, most of the States/UTs were under either complete or partial lock down due to COVID. The e-way bill data for the month of May 2021 shows that during the month, 3.99 crore e-way bills were generated as compared to 5.88 crore in the month of April 2021, down by more than 30%.

However, with reduction in caseload and easing of lockdowns, the e-way bills generated during June 2021 is 5.5 crore which indicates recovery of trade and business. The daily average generation of e-way bill for the first two weeks of April 2021 was 20 lakh, which came down to 16 lakh in last week of April 2021 and further to 12 lakh in the two weeks between 9th to 22nd May. Thereafter, the average generation of e-way bills has been increasing and has reached again to 20 lakh level since week beginning 20th June. Therefore, it is expected that while the GST revenues have dipped during the month of June, the revenues will see an increase again from July 2021 onwards.

Posted on

The 43rd GST Council meet takeways Key

GST Council Meet

The 43rd GST Council Meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the council has decided to exempt IGST on free COVID related supplies upto August 31st 2021. So far the IGST exemption was available only when it was imported free of cost.

The GST Council’s meeting, the first this year, comes at a time when the country is reeling under the second wave of coronavirus infections that have derailed the economics recovery. Though the council is required to meet once every quarter, the last meeting was held in October last year.

Issues that dominated discussion at the 43rd GST council meeting

  1. Council has decided to exempted export of relief items and is being extended till August 31, 2021.
  2. Export of medicine for black fungus, that is Amphotericin B, has also been included into the exempted category.
  3. Import of Covid related Relief items, even if purchase and meant for donating to government or to any relief-agencies upon recommendation for state authority, to be exempted from IGST till August 31, 2021.
  4. FM Nirmala Sitharaman announced Amnesty Scheme to reduced late fee returns. Small taxpayers can file pending returns under this scheme.
  5. A group of Ministers will be quickly formed who will submit their report within 10days on or before june 8, 2021 so that if there are any further reductions which need to be done will be done, in the sense, that rates will be decided by them.

Inverted Tax Structure

The council had extensive talks on inverted talk structure. Inverted duty essentially refers to tax rates on input being higher than those levied on finished products. Several states have said that a course correction is required in the regard, particularly in sectors such as fertiliser, steel utensils, solar panels, tractors, tyres, electrical transformers, pharma, textile, cloth and railway locomotives

Posted on

Getting Notice for Reversal of genuinely availed Input Tax Credit? Here’s what to do Next!

Ever received a Notice for the reversal of Input Tax Credit even when you had availed it after paying the amount to the Seller?

Heard of such scenarios and wondering what to do in such cases?

Read the article to know why this is an unfair practice, and you can protect yourself by citing the appropriate rules and documents.

We are sharing a Court Ruling and a Press Release by CBIC that clearly explains the processes.

Understanding the Court Case

The case we discuss is 2021-VIL-308-MAD, IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS.

In this particular case, the buyer had paid the due amount of Tax to the Seller, but the Seller did not deposit the same amount to the Govt.

The buyer availed Input Tax Credit on the said amount, thinking that the Seller has paid the amount, but that was not the case. The Department then made efforts to recover the ITC amount directly from the buyer.

The Court ruled against the order asking for the Tax recovery from the buyer stating the Department’s approach was wrong and that the Department should have initiated action against the Seller.

The Press Release by the CBIC

In a Press Release dated 4th of May, 2018, CBIC clearly talked about No automatic reversal of credit.

The fourth point of the Press Release stated that there shall not be any automatic reversal of input tax credit from buyer on non-payment of Tax by the Seller.

The recovery shall be made from the Seller. However, the authorities do have the power to demand the Tax from the buyer but only in exceptional situations like missing dealer, closure of business by supplier or supplier not having adequate assets etc.

The first approach should always be to demand and collect the Tax from the Seller of goods/services.

But I still face such issues; what to do?

It has been seen in numerous cases that the Department issues a notice directly to the buyer without trying to collect the Tax from the Seller.

If you also face such a situation, you can counter question the Officer about the proper procedure and request the Department to issue the notice to the Seller instead.

But make sure that you do this politely and professionally, as the biggest reasons for litigation and Tax problems are actually the wrong ways of communicating and presenting yourself in front of the Officer.

With the proper citing of the appropriate Court Rulings and Press Releases like the ones we discussed, the complete process of getting the notice reversed becomes way easier!

CBIC Press Release Notifications

Judgements

Posted on

Budget 2019 – Highlights Simplified

Financial Crux of Budget 2019

 

  2017-18

(Actuals)

 2018-19

(Revised Estimates)

 2019-20

(Budget Estimates)
Revenue Receipts

(Like Income Tax, GST,  Dividends from PSU’s & Banks ,Interest on Government Lending Etc.)

 14,35,233 Cr. 17,29,682 Cr. 19,77,693 Cr.
Capital Receipts

(Recovery of Loans, Funds Raised from PPF, small saving deposits etc.)

   7,06,742 Cr.  7,27,553 Cr.  8,06,507 Cr.
Total Receipts

(Revenue + Capital)

 

 21,41,975 Cr. 24,57,235 Cr. 27,84,200 Cr.
Revenue Expenditure

(Like Salaries to Government Employees, Pension, Subsidies, Grants, interest payments on loans taken by the Government of India)

 18,78,835 Cr. 21,40,612 Cr. 24,47,907 Cr.
Capital Expenditure

(Like Expenditure on building Roads, Flyovers, Hospitals, factories Etc.)

   2,63,140 Cr.   3,16,623 Cr.   3,36,293 Cr.
Total Expenditures

(Revenue + Capital)

 

 21,41,975 Cr. 24,57,235 Cr. 27,84,200 Cr.
Revenue Deficit   4,43,602 Cr.   4,10,930 Cr.   4,70,214 Cr.
Fiscal Deficit   5,91,064 Cr.   6,34,398 Cr.   7,03,999 Cr.
Primary Deficit      62,112 Cr       46,828 Cr.       38,938 Cr.

 

Revenue Deficit – A revenue deficit occurs when realized net income is less than the projected net income. This happens when the actual amount of revenues and / or the actual amount of expenditures do not correspond with budgeted revenues and expenditures.

Fiscal Deficit – Fiscal deficit is defined as excess of total budget expenditure over total budget receipts excluding borrowings during a fiscal year. In simple words, it is amount of borrowing the government has to resort to meet its expenses. A large deficit means a  large amount of borrowing.

Primary Deficit – Primary deficit refers to difference between fiscal deficit of the current year and interest payments on the previous borrowings. Primary Deficit = Fiscal Deficit – Interest Payments.

 

Source of Funds – Rupees Comes From

Application of Funds – Rupee Goes to

 

Proposed Amendment in Income Tax

  1. No change in Rates of Income Tax and Income Tax Slabs –

 

Sr. No. Slab wise Income (in Rupees) Tax + Income Tax Rate
1. 0 – 2,50,000 NIL
2. 2,50,000 – 5,00,000 5%
3. 5,00,000 – 10,00,000 12,500 +20%
4. Above 10,00,000 1,12,500 + 30%

 

For Senior Citizens (who is of the age of Sixty years or more but less than eighty years at any time during the previous year)

 

Sr. No. Slab wise Income (in Rupees) Tax + Income Tax Rate
1. 0 – 3,00,000 NIL
2. 3,00,000 – 5,00,000 5%
3. 5,00,000 – 10,00,000 10,000 +20%
4. Above 10,00,000 1,10,000 + 30%

 

For Super Senior Citizens (who is of the age of Eighty years or more at any time during the previous year)

 

Sr. No. Slab wise Income (in Rupees) Tax + Income Tax Rate
1. 0 – 5,00,000 NIL
2. 5,00,000 – 10,00,000 20%
4. Above 10,00,000 1,00,000 + 30%

 

Surcharge on Income Tax

 

Sr. No. Slab wise Income (in Rupees) Rate of Surcharge
1. 50 Lakhs – 1 Crore 10%
2. Above 1 Crore 15%
  1. Individual taxpayers having taxable annual income up to Rs.5 lakhs will get full tax rebate and therefore will not be required to pay any income tax. As a result, even persons having gross taxable income up to Rs. 6.50 lakhs may not be required to pay any income tax if they make investments in provident funds, specified savings, insurance etc. In fact, with additional deductions such as interest on home loan up to Rs. 2 lakhs, interest on education loans, National Pension Scheme contributions, medical insurance, medical expenditure on senior citizens etc, persons having even higher income will not have to pay any tax. This will provide tax benefit of Rs. 18,500 crore to an estimated 3 crore middle class taxpayers comprising self employed, small business, small traders, salary earners, pensioners and senior citizens.
  2. Standard Deduction U/s 16 of the Income Tax Act, for salaried individual has been increased from Rs.40,000 to Rs.50,000.
  3. Bill seeks to amend section 23 of the Income-tax Act so as to provide relief to the taxpayer by allowing him an option to claim nil annual value in respect of any two houses, declared as self-occupied, instead of one such house as currently provided. It further seeks to provide relief to the taxpayers that notional rent in respect of unsold inventory shall not be charged to tax up to two years, instead of existing one year, from the end of the financial year in which the certificate of completion is obtained from the competent authority.
  4. Bill seeks to amend section 24 of the Income-tax Act to provide that the monetary limit of deduction on account of interest payable on borrowed capital shall continue to apply to the aggregate of the amounts of deduction in case of more than 1 (one) self-occupied houses.
  5. Currently, income tax on notional rent is payable if one has more than 1 (one) self-occupied house. Considering the difficulty of the middle class having to maintain families at two locations on account of their job, children’s education, care of parents etc. Bill seeks to exempt levy of income tax on notional rent on a second self-occupied house.
  6. Bill seeks to amend section 54 of the Income-tax Act so as to provide relief to the taxpayers having long-term capital gains up to Rs. 2 Cr. (two crore rupees), arising from transfer of a residential house, by affording the assessee a one time opportunity, at his option, to utilise the said amount for the purchase or construction of 2 residential houses in India instead of 1 (one) residential house as currently provided.
  7. Bill seeks to amend section 80-IBA of the Income-tax Act so as to augment   the supply of affordable houses by extending the time  limit from 31st March, 2019 to 31st March, 2020 for obtaining  approval of the housing project for availing deduction.
  8. Bill seeks to amend section 194A of the Income-tax Act so as to ease the burden of compliance by way of increasing the threshold limit from Rs. 10,000 (ten thousand rupees) to Rs. 40,000 (forty thousand rupees), for deduction of tax at source on interest income, other than interest on securities, paid by a banking company, co-operative society or a post office.
  9. Bill seeks to amend section 194-I of the Income-tax Act to rationalize the threshold limit from Rs. 1,80,000 (one hundred and eighty thousand rupees) to Rs. 2,40,000 (two hundred and forty thousand rupees, for deduction of tax at source on rental income).

Indirect Taxes

  1. Group of Ministers to suggest ways to reduce GST for house buyers.
  2. Businesses with less than Rs 5 crore annual turnover, comprising over 90% of GST payers, will be allowed to file quarterly GST returns – GST aims to benefit small traders, manufacturers and service providers. Exemptions from GST for small businesses has been doubled from Rs. 20 lakh to Rs. 40 lakh. Further, small businesses having turnover up to Rs.1.5 crore have been given an attractive composition scheme wherein they pay only 1% flat rate and have to file one annual return only. Similarly, small service providers with turnover upto Rs. 50 lakhs can now opt for composition scheme and pay GST at 6% instead of 18%. More than 35 lakh small traders, manufacturers and service providers will benefit from these trader friendly measures. Soon, businesses comprising over 90% of GST payers will be allowed to file quarterly return. 

