Relief for Small and Medium Enterprises
The GST Council, in its 22nd meeting held at New Delhi on dated-06-10-2017, has recommended the following facilitative changes compliance related to Composition Scheme, Relaxation in GST Return, