The finance ministry is aiming to roll out pre-filled goods and services tax (GST) return forms before the next fiscal year, which is expected to resolve the issue of huge data mismatches leading to tax notices, a senior government official said.

The department is currently analysing the additional cost of augmenting the digital infrastructure to prevent the system from slowing down or crashing due to culling data from different databases.

GST authorities may take some time to introduce faceless scrutiny assessment of tax returns filed under Goods and Services Tax (GST), a senior official said on Wednesday.
The faceless assessment -- under which there is no physical interaction between the tax officer and the assessee and no physical submission of documents -- was first introduced by the Income Tax department and later extended to Customs.

While ruling that flavoured milk will attract a lower rate of goods and services tax (GST) of 5%, the Madras High Court has limited the powers of the GST Council in determining the classification of a product and held that the role of the GST Council is only recommendatory.

The recent ruling, which comes in a writ petition filed by Parle Agro challenging the classification of flavoured milk, relied on the Supreme Court ruling in Mohit Mineral Private Limited, where the apex court held that the recommendations of the GST Council are not binding on the Union and states.

It held that the principle of noscitur a sociis must be applied to the meaning of ‘Beverage containing milk’ and concluded that it pertains only to plant or seed-based milk and not to dairy milk. Chapter 4 of the GST tariff classification includes dairy products including milk.

The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) is understood to be sending notices to various real estate companies, demanding that GST be paid for a clutch of transactions among group companies or joint venture partners.

The move is seen as part of a strategy to widen the tax net for the sector.

You can access and download the above said documents by clicking on the link below:
https://tutorial.gst.gov.in/downloads/news/e-invoice_api_integration_guide_irps.pdf

The government proposes to introduce two key bills in the upcoming winter session to pave the way for goods and services tax (GST) appeals tribunals and to seek permission for changes in its spending plans, two people aware of the plans said.

All Kerala GST practitioners association said on Wednesday that input tax credit (ITC) reversal on account of the Rule 37A will dampen businesses as it puts the burden of tax liability on the buyer if the seller doesn’t pay the tax.
In other words, if the supplier does not have the money to pay the tax in time, the buyer will have to pay the tax and interest on his behalf.

Vide Rule 37A of CGST Rules, 2017 the taxpayers have to reverse the Input Tax Credit (ITC) availed on such invoice or debit note, the details of which have been furnished by their supplier in their GSTR-1/IFF but the return in FORM GSTR-3B for the said period has not been furnished by their supplier till the 30th day of September following the end of financial year in which the Input Tax Credit in respect of such invoice or debit note had been availed.

It is informed that GSTN has developed a functionality to generate automated intimation in Form GST DRC-01C which enables the taxpayer to explain the difference in Input tax credit available in GSTR-2B statement & ITC claimed in GSTR-3B return online as directed by the GST Council. This feature is now live on the GST portal.

2. This functionality compares the ITC declared in GSTR-3B/3BQ with the ITC available in GSTR-2B/2BQ for each return period. If the claimed ITC in GSTR 3B exceeds the available ITC in GSTR-2B by a predefined limit or the percentage difference exceeds the configurable threshold, taxpayer will receive an intimation in the form of DRC-01C.

India is contemplating a significant hike in the threshold for arrests and criminal prosecutions in cases of Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion, as per a report by The Economic Times. The proposal aims to elevate the threshold to ?3 crore from the existing ?2 crore, as part of an initiative to decriminalise certain aspects of tax evasion, reducing undue pressure on businesses and fostering a more favourable environment for conducting operations, it added.

Amnesty for Taxpayers: The GST Council, in its 52nd meeting, recommended granting amnesty to taxpayers who couldn't file an appeal under section 107 of the CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) Act, 2017, against the demand order under section 73 or 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, passed on or before March 31, 2023, or whose appeal against the said order was rejected due to not being filed within the specified time frame in sub-section (1) of section 107.

Exemptions or lower rate of taxation sought by industry on some items breaks the input tax credit (ITC) chain, leading to complexity in the goods and services tax (GST) structure, Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman Sanjay Agarwal said on Wednesday.
Agarwal also said that indirect tax authorities would soon start sending intimation to businesses that do not comply with rules on e-invoicing, a mandatory requirement for availing of input tax credit (ITC).

CBIC Chairman Sanjay Kumar Agarwal on Wednesday said the department will soon start sending advisories to businesses that are non-compliant on issuing e-invoices to their B2B customers.
The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has started making e-invoice mandatory for businesses in a staggering manner beginning 2020.

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said that the finance ministry's focus is not only on increasing GST revenue but also on bringing all the business establishments under its ambit.
She was speaking at a function to open 12 GST Suvidha Kendras in Gujarat from here, which will help business establishments to have flawless GST registration and will help them resolve their issues at such centres.

In August 2009, the then-minister of state for finance SS Palanimanickam informed the Rajya Sabha that the top 100 defaulters owed Rs 1.41 trillion as income tax. Of this amount, the stud-farm owner, Hasan Ali, owed Rs 50,345 crore and the late Harshad Mehta owed Rs 12,000 crore. Four years later, the Union minister of finance P Chidambaram informed the Rajya Sabha that as on December 31, 2012, the total arrears of income tax were Rs 4.18 trillion, of which the dues of Hasan Ali amounted to about Rs 1.17 trillion and the dues of Harshad Mehta had risen to Rs 17,000 crore, per a report in Mint on March 12, 2013.

An issue persisted on whether GST is leviable on reimbursement of electricity charges received by real estate companies, malls, airport operators etc, from their lessees/ occupants.
In this regard, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs(CBIC) has clarified that where the supply of electricity is bundled with renting of immovable property and/or maintenance of premises, it forms part of composite supply and shall be taxed accordingly, whether or not billed separately.

The government is mulling some relief on the levy of goods and services tax (GST) on vouchers or gift cards offered by companies and retailers, addressing the issue of double taxation in some instances.

A host of retailers offer vouchers or gift cards to customers that can be redeemed for their products. A clarification on the issue is expected shortly, people familiar with the matter told ET.

Some vouchers have GST levied on them at the time of purchase, which leads to double taxation when they are used to buy goods or services that also include the tax. The proposed clarification is expected to clear the air on the taxability of vouchers and gift cards, suggesting they should not be taxed at the point of sale. It is also likely to spell out taxation of vouchers that are tradeable or sold to distributors or dealers by companies.

Punjab cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday approved the One Time Settlement scheme that will set the pre-GST arrears of the traders.


Punjab Chief Minsiter's office posted on X and said: "In a major Diwali gift to the traders of the state, Punjab Cabinet led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann gave approval for introducing the Punjab One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme for settlement of pre-GST arrears thereby benefitting more than 60,000 traders."

The government is likely to hold a series of meetings in November to review, and streamline processes in indirect taxation, including the Goods and Services Tax (GST), a senior government official said.

"There will be a series of meetings to review not only GST but the indirect taxation processes. There will be brainstorming on what we can do better, review the current processes, etc. The internal processes will be deliberated upon. The focus will be on things that we need to streamline," the official told Moneycontrol.

This is to inform taxpayers about recent developments concerning the application process for GST registration. It is advised to keep the following key points in mind during the registration process.

1. Rule 8 of the CGST Rules, 2017 has been amended to provide that an applicant can be identified on the common portal, based on data analysis and risk parameters for Biometric-based Aadhaar Authentication and taking photograph of the applicant along with the verification of the original copy of the documents uploaded with the application.