Company

  • Companies, too, require Aadhar card. Government of India will soon formulate a policy to offer Unique ID for companies across the nation.
  • The target for disinvestment for FY 2019 is ₹80,000
  • United Assurance, National Insurance and Oriental Insurance will now be merged into a single entity and would also be listed.
  • The target for disinvestment for FY 18 has been revised to ₹1 lakh crore.

Custom

  • With a view to promote ‘Make in India’ campaign, the Government has made imported products costlier. Here are the key highlights:
  1. Custom Duty on electronics, such as, television and smartphones has been increased.
  2. 10% surcharge is applicable on imported goods on account of social welfare charge.
  3. Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has been renamed as Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBITC).
  4. Solar tempered glass has exempted from custom duty, if the same is being used to manufacture solar cells.
  5. Importing crude vegetable oil will now attract a custom duty of 30% (earlier it was 12.5%). On the other hand, importing refined vegetable oil will attract a custom duty of 35% (earlier it was 20%).
  6. Products such as bus and truck tyres, sunglasses, furniture, etc., will attract a higher custom duty.
  7. Jewellery will attract a custom duty of 20% (earlier it was 15%) and watches will attract a custom duty of 20% (earlier it was 10%).
  8. Imported TV parts (LCD, LED, etc.) will now be taxed at 15%. Footwear, wearable electronics gadgets will be taxed at 20%.

Stock Market and others

  • Government seeks to safeguard the interest of angel investors and venture capitalists.
  • SEBI to implement a new rule that requires corporations to reserve 1/4th of their debt needs.
  • SEBI to instruct companies to meet 25% of their debt from bond market.

Agriculture

This year’s budget has been focused upon providing higher income opportunities for the farmers. For achieving this objective, Government plans to help farmers producing more at a lesser price. Currently, the agricultural output for India is at a record high with 275 million tonnes of food grains. Fruits and vegetables have been produced at a scale of 300 million tonnes. Government plans to keep a profit of 1.5 times for the farmers. Here are the key highlights:

  • Setting up of ₹2000 crore fund to improve the connection between market and agricultural fields.
  • Operation Green, an initiative to promote agricultural products, to be launched at a cost of ₹500 crore.
  • Kisan credit now available to animal husbandry and fishery sector.
  • 10,000 crore allocated to Fisheries and Aquaculture Development.
  • 10,000 crore allocated to animal husbandry infrastructure development fund.
  • 1,200 crore allocated towards restricting of bamboo forests.
  • Target for Agricultural Credit extended to ₹11 lakh crore (earlier it as ₹8.5 crore)
  • Special scheme introduced to manage crop reduce in high pollution areas like Delhi, Haryana and Punjab.

Technology

  • 3073 crore allotted to Digital India campaign. The amount has doubled from last year.
  • 10000 crore has been allocated towards offering 5 lakh WiFi hotspots. This will serve 5 crore people in the rural India.
  • Crypto currency such as Bitcoin is illegal. The Government will take measure to curb its trading in India.
  • Block chain Technology to be one of the areas of focus for technology development in India.

Banking Sector

  • Public banks, with the aid of recapitalization, will now be able to lend an additional amount of ₹5 lakh crore.

 Industry

  • The textile industry has been allocated ₹7148 crore for its development.

Rural Development

With a view to develop the rural economy, this year’s budget covered the following:

  • New LPG connection to 8 crore women who are below the poverty line.
  • New power connection to 4 crore people under PM Saubhagya Yojana.
  • The allocated budget for PM Saubhagya Yojana is ₹16,000 crore.
  • Construction of 2 crore toilets across India by 2019 under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan
  • By 2022, everyone in India will have a home. Currently 51 lakh affordable

Home in rural areas have been constructed along with 50 lakh homes in Urban areas.

