54TH GST COUNCIL MEETING

Source: PIB

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Context

The 54th GST Council met under the Chairpersonship of Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi.

Details

Read about GST: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/goods-and-services-tax-gst

Read about GST Council: https://www.iasgyan.in/daily-current-affairs/gst-council-35

Key Recommendations

Changes/Clarifications in GST Tax Rates

• Namkeens & Extruded Savoury Products: GST reduced from 18% to 12% on extruded or expanded savoury/salted products, excluding un-fried/uncooked snack pellets.
• Cancer Drugs: GST on certain cancer drugs reduced from 12% to 5%.
• Metal Scrap: Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) introduced for unregistered-to-registered metal scrap supplies. TDS at 2% applicable for B2B transactions.
• Railway Air Conditioning Units: Roof Mounted Package Units (RMPU) for railways classified under HSN 8415, attracting 28% GST.
• Car & Motorcycle Seats: GST on car seats increased from 18% to 28%, aligning with motorcycle seats.
  

Services

• Life & Health Insurance: Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to review GST on life and health insurance, with a report due by October 2024.
• Passenger Helicopter Transport: GST of 5% on helicopter passenger transport on a seat-sharing basis, with 18% GST for helicopter charters.
• Flying Training: DGCA-approved flying training courses exempt from GST.
• R&D Services: Exemption for government or institution-funded research and development services.
• Preferential Location Charges (PLC): PLC bundled with construction services will follow the same GST treatment as construction services.
• Affiliation Services: Clarified that affiliation services provided by educational boards like CBSE are taxable, with some exemptions for government schools.

Trade Facilitation & Compliance

• Waiver of Interest/Penalty: Rule 164 added for waiver of interest or penalty on tax demands for FYs 2017-18 to 2019-20.
• Amendments to Section 16: Special procedure for rectification of orders for wrong input tax credit (ITC) availability under Section 16 clarified.
• Exports & Refunds: Clarification on IGST refunds for exports and simplification of refund procedures.

Other Measures

• B2C E-invoicing: Pilot program for B2C e-invoicing in selected sectors to improve business efficiency and customer transparency.
• Invoice Management System: Introduction of a new system allowing taxpayers to accept, reject, or hold invoices, improving input tax credit reconciliation and reducing errors.

Sources:PIB