Government set up a new panel for more GST tweaks
A panel of industry representatives is set to recommend a fresh set of changes in the goods and services tax (GST) to make life easier for businesses.The six-member committee was set up by the government to provide inputs to the GST law review committee.The following amendments can be expected in next meeting of GST council.
- Panel wants to make Quarterly filing of return as permanent.
- Simplification of GST forms.
- Extension of composition scheme to services. ( As in current scenario only restaurant service providers are allowed to opt for composition scheme)
- Removal of the reverse charge mechanism that puts the liability on the buyer instead of the supplier.
- Proposed rollout of E-way bills deferred till GSTN stabilizes.
- To keep job worker such as artisans should be exempt from GST ,as hey do not have the ability to deal with the required paperwork.
- Proposals for massive changes in the export architecture are also being finalised which will result in a return to the pre-GST regime.For instance, committee members are in favour of going back to the earlier system where inputs used for exports were exempted from payment of duty. Under the current regime, an integrated GST has to be paid, with the government promising to refund it later. It’s a different matter that glitches have held up refunds, with many exporters even unable to file the forms to claim refunds. The panel is also keen on a new drawback mechanism for small exporters from sectors such as leather where the rates under the duty refund scheme include customs as well as GST.
The panel is expected to submit its report next week and wants that input tax credit is available across the board instead of restricting it for some items.
Source: TOI