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Decisions and Amendments Made By Gst Council In 35th Meeting

Easy GST - Cloud Accounting Software Solution

On 21st June 2019, the 35th GST council meeting was held in New Delhi. It was the first one held under Nirmala sitharaman, the Union finance minister. The finance minister discussed the simplification of GST rules and about bringing more items under the ambit of GST rates.

Generally, the council meeting is held prior to the general elections, but the meeting could not be held because of the election pressure.

Other discussions held were about tax evasion issues, new GST returns filing system, electronic invoices system, anti-profiteering Authority, and others.

The question of setting up an appellate tribunal for all the Union territories and one for the North-Eastern states were also raised and discussed.

There was deliberation held on the reduction of the tax slab on electric vehicles from 12 to 5 percent; however, without having reached any conclusion.

The key highlights of the discussions held in the meeting are the following-

The introduction of aadhar permit for GST registration– the GST registration being troubling in nature due to a lot of paperwork has been soothed down by attempting to reduce the paperwork. This has been done with the introduction of a new system by the GST council for the verification of the taxpayers registering themselves under GST at the same time while generation aadhar number will be linked to GSTIN. Once Aadhaar card is submitted no other documents would be required as proof and authentication can also be done using Aadhaar OTP.

Extension of the GST annual return due date– an official notification has to be made yet, for the extension of the due date for filing GSTR-9, GSTR-9A, and GSTR-9C and the extension is permitted for two months from now, which is up till 31 August 2019.

Penalty for the delay in hoarding profiteered money– GST Council raised the punishment for deferring surpassing over 30 days. A 10% punishment is charged from keeping a profiteered sum. This measure urges the taxpayer to submit the filing on-schedule.

NAA regime- GST council extended the tenure of the National Anti-profiteering Authority to two more years. Thereby facilitating an approach on all the balance pending cases, left previously. NAA possession was given for the GST annual return last date by 30 Nov 2019. Consequently, the authorities are allowed to begin with new cases because of bringing down interest rate issues, where the GST Council intends to streamline the GST rates.

E-billing made mandatory for theaters– in order to curb black ticketing and tax evasion by the theaters the council has decided to implement e-ticketing for theaters with more than one screen. The electronic ticketing system has been approved.

Non filing of GST returns will result in blocked e way bills– the law expressed that where the GST yearly returns in GSTR-3B/GSTR–4 isn’t required to be petitioned for two successive tax periods, e-way charge age impairing accomplished for such citizens and are brought to force from 21 August 2019, rather than 21st June 2019, which was the prior advised timeframe. New GST returns recording methodology would be completely made viable from the first January 2020.

GST appellate tribunal– The GST council expressed for the last time on the legal expert for the Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal and will parley on the petitions that appeared from Central and state charge experts’ in-house dispute resolution framework. The quantity of GSTAT required will be chosen by the state bringing about two courts in a solitary state.

The proposal has been referred to the Fitment Committee for check of the possibility of cut down the GST rates on electric vehicles and electric chargers, and therefore the proposal has been deferred for the following Council meeting. In the present circumstances, there are no progressions in 12% and 28% of the GST rates for electric vehicles and electric chargers.

Suggestions will be made by the fitment committee by the next council meeting regarding the solar power generating systems services, goods valuation rules, placing of wind turbines.

Lottery for a rate cut is put on hold – There was a discussion about the lottery rate cut in one shot and exhibited two pending cases concerning this before the high court and supreme courts. Regardless of these, the issue is alluded back to GST Council by the court, for basic leadership in the wake of counseling the Attorney General of India.

So as to give enough chance to the citizens and also to the system to adjust to the new return framework will be presented in a phased way, being executed in different phases. The subtleties of this new return structures are portrayed as beneath –

Between July 2019 to September 2019, the new return framework (FORM GST ANX-1&FORM GST ANX-2 only) to be accessible for preliminary for citizens. Citizens to keep on recording FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-3B as at present;

From October 2019 onwards, FORM GST ANX-1 to be made obligatory. Enormous citizens (having a total turnover of more than ₹ 5 crores in the earlier year) to document FORM GST ANX-1 on a month to month premise while little citizens to record the first FORM GST ANX-1 for the quarter October 2019 to December 2019 in January 2020;

For October and November 2019, huge citizens to keep on documenting FORM GSTR-3B on a month to month premise and will record first FORM GST RET-01for December 2019 in January 2020. It might be noticed that solicitations and so on can be transferred in FORM GST ANX-1 consistently both by enormous and little citizens from October 2019 onwards. Structure GST ANX-2 might be seen at the same time during this period yet no activity will be permitted on such FORM GST ANX-2;

From October 2019, little citizens to quit recording FORM GSTR-3B and to begin documenting FORM GST PMT-08. They will record their first FORM GSTRET-01 for the quarter of October 2019 to December 2019 in January 2020;

From January 2020 onwards, FORM GSTR-3B to be totally eliminated.

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Now you can save even more money with just Tax payments

Save-on-TAX

Yes, tax paying is one of the duties you have as an honest citizen but there isn’t any bad in saving some tax amount as you have a lot of other expenses too. Well, saving tax is a need but many of them do not really know how to use it as their profit in their taxpaying because of the lack of information. This happens when you do not research before paying the taxes or you have hired a wrong person who is helping you in your business. No matter how the amount you earn big amount or fewer amounts, you can always claim your rebate while paying taxes.

You just need to provide the necessary documents as a proof for claiming for your rebate in your taxes, this especially helps you are a small business owner or have just started your own start-up because in the starting the more money you save more beneficial it is for you. So, let get you some more information on how you can save money in tax paying for your business:

First of all, the business can be of different types such as property owners, commercial goods items or other items that are used for selling and buying. Every new business needs some time to grow because it takes time to know things about the business, but when you start a business you need to pay some taxes for it, but do you know by using few things you can have some rebate in your taxpaying? Since it is important to save some money while your business is new in order to plan for the future and to nurture the business further.

So, to facilitate you here are some tips which you can use:

Maintain proper record of cash expenses:

If you have people working under you or have machines which work in your factory or other thing and you pay for the cash without maintaining a proper register then this can become your extra profit and by adding into your net the tax amount would be increased. In order to claim a rebate for this, maintain a register with proper or slip with sign or thumb impression, provide this while paying your taxes and get some rebate onto your taxes.

Avoid doing cash payments:

Usually, cash payments do not have proper records, and while filling for an income tax you need to provide a proof that you paid a certain amount to a person. Also, the amount you paid to a person in cash above 20k, you won’t be eligible for tax reduction since the Income Tax act does allow anyone to pay the amount exceeding 20k other than check or by the demand draft. So, if you were paying in cash from ages, then it is time for you to stop and start paying in the form of cheque or demand draft.

Tax reduction at source:

According to the income tax act, it is important to deduct cash at the source by the service receiver or the buyer at the while making a payment to the service provider or seller. If you have no idea about this then the amount you paid to the seller will be disallowed in the taxable profit or you won’t get the benefit of tax redemption.

Pay bills through cash:

If you have some property and pay municipal bills like electricity or water bills through cash, then you are keeping yourself deprived of having tax benefits. Yes, cash payments usually do not have proofs and if they have people do not keep their slips properly, hence when you pay your municipal bills through cheques, you have your proof that you already paid some amount of taxes on your property and hence you are liable for some tax redemption.

Benefits of having a house loan:

The world loan may sound negative but there some benefits which you can get some tax cutting during the tax paying. Yes, it is true no matter if you are property business or have some property which includes go downs used for storage, place used for production or others, when you have the loan on the property then you can claim the interest as a tax reduction from your total cost, also you claim for principal reduction mentioned in the Section 80C.

Some times even the experienced people do mistakes while doing important work, tax payment is one of those things since we tend to ignore few things because we do not have the actual knowledge that how beneficial it can be for us in a long term. Therefore with the above-mentioned points, we are sure that now you can correct your mistakes if any and will be able to save more money during the taxpaying since the early phase of the business is very crucial.

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Benefits of having a Registered GST number and honestly paying for it

GST Registration

If you do any kind of business you must know about GST, but those who do not know about GST let us briefly explain it to you. A GST or The Goods and Service Tax is a single or indirect tax which is charged on the supply of all kind of goods and services be it the hotel or restaurant services, or the airplane services, shopping services, the factories, and many others, you can name any of the business where some kind of goods and services are provided the GST would be charged.

GST may sound little or complicated term but it is a very simple, comprehended and multi-stage tax which is charged on every value added to the goods. The GST came into force on 1st July 2017 and it took 17 years for the govt to make this force in the present economy. There are a lot of benefits who have registered for GST, those who have already registered for GST would know about its benefits, but those who do not know here are some of them:

Limited Tax Payment:

When you become a registered GST number holder the first and foremost benefit you have that the rate you pay for the taxes is minimal like you are a goods trader then you pay including the state GST and central GST is 1%, if you are restaurant owner then you pay for both GST is 5% and if you are other service providers is 6%.

