NEW DELHI: Nine years after the biggest indirect reform in the country, GST Council on Friday decided on a massive procedural overhaul that will rework the way businesses operate, enable them to get refunds and credit for taxes paid, allow for movement of trucks with fewer stoppages and do away with officers’ arrest powers.From registration and returns to refunds decriminalisation the second part of GST2.0 was completed with the elements to be rolled out from April, allowing for amendments to the law and for the systems to be revamped.Amid the unanimity at the all-powerful body led by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, there were two subjects on which decisions were deferred.
First, the proposal to only stop input tax credit (ITC) for entities that have collected tax, but not deposited it, while allowing it for others in the chain to claim credit was referred to a panel of officers.The committee has been tasked with finalising its recommendations and coming back to the Council within three months so that it can be ready by April, Sitharaman told reporters after the six-hour meeting.
Focus on faster decisions, lower compliance costs: PM
PM Narendra Modi, in a social media post, said, “The Council’s recommendations on removal of arrest provisions, greater decriminalisation and simpler procedures will have a very positive impact. The focus is clear: Faster decisions. Lower compliance costs. Automated refunds. Trust-based administration. These are in line with our constant efforts to make GST more efficient, transparent and citizen-friendly.”After the meeting, Sitharaman said states and the Centre have worked together to move to a trust-based regime for taxpayers.One of the most significant changes is to do away with arrest powers for officers under section 69 of Central GST (CGST) Act. While the powers were not available under the VAT regime, the threat of arrest has often been dangled by officials. Separately, the monetary threshold for prosecution has also been raised five-fold to Rs 5 crore, while also rationalising punishment under section 132 of CGST Act.Even dispute resolution has been reformed with the Council deciding against issuing notices in cases where the tax involved is under Rs 10,000. What’s more, even in the ongoing 12 lakh-odd cases, notices will be withdrawn.Further, while penalties will be deemed to be a “charge”, where tax is paid voluntarily, in non-fraud cases a reduced penalty of 5% will be imposed if the interest is paid within 30 days or 60 days in case of adjudication. The maximum general penalty is also sought to be slashed from Rs 25,000 to Rs 10,000 and the upper-limit for pre-deposit in case of filing of appeals will be capped at Rs 40 crore.In a bid to reduce truck stoppages, officials in states other than the origin and destination will no longer be able to intercept vehicles. And, even in cases where it is allowed by an officer of the rank of a joint commissioner, it can only be done when there is specific information, FM told reporters, while asserting that the decisions have been taken to ensure that life becomes easier for businesses and is part of the “reforms express”.The other major change is on the refunds front, where the idea is to process 90% of the claims within three days and reduce the period of acknowledgement from 15 days to 10, with a system of deemed acknowledgement introduced.A host of input tax credit related simplifications have been introduced allowing businesses to claim refunds of the accumulated input tax credit related to capital goods. Starting Nov, the facility can be spread over 60 months and will come as a boost to long-gestation projects. Similarly, restrictions on ITC use have been removed for supplies such as health and life insurance, outdoor catering, free samples, telecom towers and pipelines laid in factories.Host of simplificationsA host of simplifications have also been offered for the services sector, which will benefit exports. From small businesses with up to Rs 5 crore turnover and selling only to consumers (B2C), GST Council approved in-principle a plan to allow filing of annual returns.Besides, those selling on e-commerce platforms will not be required to register in multiple states, helping 90% of such sellers.There was a host of registration related rationalisation, meant to ensure that most businesses can register in three days, while allowing changes automatically, apart from altering the principal place of business. Even returns were sought to be simplified to automate details and work towards an invoice management system.