  • Rural areas to get 1 crore homes under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
  • 5,750 crore to be allocated to National livelihood scheme.
  • 9,975 crore allocated to Social Security Scheme for next year.

 

Education sector

This year’s budget has laid special importance to the education sector. With emphasis being on digital technology, Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, said that technology is the biggest driver in improving quality of education that children get these days. Here are the key highlights:

  • 1 lakh crore allocated towards upgrading education sector.
  • Eklavya Schools to be setup in every block where more than 50% of the population belongs to ST by 2022.
  • Black board to be replaced by digital boards in all schools by 2022.
  • PM Research fellows introduced. 1000 Btech candidates to be identified each year by the Government. The selected candidates will get a chance to pursue PHD from IIT and IISc. The candidates would also teach undergraduates once a week.

Health sector

Covering the health sector, here are the key highlights:

  • Around 1200 crore homes would be offered healthcare facility through Aayushman Bharat programme. With 1.5 lakh centres spread across India, this facility would reach to a wide section of people.
  • World’s largest Government funded healthcare programme has been launched. Flagship National Healthcare Protection Scheme aims at offering ₹5 lakh per family in respect of secondary and tertiary care in hospitals. There are around 50 crore beneficiaries in this program.
  • 600 crore has been allocated to patients suffering from tuberculosis. They are subject to receive ₹500 per month during the treatment period.
  • One medical college to be set up for every three parliamentary constituencies. In total there will be 24 new Government Medical Colleges along with improving the existing ones.

Social Security

Social Security has always been a key aspect of the Budget. The existing PM Jivan Bima Yojana has been benefiting more than 5.22 crore families in India. Additionally, there are few more hey highlights that were mentioned in the budget.

  • Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana now has 1.26 crore accounts.
  • 52,719 has been offered under Social Inclusion Scheme for Schedule Castes
  • 39,139 has been offered under Social Inclusion Scheme for Schedule Tribes

MSME Sector

  • 4.6 lakh crore allotted to MUDRA scheme
  • 3 lakh crore is the target for Mudra Yojana

Fuel

  • Unbranded diesel gets cheaper by ₹2 as excise has been reduced. The effective rate now stands at ₹6.33/ltr.
  • Unbranded petrol gets cheaper by ₹2 as excise has been reduced. The effective rate now stands at ₹4.48/ltr.

Employee Schemes

  • Government to sponsor 12% of the wages towards EPF for all sector. The scheme is available for new employees and the funding will take place only for the first three years.
  • EPF contribution for women has been reduced to 8%; valid only for the first 3 years.

Infrastructure Development

  • New tunnel to be constructed in Sera Pass for boosting the tourism industry.
  • 99 cities have already been selected out of 100 smart cities. The cities will avail facilities worth ₹2.04 lakh crore.
  • Private funding along with branding and marketing will help the Government to promote 10 prominent tourist destinations in the country.
  • Pay-as-you-use system introduced by the Government for dealing with toll payments.
  • Bharatmala project is introduced. The project includes developing 35,000 Kms with a budget of ₹5.35 lakh crore. This section is only Phase 1 of the total project.

Railway Sector

  • 1.48 lakh crore for Railways sector. Previously, it was ₹1.31 lakh crore.
  • Escalators to be mandatory in stations where footfall is greater than 25,000 per day.
  • Number of station with Wi-fi and CCTVs to increase.
  • Elimination of 4267 unmanned rail crossing by 2020.
  • 11000 crore allocated to Mumbai rail network and ₹17,000 crore allocated for Bengaluru metro network.
  • 17,000 crore allocated towards development of railway network in suburban regions of Bengaluru.

 Aviation Sector

  • Number of airports under AAI to increase by 5 times with 1 billion trips every year. Currently, there are 124 airports under AAI. The allocated budget is Rs. 60 crore.
  • Unconnected airports to be linked with all other airports through UDAN Scheme.

