Saturday, June 30, 2018

What is the Evolution of GST in India ?

The idea of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) for India was first mooted sixteen years back, during the Prime Ministership of Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Thereafter, on 28th February, 2006, the then Union Finance Minister in his Budget for 2006-07 proposed that GST would be introduced from 1st April, 2010. The Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers (EC), which had formulated the design of State VAT was requested to come up with a roadmap and structure for the GST. Joint Working Groups of officials having representatives of the States as well as the Centre were set up to examine various aspects of the GST and draw up reports specifically on exemptions and thresholds, taxation of services and taxation of inter-State supplies. Based on discussions within and between it and the Central Government, the EC released its First Discussion Paper (FDP) on GST in November, 2009. The FDP spelled out the features of the proposed GST and has formed the basis for the present GST laws and rules.

In March 2011, Constitution (115th Amendment) Bill, 2011 was introduced in the Lok Sabha to enable levy of GST. However, due to lack of political consensus, the Bill lapsed after the dissolution of 15th Lok Sabha in August 2013.

On 19th December, 2014, The Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill 2014 was introduced in the Lok Sabha and was passed by Lok Sabha in May 2015. The Bill was taken up in Rajya Sabha and was referred to the Joint Committee of the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha on 14th May, 2015. The Select Committee submitted its report on 22nd July, 2015. Thereafter, the Constitutional Amendment Bill was moved on 1st August 2016 based on political consensus. The Bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 3rd August 2016 and by the Lok Sabha on 8th August 2016. After ratification by required number of State legislatures and assent of the President, the Constitutional amendment was notified as Constitution (101st Amendment) Act 2016 on 8th September, 2016. The Constitutional amendment paved way for introduction of Goods and Services Tax in India.

After GST Council approved the Central Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 (The CGST Bill), the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 (The IGST Bill), the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Bill 2017 (The UTGST Bill), the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to the States) Bill 2017 (The Compensation Bill), these Bills were passed by the Lok Sabha on 29th March, 2017. The Rajya Sabha passed these Bills on 6th April, 2017 and were then enacted as Acts on 12th April, 2017. T 2015. 6 on 08.09.2016

Thereafter, State Legislatures of different States have passed respective State Goods and Services Tax Bills. After the enactment of various GST laws, GST was launched with effect from 1st July 2017 by Sh.Narendra Modi, Hon'ble Prime Minister of India in the presence of Sh.Pranab Mukherjee, the then President of India in a mid-night function at the Central Hall of Parliament of India.



What is the GST Council? Who all constitutes this council ?

As per Article 279A of the amended Constitution, the GST Council is a joint forum of the Centre and the States, and consists of the following members: -
Union Finance MinisterChairperson
The Union Minister of State, in-charge of Revenue, Min. of FinanceMember
The Minister In-charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State GovernmentMembers
The Council is empowered to make recommendations to the Union and the States on the following:-
  1. the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Union, the States and the local bodies which may be subsumed in the goods and services tax;
  2. the goods and services that may be subjected to, or exempted from the goods and services tax; 
  3. model Goods and Services Tax Laws, principles of levy, apportionment of Integrated Goods and Services Tax and the principles that govern the place of supply; 
  4. the threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may be exempted from goods and services tax;
  5. the rates including floor rates with bands of goods and services tax; 
  6. any special rate or rates for a specified period, to raise additional resources during any natural calamity or disaster; 
  7. special provision with respect to the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand; and 
  8. the date on which GST shall be levied on petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (petrol), natural gas and aviation turbine fuel
  9. any other matter relating to the goods and services tax, as the Council may decide.


The mechanism of GST Council would ensure harmonisation on different aspects of GST between the Centre and the States as well as amongst the States. It has been provided in the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 that the GST Council, in discharge of various functions, shall be guided by the need for a harmonized structure of GST and for the development of a harmonized national market for goods and services.