New GST Rate 2019

Simple procedures:

The whole GST process which includes the registration for GST, filling a return for it and paying is now online, hence it has now become convenient for everyone especially for the one who has a new business or have a start-up since they have to do multiple procedures for getting other registration such as VAT registration, excise and service tax and etc.

Lower tax rates for small business owners:

Due to the earlier tax rates and the vat rates, the small business owners had to pay a lot of money in the name of taxes and they do not get much of profit from it too. But with GST, the small business owners get lower tax rates under the Compositions scheme whose business turnover is 20 to 75 lakhs. This is a relief for all the small business owners or the one who are new business owners as they can now save money and concentrate more on their business rather compiling documents for tax payments.

The unorganized sector now is regulated:

Certain industries like textile and construction companies were largely unorganized, they even did a lot of tax thefts since nothing was organized before the GST came. But now in GST, every payment has to done online and they can only avail the credit when the supplier has accepted the amount. So, now the tax theft is really impossible and one has to mention everything about their property or business while filling for GST.

improved logistic status:

Due to the application of GST, now the commercial owners do not have to pay extra cost during the delivery since now they do not have put extra warehouses in every city to cut the cost of current CST and the state entry taxes. Instead of setting warehouses in every city they can now set-up the warehouses at the strategic location which very much cost-effective for sellers. This has increased convenience for both the seller and the consumer which has cheapened the rates too.

Better treatment for online companies:

We love online shopping aren’t we because we have a lot of benefits from it but do you know how difficult it was to set up and deliver products to our over convenience for the E-commerce companies like Flipkart or Amazon? Yes, before GST, all the e-commerce companies had to register their VAT number differently for different cities plus they have to mention their vehicles numbers and license numbers and even stopped by the authorities if they do not have proper papers. With Gst, all the confusing process and the extra tax payments are removed and the rules are made which is done for all over the country, now there is no problem for the transportation of goods from one place to another.

Doesn’t matter if you own a small business or just have started your start-up or business everyone has a right to save some money, sometimes the amount or the burden of taxes become too much that it starts affecting the amount or the profit for the business. With GST, most of the extra cost is canceled since now you have to pay at one place rather than paying for different other taxes. So, now you can concentrate on how you can make your business big since you have all the govt support.

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GST Composition Scheme Explained For SMEs in India

GST Composition Scheme

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is one of India’s most comprehensive and widely discussed economic policies in recent years. Unlike demonetization which largely drew the ire of various sections in society, media, and academia, the GST has prompted a mixed set of critiques. Although the allure of a comprehensive single taxation system, spanning the wider regional disparities of the nation is attractive, the intricacies of its implementation can tilt outcomes in one way or the other. The effects of the GST system are also different for different categories of businesses and individuals, with larger ventures usually possessing the necessary resources and expertise to navigate this complex accounting labyrinth. What, therefore, is the way out for small or medium-scale businesses which often do not have extensive resources at their disposal? The GST Council has recently announced the composition scheme which allows for a special tax-payment provision for certain eligible businesses. SMEs with an annual turnover of below 1 crore (and 75 lakh in particular states such as the North East) have the option of paying tax at a minimum favorable rate, ensuring better tax compliance and a smoother compliance process.

This GST composition scheme has certain fixed eligibility criteria. Besides the stipulation related to annual turnover rate, the SME concerned must be a supply business and operate intra-state only. Service providers are not eligible, with the exception of restaurant owners. Furthermore, at any point in the year, if the turnover rate exceeds the stipulated amount, the business will no longer be eligible to file GST under this particular scheme. The business must also not be associated with any electronic commerce operator such as Amazon or Flipkart. Multiple business verticals associated with the same PAN are considered under the same composition scheme and the businesses are not allowed to extract the composition tax from the customer or charge Input Credit Tax. The applicable rates (as a percentage of turnovers) are 1% for traders and manufacturers, 5% for restaurants, and 6% for other service providers. In order to be eligible, the business must indicate the same on the GST portal before the beginning of the fiscal year. This process involves filing a GST Form 02 at the time of registration and filing the GSTR 4 by the 18th the month falling after the quarter for which GST is being paid. A delay in the filing of GSTR 4 will attract a fine of Rs. 50 per day (Rs. 20 in the case of nil returns). For taxpayers under the composition scheme, GSTR Form 9(A) is the required form for filing tax returns. This must be filled by 31 December of the following financial year, failing which a fine of Rs. 200 per day (Rs. 100 for nil returns) will be charged. The composition scheme, to be started from the 2019 fiscal year carries a number of benefits for eligible businesses. Not only does it make the process of tax compliance easier, it significantly reduces compliance costs for small businesses which are the most severely impacted by minor changes in the economic landscape.

The MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) sector is one of the most prolific and vibrant in the country today. Data from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) estimates that in 2015-16, there were over 63 million MSM Enterprises. These created an estimated 110 million jobs and contributed a staggering 29% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The MSME sector is also particularly important as India progressively moves towards an urbanized and technologically connected future. Data from the Census of 2011 tells us that 31% of India’s population is urban and both Census and NSSO estimates present a picture of rapidly growing rural to urban migration in recent decades. The post-1991 liberalization years have been the main driver of this kind of growth and it can be expected that India’s urban population will skyrocket in the coming years. The role of MSM Enterprises in this kind of economic growth and development is massive in terms of contribution to GDP, productivity growth, employment generation, and related outcomes such as social sector inclusivity and income mobility. Therefore, the particular attention paid to the composition scheme is a much-needed acknowledgment of the importance and contribution of the MSME sector to the economy as a whole.

However, despite positive steps in the right direction, there are some hurdles that continue to prevent effective inclusion for the MSME sector. Despite the staggering numbers presented in Census and NSSO data, the conditions for inclusion are so steep that as of 2018, 1,765,684 enterprises had registered under the composition scheme. Although the recent adjustment of the 1 crore turnover condition to 1.5 crores is expected to increase this number substantially, a large number of MSME ventures will continue to be excluded on the grounds of additional conditions involving the inter-state supply of goods and sale on e-commerce platforms. The composition scheme, although a vital economic tool for streamlined and higher growth in the MSME sector, must be adjusted in the coming years to make it more inclusive for the MSME sector, as a whole.

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Top Accounting Software 2019 for Small Businesses and Startups

Best Accounting Software 2019

I can understand how to start it is to maintain all the records and take care of the accounts. Besides, if you are like me who took accounts class last time back in college only then, it will be harder to maintain accounts while starting a new business. Yes, a startup not only requires you to come up with new ideas and lots of hard work but also needs to take care of exhausting accounting tasks. This is the reason you need small business accounting software to take care of all your company’s accounting needs.

However, when you actually start exploring the world of accounting software’s, you find that the landscape is packed with options. There are a plethora of options available for your startup to integrate with its accounting system. But, in order to find the most efficient and effective, you should try the top accounting tools available right now in the market that will right fit into your budget and requirements.

Here are the top small business accounting software’s of 2019 you should know about –

Fesh Books

Fresh Books is one of the most effective and suitable accounting software available at an affordable price. In case you send recurring invoices to the customers require a time tracking system and run a subscription model, then it is the ideal choice for your company. This accounting software also lets you see the exact location your customer open the invoice so you can avoid the ‘never got the invoice’ excuses. The software also integrates with many other business applications and offer a single dashboard so you can handle all your accounting at a single place.

Wave

For those working as a freelancer or have a team of few people can make the most use of Wave. This accounting software offers almost all the requires functionalities free, including invoice generation and transaction-handling. While dealing with a few clients and a small group of employees, this software is ideal for handling all the accounting actions. The user interface is very intuitive and also comes with few additional options to make your accounting department less of hassle. All the data and records get synchronized Wave automatically without any problem.

Tally ERP 9

Tally ERP 9 is one of the most advanced accounting software in India that caters all your billing an accounting need. With the Tally’s accounting software, you can quickly create a large number of invoices/bills for your customers with multiple items and multiple tax rates. Besides, the software is much more than just invoice building software; it takes care of all the other billing and accounting actions. The software also offers options for the branch charges, reverse charge scenarios, advance receipts, and export invoices. If you own a startup, you can make the use of its free service, but if you want more premium options, you need to purchase it.

