The GST Council at its 32nd meeting, which was held on Thursday took several resolutions to provide benefits to small and medium traders. It has relaxed the tax exemption limit to Rs. 40 lakh from Rs 20 lakh during this meeting.
Deliberating the media after the meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley stated that the threshold limit has been maximized to Rs 40 lakh from Rs 20 lakh. The limit of exemption for small states has also been doubled to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakh.
The exemption limit is the threshold of annual turnover above which companies have to mandatorily register under the GST regime. Regarding the exemption limit, a dual threshold system is maintained, a lower cap for North-eastern and hilly states flagged as special category states and a higher one for the rest of India.
The GST Council also decided that service providers and those who render mixed supplies of goods and services with a turnover up to Rs 50 lakh in the informal sector will be entitled to the composition scheme under the GST regime. The composition rate for service providers in the informal sector has been pegged at 6 percent.
GST Council Meet-Kerala allowed to enforce 1% less for 2 years
In the meeting today, the GST Council also decided to allow Kerala to levy a cess to cope up with the natural calamities it faced last year. The southern state was devastated by the worst floods it had seen in years, leaving a property worth crores in disaster.
Kerala will now be competent of imposing a cess of 1 in step with cent on the intra-kingdom sale of products and services for a maximum of years. There is a proviso inside the GST Act, which permits the Council to allow cess for dealing up with up with natural disasters, Arun Jaitley said.
As per the recommendation of the GST council meets, Kerala now is able to impose a cess of 1% on sales of goods and services within the state for a maximum of 2 years.
According to Media report, the finance minister of Kerala, Thomas Isaac had come up with the thought of imposing cess to fund the flood relief work.
A few highlights of GST Council meet:
- Service providers and people who provide mixed elements of products and services with a turnover of up to Rs 50 lakh inside the casual quarter will be entitled to the composition scheme beneath the GST regime. The composition price for services has been placed at 6%, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
- The Council has determined that a Group of Ministers will be constituted to observe the GST Rate Structure on Lotteries.
- The GST Council has extended the exemption limit under the GST regime to Rs 40 lakh from Rs 20 lakh. For hilly and small states, the exemption restrict has been widened to Rs 20 lakh from Rs 10 lakhs
- The GST Council has determined that a Composition Scheme will be made available for providers of services with a Tax Rate of 6% having an Annual Turnover within the previous Financial Year as much as Rs 50 lakhs. The Scheme will be applicable to each carrier vendors as well as suppliers of Goods and Services, who aren’t eligible for the presently available Composition Scheme for Goods. They might be liable to record one yearly Return with Quarterly Payment of Taxes
- If small states wish to grow their exemption limit from the revised 20 lakh to Rs 40 lakh, they have been given the prudence to opt up, Jaitley said. They will have to inform the Secretariat within per week.
- Kerala is now entitled to impose a maximum cess of 1 in keeping with a cent for two years on intra-country income, the Finance Minister said. This has been performed to help the kingdom cope up with herbal failures, as in keeping with the supply of the GST Act.
- There were diverse reviews on items related to real property and uniformity of taxation on the lottery or other troubles springing up out of the lottery, Jaitley stated.
- GST Council has decided to offer loose accounting and billing software to small taxpayers
- A seven-member GoM has been created to look into the GST on real estate. Another GoM with a depiction from lottery developing and promotion states will be fashioned for uniformity of taxation on the lottery or other troubles arising out of the lottery. These ministerial panels will provide their suggestions inside the next assembly, the Finance Minister stated.