The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 provides that every decision of the GST Council shall be taken at its meeting by a majority of not less than 3/4th of the weighted votes of the Members present and voting. The vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of 1/3rd of the votes cast and the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of 2/3rd of the total votes cast in that meeting. One half of the total number of members of the GST Council shall constitute the quorum at its meeting.
On 12th September,2016 the Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of the Hon'ble Prime Minister approved setting up of GST Council and creation of its Secretariat as follows:
(a) GST Council as per Article 279A of the amended Constitution;
(b) GST Council Secretariat, with its office at New Delhi;
(c) Secretary (Revenue) as the Ex-officio Secretary to the GST Council;
(d) Inclusion of the Chairperson, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), as a permanent invitee (non-voting) to all proceedings of the GST Council;
(e) One post of Additional Secretary to the GST Council in the GST Council Secretariat (at the level of Additional Secretary to the Government of India), and four posts of Commissioners in the GST Council Secretariat (at the level of Joint Secretary to the Government of India).

The Cabinet also decided to provide for adequate funds for meeting the recurring and non-recurring expenses of the GST Council Secretariat, which shall be borne by the Central Government. The GST Council Secretariat shall be manned by officers taken on deputation from both the Central and State Governments.

Thursday, June 21, 2018

How does IGST Refund get processed between ICEGATE and GST portal ?

The refund process for IGST paid on export of goods has been fully automated and facility has been made available on the dashboard of taxpayer to track status of transmission of Invoice data to ICEGATE system of Customs. This gives you an overview of how the automated system works and how you can track status of transmission of export invoices on the Portal.

Process: Under Rule 96 of the CGST Rules, 2017, the refund of IGST paid on exports of goods is to be disbursed by Customs. For this GST System transmits invoice level data, after validations, to the ICEGATE system, which would further validate with Shipping Bill and process the refund.

The GSTR-1, filed with export invoices under Table 6A, is automatically transmitted by the GST System for refund of IGST paid on export of goods to the ICEGATE. The shipping bill filed by an exporter is deemed to be an application for refund. 

The GST System does following validations before the invoices are transmitted to ICEGATE:
Invoices, pertaining to export of goods with payment of IGST, should be declared under Table 6A of GSTR-1. Each invoice, being declared under Table 6A, should correctly mention
                     i.             Invoice number: as is mentioned in Shipping Bill which is filed with Customs system
                   ii.             Shipping bill number: Shipping Bill number that includes this invoice
                  iii.             Shipping bill date: date as given on Shipping Bill
                 iv.             Port code: port code as given on Shipping Bill
GST System considers an invoice as ineligible for transmission if the above details are not provided.

The GST System further validates whether correct amount of IGST/CESS has been paid under Table 3.1(b) of GSTR-3B, when compared with IGST/CESS from invoices declared under Table 6A/9A/6B of GSTR-1

There are cases where purchase of goods is done in one month and export takes place in another. To take care of such cases, GST System uses ledger based approach to validate if sum total of IGST/CESS paid under Table 3.1(b) of GSTR 3B across all periods is equal to, or greater than, the sum total of IGST/CESS from invoices under Tables 6A/9A/6B of GSTR 1 across all periods. The eligible invoices are transmitted by the GST System only if such cumulative validation of IGST/CESS is successful.

The GST System does not transmit an eligible invoice to ICEGATE until the aforesaid validation is successful, i.e. the sum paid as IGST/CESS paid under Table 3.1(b) is greater than or equal to IGST/CESS from invoices under Tables 6A/9A/6B. The ledger shows the difference between these two which should be ZERO or positive) for invoices to be transmitted to ICEGATE.

Tracking Mechanism
The GST System provides a facility to check return period wise status of transmission of invoice data, and view transactional level details used to maintain export ledger. The same can be accessed by taxpayer by navigating to Services Refund Track status of invoice data to be shared with ICEGATE, after logging into the GST Common Portal.

The facility prompts for selection of return period when GSTR-1 was filed, and displays one of the following statuses:

Details transmitted to ICEGATE
·         The invoice details for the selected return period are transmitted to ICEGATE. A table with details of invoice count is displayed as explained below:
·         Total Invoice Count: Total number invoices filed under Table 6A of GSTR-1
·         Invoices Transmitted to ICEGATE: Count of invoices transmitted to ICEGATE
·         Invoices not Transmitted to ICEGATE: count of invoices that did not have shipping bill/port details, and hence were not eligible to be transmitted to ICEGATE.
·         Taxpayer may click on the invoice count to get the invoice level details. Such invoices can be corrected using Table 9A of  GSTR-1  filed in subsequent period.

