The 50th GST council was held on 11th July 2023 in NEW DELHI under the leadership of the union finance minister and corporate affairs minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharama.
Before diving into the segments of the meeting, let us understand what exactly a GST council does.
One of the main tasks of the council is to make recommendations to the Union and the States on important issues, like changes in GST tax rates, measures for facilitation of trade and measures for streamlining compliances in GST, for example:
Determining the goods and services that may come under the pennant of GST,
Formulating reasonable GST Laws,
Formulating reasonable limitations.
Special rates in emergencies like situations like natural calamities/disasters etc.
According to Article 269 A of the Indian Constitution:
(1) According to the Article 269 A of the Indian constitution that all the goods and services regarding inter-state trade and commerce shall be collected by the Indian government and shall be allocated between union and states as per parliament on recommendation by the council.
Making special provisions for the following states: like, Uttarakhand Meghalaya, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Sikkim, Tripura, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh.
How decisions are taken in Council:
For holding and making recommendations in the meeting the council must have at least 50% of the members present.
All the proposals at least require three-fourth or 75% majority of voting’s by the members present in the meeting.
The vote of the Center government counts as the one-third of the total votes and for the State government the weightage is two-thirds.
Key Highlights:
Exemption
The council provided exemptions to drugs and medication for cancer and rare diseases and food products having medicinal purposes.
Reduction
The council sanctioned a GST rate deduction on the four following items-
Zari thread brought down to 5% from 12%.
LD Slag furnace has been changed from 18% to 5%.
Fish soluble paste to charge a 5% GST rate than to18%.
Uncooked, unfried, snacks are to be charged 5% from 18%.
CINEMA HALLS
The council has resolved to elucidate that the supply of food and beverages in cinema halls is taxable as restaurant service as long as:
(a) they are provided by way of or as part of a service and
(b) supplied independently of the theatre exhibit service.
And if the sale of tickets and the services of food and drinks are pooled, and such supply satisfies the test of combined supply the whole collection will draw GST.
SUVs
A sport utility vehicle (SUV) is a car classification having combined elements of road-going passenger cars with off-roading vehicles. As per the present definition it must contain four parameters to be included into the term of SUV, that are –
Should be popularly known as an SUV,
Length of 4 meters,
Should be of 1,500 cc and above,
Having a minimum 170 mm for clearance.
Now the parameters are brought to only three parameters i.e.
Length of 4 meters,
Should be of 1,500 cc and above,
Having a minimum 170 mm for clearance.
As per the clarifications provided by the council, all the multi-utility vehicles (MUVs), sports utility vehicles (SUVs) or crossover utility vehicles (XUSs) would have to pay a tax of 22% compensation with a cess over at the rate of 28% of GST and above.
GAMING INDUSTRY
The council has decided to discontinue with the distinction of the game of skill and online gaming, levying a 28% GST rate on the full value of online gaming, casinos and horse racing and will come in effect after the amendment in GST law.
Criticism
Thousands of gaming companies fear job cuts after this decision, as the distinction between the betting games and skilled online games are discontinued, and the benefitting people would not be anyone but the anti- national illegal platforms
Estimation is of an increment from 1.8 rupees per 100 rupees spent on a game to 28 rupees on per 100, as this would discourage players from playing and would levy heavy taxes on professional players.
TRIBUNALS
As per the proposals of the state, the council has agreed to set up 50 benches of appellate tribunals in the country, the council has also shed a light towards the increasing GST disputes and said that the statutory bodies would be operational within four to six months in state capitals. While the tribunal members and the president appointment is awaited.
Conclusion
On the occasion of the 50th council meeting, a short film named “GST COUNCIL – 50 STEPS TOWARDS A JOURNEY” has been released showing the journey of all these years. Fun fact – The council has taken roughly 1500 decisions till now.
Get free expert advice on your GST filing with a simple sign-up with us!
Author:
Leave a Comment
Previous Comments