Xero

Are you one of the entrepreneurs who like to handle their business on the go and are always on their toes for work? In that case, Zero is the best solution for your business to take care of all the accounting issues. The software allows you to create and send custom invoices to the clients on the go using a phone or tablet. Besides, you can get the financial performance reports straight to your device and seamlessly connect your bank account for the transactions. The company’s support service is there to help you with any of your concern, and they also offer some special discounts to their clients with premium services.

EasyGST

EasyGST is accounting software for small businesses offering all the options and accounting services a small business may require. The software comes with all required support you need to keep your billing cycle running with all the other accounting actions. Moreover, with these, you also get additional features to manage your business accounting functions like advance invoicing, tracking cash flow, monitoring the tax credit, and much more. The friendly user interface and smooth learning curve make it the first choice of the startups. Besides, Easy GST is available at a very affordable cost while offering all the premium level features to the startups.

Busy Accounting Software

When it comes to the accounting software, we can not forget the Busy software that offers everything you will ever need. The accounting software is equipped with all the latest technology to provide the best invoice generation experience while offering other unrivaled accounting options. The software is excellent for creating bills and invoices for the clients on a small level and also help in keeping a record of all your bank transactions. In case you don’t have enough funds for your accounting department and still want software capable of dealing with all the issues then Busy is the best choice for yours.

Zoho Books

Zoho is another small business accounting software in our list that you can integrate into any business application for hassle-free invoice generation and billing options. The software, Zoho lets you effortlessly generate GST invoices/billing with different multiple items and tax rate easily. Along with this, the accounting software also allows the small business to keep track of their financial transactions, including cash flow. The software automatically fetches all the financial data and keep updating itself to provide you the recent reports.

Kashoo

The perfect option for the small business to keep track of all the expense and create custom invoices. The software also provides insightful reports about the financial conditions of your business that you can share with your accountants. Besides, they can be integrated with the Stripe and Blue pay to accept the payments making via credit-cards.

One Up

If your business is more oriented towards the inventory and the prices the One Up is best for you and your company. This affordable accounting software helps the business owners in quickly updating the inventory details with the prices of them. One Up is double accounting software available at a very affordable price for the startups and also synchronizes with your bank and keep updates the entries.

GST Rates 2019 – New GST Rates Applicable From January-2019

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Top 10 GST Softwares In India You Should Know About

Top 10 GST Softwares In India You Should Know About - Best GST Software India - Cloud Accounting Software

In India, Which is one of the most diverse countries with a complicated infrastructure GST is the first technology driven tax regime. If you are looking for the best GST accounting software in India, then you have tended to the rig page, here we have jotted down the best GST ready software for small business and startups to tackle their GST confusion. Since the day of its Inception, GST has been an epidemic of confusion for the business owners in India. Moreover, after years debates, discussions, amendments the GST is the only tax regime that was implemented by the government, and every business needs to follow it.

Here we have handpicked top 10 GST software in India that can help you with the GST compliance and take care of billing & accounting.

1. EasyGST

Here is another flawless and great GST software available you can use for your business. The Software comes with all required options and features to keep your GST billing cycle running. Moreover, with the software you get additional features to manage your business accounting actions like advance invoicing, tracking cash flow, monitoring the tax credit. Due to its friendly user interface and plenty of accessible features, EasyGST is counted among the best GST software in India.

Best GST Software India - Top 10 GST Softwares In India You Should Know About - Cloud Accounting Software

2. Clear Tax

If you wish to secure your billing data and don’t trust thee adware storage then, Clear Tax is for you. It is a cloud-based GST accounting software with internet connectivity for the users. You can easily create GST based bills and carry out accounting operations offline, and the software will automatically sync your data with the cloud storage. The software is accessible via mobile, desktop or laptop which makes it is one of the best GST software in India.

3. Tally ERP 9

Tally ERP 9 is one of the most advanced GST software in India that caters all your billing an accounting needs. With the Tally’s GST software you can easily create GST invoices/bills for your customers with multiple items and multiple tax rates. Besides, Tally ERP 9 is much more than just GST invoice building software; it takes care of all the other billing and accounting actions. The software also takes care of the branch charges, reverse charge scenarios, advance receipts and export invoices.

4. Quickbooks

Quickbooks is quite popular in India and considered as one of the best GST software to handle your business account. The software comes with a user-friendly interface that everyone can understand and access easily. Creating and sharing GST invoices can be done effortlessly in the software, and it also allows you to monitor tax credit so you can save money for your business. The company has released an online GST ready version for the small business that is customized according to their billing needs in requirements. The flexible GST software not only helps the businesses to create GST invoices but enables to track cash flow, expenses, and not categorized their income or expenses with a dedicated feature.