Details not transmitted to ICEGATE because IGST paid under Table 3.1(b) of GSTR 3B is less than refund claimed
·         The sum total of the sum total of IGST/CESS paid under Table 3.1(b) of GSTR 3B across all periods is less than the sum total of IGST/CESS from invoices  under Tables 6A/9A/6B of GSTR 1 across all periods. Taxpayer may fulfil the short fall in IGST/CESS under Table 3.1(b) of subsequent GSTR-3B.

Details not transmitted to ICEGATE because GSTR-1 is not filed
·         Either GSTR-1 has not been filed for the selected return period, or it doesnt have any invoice under Table 6A.

Taxpayer has option to view, and download, the complete export ledger by clicking on View Export Ledger hyperlink available on top-right corner of this Track Status page. The following information is available under export ledger:

Net IGST Balance: difference between cumulative IGST from Table 3.1(b) and Tables 6A/6B/9A
Net CESS Balance: difference between cumulative CESS from Table 3.1(b) and Tables 6A/6B/9A
Data Displayed as on: Date when the view was generated
Return Period: period of filing the return shown in Return Type column
Return TypeGST Return (R1 = GSTR-1, R3B = GSTR-3B)
Credit/Debit: IGST/CESS from Table 3.1(b) is posted as Credit in ledger, and that from Tables 6A/6B/9A is posted as Debit in ledger.
IGST Amount/CESS Amount: The IGST/CESS amount from respective GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B

 A detailed user manual with screenshots is available under FAQ section of the GST Common Portal.




Thursday, February 15, 2018

How to Generate E-Way Bill , Provisions and Formats of E-Way Bill


WHO REQUIRES  E-WAY BILL ?
Every registered person who causes movement of goods of consignment value exceeding fifty thousand rupees—
i)   in relation to a supply; or
ii)   for reasons other than supply; or
iii)   due to inward supply from an unregistered person,

shall ( before commencement of such movement) furnish information as specified in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01, electronically, on the common portal and a unique number will be generated on the portal.


  
WHO GENERATES  E-WAY BILL ?
If goods are sent by a principal located in one State to a job worker located in any other State, the e-way bill shall be generated by the principal irrespective of the value of the consignment.
If the goods are transported by the registered person as a consignor or the recipient of supply as the consignee(whether in his own conveyance or a hired one or by railways or by air or by vessel) the person or the recipient may generate the e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-01 electronically on the common portal after furnishing information in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.


If the e-way bill is not generated and the goods are handed over to a transporter for transportation by road, the registered person shall furnish the information relating to the transporter on the common portal and the e-way bill shall be generated by the transporter on the portal on the basis of the information furnished by the registered person in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01

Upon generation of the e-way bill on the common portal, a unique e-way bill number (EBN) shall be made available to the supplier, the recipient and the transporter on the common portal.
The details of e-way bill generated shall be made available to the
(a) supplier, if registered, where the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 has been furnished by the recipient or the transporter
(b) recipient, if registered, where the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 has been furnished by the supplier or the transporter, on the common portal.

The supplier or the recipient, shall communicate his acceptance or rejection of the consignment covered by the e-way bill. Where the person does not communicate his acceptance or rejection within seventy two hours of the details being made available to him on the common portal, it shall be deemed that he has accepted the said details.
The e-way bill generated under this rule or under rule 138 of the Goods and Services Tax Rules of any State shall be valid in every State and Union territory.

  
UPDATION OF E-WAY BILL
When the goods are transferred from one conveyance to another, the consigner or the recipient, who has provided information in Part- A of the FORM GST EWB-01, or the transporter shall (before such transfer and further movement of goods) update the details of conveyance in the e-way bill on the common portal in FORM GST EWB-01
However, if the goods are transported for a distance of less than ten kilometers within the State or Union territory from the place of business of the transporter finally to the place of business of the consignee, the details of conveyance may not be updated in the e-way bill.