Others

  • Defence has been allocated with ₹2.82 lakh crore. In the previous year, this segment was allotted ₹2.67 lakh crore.
  • Food subsidy increases to ₹1.69 lakh crore for the year 2018-19. Earlier, food subsidy was ₹1.4 lakh crore
  • Increase in Emoluments: Governors – ₹3.5 lakh, Vice President – ₹4 lakh, President – ₹5 lakh.
  • Emoluments for Parliamentarians have also increased based on index to inflation.
  • Rs. 150 crore for honouring 150th birth anniversary of the Father of the Nation, Mahatma Gandhi.

 

 

 

 

Thank You  Jai Hind…

 

 

 

 

                              

Posted on

Gurugram Zonal Unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) arrests two businessmenin a case of fraudulent issuance of Input Tax Credit (ITC) invoices without actual supply of goods

 

Gurugram Zonal Unit of the Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) have arrested two businessmen, namely, Sh. Vikas Goel, Director of M/s Mica Industries Ltd, Delhi and Bhiwadi& M/s. Satellite Cables Pvt Ltd., Bhiwadi and Sh. Raju Singh Proprietor of M/s Galaxy Metal Products on 14.09.2018 in a case of fraudulent issuance of Input Tax Credit invoices without actual supply of goods, involving evasionof approximately Rs. 79.21 crores on the taxable value of concocted supplies of Rs. 450 crores.This quantum of evasion and the gravity of the offence is cognizable and non bailable under the CGST Act, 2017 under the provisions of sub section (5) of Section 132 (1). Thus, both of them were arrested under Section 69 (1) of the CGST Act,2017 and produced before the Hon’ble  Judicial Magistrate 1st Class (JMIC), Gurugram.

Searches were conducted at several places during which various incriminating documents and evidence were found. During investigation it was revealed that these businessmen heading M/s Mica Industries Ltd. had floated two entities namely M/s. Galaxy Metal Products, Delhi and M/s. Sri Ram Industries, Delhi for issuing such fake invoices. They are involved in issuing fake bills/invoices to each other in a Circular manner without any concomitant movement of goods or payments for such transactions thereby wrongfulavailing and utilizing fake ITC. On verification of corroborated documentary evidences and statements of various persons it was established that there was no movement of goods against the invoices raised. Both the Directors of companies and both the proprietor of firms have admitted that all payments for the transactions were made by third party adjustments and which were done at the end of the year. There was no actual payment invoice wise.

Further investigations are underway and the quantum of evasion is likely to go up. Officers are not ruling out the possibility of existence of several other fake firms as the investigation moves ahead. Sh. Vinay Gupta, the other Director of M/s Mica Industries Ltd. and Sh. Vinod Kumar Aggarwal, Proprietor of M/s Sri Ram Industries, Delhi are absconding. Efforts are being made to trace them. (Source – PIB)

Posted on

IRCON IPO subscribed over 9.5 times; IPO to bring Rs 466 crore revenue to the Government

The Initial Public Offering (IPO) of CPSE IRCON has been subscribed 9.5 times. In the IRCON IPO, the Government is selling 10.5 percent stake or about 99.05 lakh equity shares, including 5 lakh shares to employees. The Government is expected to raise Rs 466 crore from the issue. The issue received bids for 9.4 crore shares against the issue size of 99.05 lakh shares worth Rs 466 Crore.  The segment meant for Qualified Institutional Buyers (QIBs) was subscribed 12 times, Non-Institutional Investors 4.9 times, while the Retail Investors Segment was subscribed over 9 times. Price band for the issue has been fixed at Rs 470-475 per share, with a discount of Rs 10 for Retails Investors and Employees.

IRCON is the second CPSE to launch an IPO in the Current Fiscal besides being the second Railway CPSE to be listed on the stock markets after RITES in June this year. (Source – PIB)