5. MARG GST

MARG ERP 9+ is one of the best GST software you can use for your business at an affordable price. Besides, the user interface of the software is convenient for beginners. The software also allows the users to convert the bill into various formats and provides the option to send them via links. The email option adds a hassle-free way to share the bills with customers.

6. Busy Accounting Software

Whether you own a micros, small or medium business, Busy Accounting Software got it all. It is one of the best GST ready software for generating advance invoices and managing the business accounts. The user interface of the software is intuitive, and you can quickly generate invoices with customized options. Moreover, you can easily manage your accounts, finance, credits along with VAT and CST reports.

7. Zoho Books

It is another GST ready software in our list that you can integrate to your business for hassle-free invoice generation. The software lets you effortlessly generate GST invoices with different tax rates and multiple items quickly. Along with this, it is very convenient to keep track of all your account details including cash flow, and monthly expenses.

8. Reach GST

Reac GST is an ideal software of the SME’s to deal with their billing actions depending actions. The software comes with the functionality of multiple user-handling profiles for the business. You can generate GST invoices and can also share with them with the users via mail easily.

9. GEN -GST

If you are still in favor of offline GST ready software, the GEN-GST is specially designed for you and your business. The software allows users to prepare GST returns for consumers without accounting. Besides the software can also extract data from any software, the software works without any internet.

10. Sai GST

Sai GST may be listed last on this list, but it is not the least, the software is explicitly designed for CA and businesses who want to manage their GST returns. The accounting software works online and automatically synchronize all the bills and details between the suppliers and vendors.

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GST Rates 2019 – New GST Rates Applicable From January-2019

New GST Rates

GST is the principal tax-related reform in the country bringing equality in the taxation structure and eliminating the cascading of taxes that were levied in the past. The GST Council meets from time to time to revise the GST rates for various products. Several states and industries recommend reduction in GST tax rate for various items which are discussed in these meetings.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the government wanted to keep the GST rates close to the original rates. But there were differences in case of some items because of the changes in the economy as well as customer preferences. Some commodities were kept in the high tax bracket (18-28%) but on scrutinize the list, they found that these commodities should be considered as necessities and not luxuries. This is why the GST rates were revised for commodities such as notebooks, exercise books, spectacles and lenses and some other items.

GST Tax Rates on some common items

TAX Rates

Products

5%

 Household necessities such as edible oil, sugar, spices, tea, and coffee (except instant) are included. Coal, Mishti/Mithai (Indian Sweets) and Life-saving drugs are also covered under this GST slab

12%

 This includes computers and processed food

18%

 Hair oil, toothpaste and soaps, capital goods and industrial

intermediaries are covered in this slab

28%

 Luxury items such as small cars, consumer durables like AC and Refrigerators, premium cars, cigarettes and aerated drinks, High-end motorcycles are included here.

GST Rates on Goods

The government has proposed a 4-tier tax structure for all goods and services under the slabs- 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. After the recent revision of GST rates, these are the commodities that fall under the four tax slabs along with those that do not attract any tax. Please note that only those commodities are included in this list whose rates have been revised in various council meetings.

Let us have a look at various products and the tax slab in which they fall into :

List of Goods and Services under 0% GST Rate (No tax)

With the implementation of GST, there will be no tax for the following goods as well as services throughout India.

Goods:-

Unpacked foodgrains, fresh vegetables and fruits, unbranded atta, maida, besan, gur, milk, eggs, curd, lassi, unpacked paneer, unbranded natural honey, palmyra jaggery, all types of salt, fresh meat, fish, chicken, buttermilk, cereal grains hulled, Jute, flour, bread, prasad, bindi, sindoor, stamps, judicial papers, printed books, newspapers, bangles, handloom, Bones and horn cores, bone grist, bone meal, etc;, hoof meal, Kajal, Children’s’ picture, drawing or colouring books, Human hair.

Services:-

Under GST, all hotels and lodges in India with tariff below Rs.1,000 are exempted from paying taxes.

Rough precious and semi-precious stones will be taxed at 0.25% all over India.

gst-0percent-tax-rate

List of Goods and Services under 5% GST Rate:

Goods:-

Apparel below Rs 1000, footwear below Rs 500, Sugar, tea, roasted coffee beans, edible oils, cream, skimmed milk powder, fish fillet, branded paneer, frozen vegetables, coffee, spices, pizza bread, rusk, sabudana, kerosene, coal, medicines, stent, lifeboats, Cashew nut, Cashew nut in shell, Raisin, Ice and snow, Biogas, Insulin, Agarbatti, Kites, Postage or revenue stamps, stamp-postmarks, first-day covers.