The consignor or the recipient, who has furnished the information in Part-A of FORM GST EWB-01, or the transporter, may assign the e-way bill number to another registered or enrolled transporter for updating the information in Part-B of FORM GST EWB-01 for further movement of consignment. Once the details of the conveyance have been updated by the transporter in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01, the consignor or recipient who has furnished the information in Part-A of FORM GST EWB-01 shall not be allowed to assign the e-way bill number to another transporter.

The information furnished in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 shall be made available to the registered supplier on the common portal who may utilize the same for furnishing details in FORM GSTR-1. He shall be informed electronically, if the mobile number or the e-mail is available.


CONSOLIDATED E-WAY BILL
After e-way bill has been generated, the transporter may indicate the serial number of e-way bills generated in respect of each such consignment electronically on the common portal and a consolidated e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-02 maybe generated by him on the common portal prior to the movement of goods.


If the consignor or the consignee has not generated FORM GST EWB-01 and the value of goods carried in the conveyance is more than fifty thousand rupees, the transporter shall generate FORM GST EWB-01 on the basis of invoice or bill of supply or delivery challan, and may also generate a consolidated e-way bill in FORM GST EWB-02 on the common portal prior to the movement of goods. (If the goods to be transported are supplied through an e-commerce operator, the information in Part A of FORM GST EWB-01 may be furnished by such ecommerce operator ).


CANCELLATION OF E-WAY BILL
Where an e-way bill has been generated, but goods are either not transported or are not transported as per the details furnished in the e-way bill, the e-way bill may be cancelled electronically on the common portal within 24 hours of generation of the Eway bill
An e-way bill cannot be cancelled if it has been verified in transit in accordance with the provisions of rule 138B:

VALIDITY OF E-WAY BILL
An e-way bill or a consolidated e-way bill generated under this rule shall be valid for the period as mentioned in the Table below.
Sl. No.
Distance
Validity period
1
Upto 100 km.
One day
2
For every 100 km. or part thereof thereafter
One additional day
               
Under circumstances of an exceptional nature, the goods cannot be transported within the validity period of the e-way bill, the transporter may generate another e-way bill after updating the details in Part B of FORM GST EWB-01.

CONDITIONS WHERE E-WAY BILL IS NOT REQUIRED
No e-way bill is required to be generated when:
(a) the goods being transported are specified in Annexure below
Sl No
Description of Goods
1
Liquefied petroleum gas for supply to household and non domestic exempted category (NDEC) customers
2
Kerosene oil sold under PDS
3
Postal baggage transported by Department of Posts
4
Natural or cultured pearls and precious or semi-precious stones; precious metals and metals clad with precious metal (Chapter 71)
5
Jewellery, goldsmiths’ and silversmiths’ wares and other articles (Chapter 71)
6
Currency
7
Used personal and household effects
8
Coral, unworked (0508) and worked coral (9601)

(b) the goods are being transported by a non-motorised conveyance;
(c) the goods are being transported from the port, airport, air cargo complex and land customs station to an inland container depot or a container freight station for clearance by Customs
(d) in respect of movement of goods within such areas as are notified under clause (d) of sub-rule (14) of rule 138 of the Goods and Services Tax Rules of the concerned State
(e) where the goods, other than de-oiled cake, being transported are specified in the Schedule appended to notification No. 2/2017- Central tax (Rate) dated the 28th June, 2017 published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Subsection (i), vide number G.S.R 674 (E) dated the 28th June, 2017 as amended from time to time
(f) where the goods being transported are alcoholic liquor for human consumption, petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas or aviation turbine fuel
(g) where the goods being transported are treated as no supply under Schedule III of the Act.



                                        DOWNLOAD  FORM-GST-EWB-03







10 Income Tax Rules That Will Change From April 2018

Here are 10 changes in income tax laws proposed in Budget 2018:


1) Rs. 40,000 standard deduction introduced: This additional deduction has been proposed in place of existing deductions of Rs. 19,200 for transport allowance and Rs. 15,000 for medical reimbursement. This will benefit 2.5 crore salaried employees. Pensioners, who normally do not enjoy any allowance for transport and medical expenses, will also benefit from it.  After the introduction of standard deduction, the salaried class will enjoy a flat deduction of Rs. 40,000 from their taxable income. Standard deduction was earlier available for salaried individuals previously, till it was abolished with effect from assessment year 2006-07.  The benefits arising from standard deduction depends on the tax bracket a salaried individual falls in.

