GST rates changed: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman held pre-budget consultations with the Finance Ministers of the states and union territories. After this, the 53rd meeting of the GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council was held today. To reduce government litigation, the GST Council has set a monetary limit for filing appeals by the tax department before various appellate authorities. The Union Finance Minister said after the meeting that it has been recommended to set a monetary limit of Rs 20 lakh for the GST Appellate Tribunal, Rs 1 crore for the High Court and Rs 2 crore for the Supreme Court.
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In the 53rd meeting of the GST Council on Saturday, June 22, it was decided to impose a 12% tax on milk cartons and solar cookers. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that biometric authentication will be implemented across the country in a phased manner to prevent fake bills.
At the same time, services like platform tickets, retiring rooms and waiting rooms of Indian Railways have been exempted from GST. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired this meeting. After the meeting, the Finance Minister gave information about the decisions taken in it in a press conference.
If the monetary limit is less than the limit fixed by the GST Council, the tax authority will not normally entertain an appeal. He said the Council has also recommended that the maximum amount of pre-deposit for filing an appeal before the appellate authority be reduced from Rs 25 crore to Rs 20 crore for CGST and SGST. The Finance Minister also informed that facilities like platform tickets, retiring rooms and waiting rooms of Indian Railways are now exempt from GST.
Major decisions of the 53rd meeting of the GST Council
- Railway services like battery operated vehicles and intra-railway services exempted from GST.
- A uniform rate of 12% was fixed on milk cans, i.e. all types of milk cartons.
- 12% tax on all types of sprinklers including fire sprinklers.
- 12% GST on all solar cookers.
- 12% GST on carton boxes. Earlier it was 18%.
- 12% GST on parts of poultry keeping machinery.
- GST exemption on hostels outside educational institutions also.
- 5% IGST on import of aircraft parts, components, testing equipment, tools and tool-kits.
Interest and penalty on demand notice will be waived
The Finance Minister said that the maximum amount for filing an appeal before the Appellate Authority will be reduced from Rs 25 crore to Rs 20 crore CGST pre-deposit To help small taxpayers, the Council recommended June 30 as the date for filing GSTR4 returns for 2024-25.
To reduce litigation, the council recommended a limit of Rs 1 crore for the High Court and Rs 2 crore for the Supreme Court for filing appeals. Interest and penalty on demand notices for 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20 will be waived if tax is paid by March 31, 2025.
Discount announced for hostel services
The Finance Minister said that apart from this, the Council has exempted hostel services outside educational institutions up to Rs 20,000 per person per month. He said that this exemption is for students or working class and can be availed by staying for at least 90 days. The Council exempts services up to Rs 20,000 per person per month through students living outside educational institutions. However, the condition will be that the student has to stay in the hostel for 90 consecutive days. This condition has been introduced to prevent hotels from taking advantage of the exemption.
Purchase of railway tickets and payment of waiting room and cloakroom charges have been exempted from GST. Similarly, no GST will now be levied on services such as battery-operated vehicles and intra-railway services. The GST Council recommended waiver of interest on penalty on tax demand notices and a 12 per cent rate on milk cartons. In a pre-budget meeting, Nirmala Sitharaman underlined the Centre’s support to states through timely tax transfers and GST compensation dues to boost growth. She asked states to avail the scheme under which the Centre gives 50-year interest-free loans to states for specified reforms.
Recommendation to the Group of Ministers on Fertilizers
Andhra Pradesh Finance Minister P Keshav said that the GST Council has sent the recommendation to exempt the fertilizer sector from the current five percent GST to the Group of Ministers. The Group of Ministers formed to rationalize the rates will now consider this issue. At present, GST is levied on fertilizers at the rate of five percent, while raw materials like sulfuric acid and ammonia have a higher GST rate of 18 percent.