Services:-

Transport services (Railways, air transport), small restaurants.

gst-5percent-tax-rate

List of Goods and Services under 12% GST Rate:

Goods:-

Cell phones, Apparel above Rs 1000, sewing machine, umbrella, Ayurvedic medicines, tooth powder, Butter, ghee, almonds, fruit juice, packed coconut water, preparations of vegetables, fruits, nuts or other parts of plants including pickle, murabba, chutney, jam, jelly, bhujia, namkeen, fruit juices, frozen meat products, dry fruits in packaged form, animal fat and sausage, cheese, colouring books, picture books, Ketchup & Sauces, All diagnostic kits and reagents, Exercise books and notebooks, Spoons, forks, ladles, skimmers, cake servers, fish knives, tongs, Spectacles, corrective, Playing cards, chess board, carom board and other board games like ludo.

Services:-

Non-AC hotels, business class air ticket, State-run lotteries, fertilisers, Work Contracts.

gst-12percent-tax-rate

List of Goods and Services under 18% GST Rate:

Goods:-

Footwear above Rs.500, camera, speakers and monitors, Headgear and parts thereof, Trademarks, goodwill, software, Bidi Patta, Biscuits – All categories, flavoured refined sugar, pasta, cornflakes, pastries and cakes, preserved vegetables, jams, sauces, soups, ice cream, instant food mixes, mineral water, tissues, envelopes, tampons, notebooks, steel products, printed circuits, Kajal pencil sticks, Aluminium foil, Weighing Machinery [other than electric or electronic weighing machine]. Printers [other than multifunction printers], Electrical Transformer, CCTV, Optical Fiber, Bamboo furniture, Swimming pools and paddling pools, Curry paste; mayonnaise and salad dressings; mixed condiments and mixed seasonings.

Services:-

AC hotels that serve liquor, telecom services, IT services, branded garments and financial services, Room tariffs between Rs. 2,500 and Rs. 7,500, Restaurants inside five-star hotels.

gst-18percent-tax-rate

List of Goods and Services under 28% GST Rate:

Goods:-

Automobiles, Motorcycles, ATM, washing machine, shavers, hair clippers, Bidis, chewing gum, molasses, chocolate not containing cocoa, waffles and wafers coated with chocolate, pan masala, aerated water, paint, deodorants, shaving creams, after shave, hair shampoo, dye, sunscreen, wallpaper, ceramic tiles, water heater, dishwasher, weighing machine, vending machines, vacuum cleaner, aircraft for personal use.

Services:-

Cinema, 5-star hotels, Private-run lotteries authorised by the states, hotels with room tariffs above Rs 7,500, race club betting.

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GST Rates on Services

The government has also impose GST on Services with the same 4-tier tax structure as of goods. GST rates on services comprising of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28% come with various pros and cons for the consumers. However, the government has exempted healthcare and educational services from the purview of the GST.

The Goods and Services Tax council has passed the rate slabs at NIL, 5%, 12%, 18%, 28%. Some of the services categorized under different slabs are mentioned below :

GST on Cars

Subsequent to bringing cars under the GST regime, the GST rate on cars has been fixed at 28% for all personal use vehicles featuring a petrol or diesel driven engine. However, in addition to GST, a composition cess is also applicable to cars over and above the GST Rate. Thus the overall tax rate applicable to vehicles under GST ranges from 29% to 50%. Lower rates of taxation are however applicable to cars driven by cleaner technologies such as fuel cells (including hydrogen fuel cell) and electric vehicles.

GST on Gold

Subsequent to the introduction of GST on items made from gold such as gold jewellery, the current GST rate on gold is 3%. However, a 5% GST rate is applicable to making charges applied to gold jewellery in case the manufacturing is outsourced to a job worker. This can, however, be charged as an input tax credit (ITC) by the jeweller and only a 3% GST charge is applied to the final bill paid by the purchaser of gold jewellery items.

GST On Real Estate

GST is applicable to real estate purchases only if you are purchasing an under construction property. The GST rate applicable to such transactions is 12%. No GST is applicable in case you are purchasing a ready to move in property. Additionally, different GST rates are applicable to various building materials used in the construction of houses/flats. This can range from 5% (sand, marble rubble, etc.) to 28% (cement, etc.).

GST on Food

Food items especially fresh food mostly carry a Nil GST rate. However, packaged foodstuff and semi-processed/processed foods do feature GST rates starting from 5% up to 18%. While no foodstuff are currently included in the highest 28% GST bracket, the 18% rate of GST is applicable to some common food products such as chocolates as well as baked goods such as cakes.

Upcoming products in GST Rates Slab

The Government is going on with some new tactics to bring in some of the products under the GST system. As hinted by Finance Minister, Arun Jaitley, there could be an inclusion of products under GST with the reduction of GST rates on some products. Major products which can come under GST rates slab includes:

1) Petroleum products- Petrol and Diesel

2) Land

3) Electricity

4) Others

GST Rates Impact on the Economy

GST has transformed the economy at its peak. It’s a game-changing reform for the Indian economy as it brings about net appropriate price for the goods and services considered under a single taxation system. Mentioned below are some of the important GST rates impacts in the Indian economy :

Increase in Competition: After the GST has been imposed, there has been seen a fall in prices of goods and services which ultimately has brought the final consumer to have less tax burden on the goods and services. There is seen a great scope of increased production, thus, increase in competition.

Simple Tax Structure: GST has simplified the calculation of tax with the adoption of a single taxation system. Under this, multiple taxations have been aborted which ultimately saves time and money.

Uniform Tax Regime: Previously, there used to be multiple taxes at every stage of the supply chain, where the taxpayer got confused. But now, with GST, it is easier for the taxpayer to pay a uniform tax.

Increase in Exports: There has been seen a fall in the cost of production after the GST got imposed. This in return has brought competitiveness towards the international market resulting in rising in exports.

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32nd GST Council Meeting – All updates and important decisions taken

32nd GST Council Meeting

The GST Council meeting was held on 10th January 2019 in New Delhi to bring some benefits to medium and small-scale enterprises (MSMEs) with regards to GST exemption and permitted 6 % composition scheme for the services sector.

Addressing a press conference after the 32nd GST Council meet, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley declared that the services sector will now be eligible for benefits under the composition scheme, which was only applicable to manufacturers and traders earlier.

In the meeting, GST council has broadly taken below mentioned decisions –

The limit for the suppliers of goods i.e. Rs. 40 lakhs and Rs. 20 lakhs for exemption from registration and payment of GST. States would be given an option to decide about one of the limits within a weeks’ time. However, the threshold for registration for service providers would continue to be Rs 20 lakhs and in the case of Special category States Rs 10 lakh.

A composition scheme will be made available for suppliers of services with a tax rate of 6% (3% CGST + 3% SGST) whose annual turnover in preceding financial year up to Rs 50 lakhs. The said scheme shall also be applicable to both service providers as well as suppliers of goods and services, who are not eligible for the presently available composition scheme for goods.

The limit of annual turnover in the preceding financial year for availing composition scheme for goods will be increased to Rs 1.5 crore. Special category States will have to decide within one week about the composition limit in their respective States.

Those who come under the composition scheme or want to avail it will have to pay tax on a quarterly basis as only one return has to be filed during a year.

Meanwhile, the Council is yet to take a call on the real estate sector. Jaitley said that a 7-member GoM has been constituted to discuss ways to tackle issues in the ailing sector.

GST Council also approved the levy of cess on the inter-State supply of goods and services within the State of Kerala at a rate not exceeding 1% for a period not exceeding 2 years.

Similarly, if any state faces a natural disaster may approach the GST Council to demand a similar solution.

When asked whether there will be further rationalization of GST slabs or tax rates, Jaitley said further rate cuts can be discussed only when there is a rise in revenue collection.

Taxpayers under composition scheme will now need to file one annual return but payment of taxes would remain quarterly (along with a simple declaration)

Following matters were referred by the Group of Ministers

  • Proposal for giving a composition scheme to boost the residential segment of the real estate sector.
  • GST rate structure on lotteries.

All the changes made by CGST (Amendment) Act,2018, IGST (Amendment) Act, 2018, UTGST (Amendment) Act, 2018 and GST (Compensation to States) Amendment Act, 2018 along with amendments in CGST Rules, Circulars and notifications issued earlier and the corresponding changes in SGST Acts would be alert w.e.f. 01.02.2019.