(Read | Rs. 40,000 Standard Deduction Introduced: How It Impacts Your Income Tax)


2) Higher cess: The finance minister also raised cess on income tax to 4 per cent from 3 per cent for individual taxpayers on the amount of income tax payable.


3) Introduction of long-term capital gains tax on equity investments:  A new 10 per cent tax (cess extra) will be applicable on capital gains exceeding Rs. 1,00,000 upon sale of equity share or units of equity oriented funds. However, for the benefit of tax payers, the gains till January 31, 2018, are being grandfathered. This means that only gains over January 31, 2018, prices will be taxed.

(Read | New Long-Term Capital Gains Tax On Mutual Funds, Stock Explained)


4) Tax on dividend income from equity mutual funds:  A tax at the rate of 10 per cent will be levied on dividend distributed by equity-oriented mutual funds.

(Read | Public Provident Fund (PPF) Accounts To Offer More Benefits: 10 Points)

5) More income tax benefits on single premium health insurance policies: Health insurers typically provide some discount if you pay premium for a few years upfront. But earlier, an individual could claim deduction only up to Rs. 25,000. Under the proposed changes in Budget 2018, in case of single premium health insurance policies having cover of more than one year, deduction will be allowed on a proportionate basis for the number of years for which health insurance cover is provided, subject to the specified limit. For example, your insurer is offering a 10 per cent discount on health insurance premium if you pay Rs.40,000 for the two-year cover. Under the proposed changes, the individual can claim Rs.20,000 in both years.

(Read | More Income Tax Benefits On Health Insurance Policies: 5 Things To Know)


6) Income tax benefit on NPS withdrawal: The government has proposed an extension to the benefit of tax-free withdrawal from NPS (National Pension System) to non-employee subscribers.  Currently, an employee contributing to the NPS is allowed an exemption in respect of 40 per cent of the total amount payable to him or her on closure of account or on opting out. This exemption is currently not available to non-employee subscribers. The extension of tax-free withdrawal to non-employee subscribers will be available from financial year 2018-19.

(Read | NPS - New Income Tax Benefits, Withdrawal Rules And Other Details)


7) Deduction in respect of interest income to senior citizens: Senior citizens will get higher interest income exemption limit on deposits in banks and post offices, including recurring deposits.  Currently, a deduction up to Rs. 10,000 is allowed under Section 80TTA of the Income Tax Act to an individual in respect of interest income from a savings account. Under the tax laws, a new Section 80TTB is proposed to be inserted to allow a deduction up to Rs. 50,000 in respect of interest income from deposits held by senior citizens. However, no deduction under Section 80TTA shall be allowed for senior citizens.


The government also proposed to increase the investment limit in Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana or PMVVY to Rs. 15 lakh from Rs. 7.5 lakh. It also proposed to extend the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana (PMVVY) scheme till March 2020. Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana, a scheme meant for senior citizens, offers a guaranteed interest rate of 8 per cent.

(Read | Investment Limit Of 8% Senior Citizen Scheme To Get Doubled)


8) Higher TDS or tax deducted limit for senior citizens: The threshold for deduction of tax at source on interest income for senior citizens is proposed to be hiked from Rs. 10,000 to Rs.50,000.



9) Higher deduction limit under Section 80D of the Income Tax Act for senior citizens: In Budget 2018, the government proposes to increase the deduction for senior citizens on payment of health insurance premiums. The limit is set to go up from Rs. 30,000 Rs. 50,000. For individuals below 60 years of age, the deduction under Section 80D continues to be Rs. 25,000. But if their parents are senior citizens, above 60 years, they can claim an additional deduction of up to Rs.50,000-taking the total deduction to Rs. 75,000 (Rs. 25,000 + Rs. 50,000), higher than the current limit of Rs. 55,000.


10) Higher income tax deduction for senior citizens for medical treatment of specified diseases:  The deduction available payment towards medical treatment of specified disease is proposed to be hiked to Rs. 1 lakh for very senior citizen (earlier Rs. 80,000) and senior citizen (earlier Rs. 60,000).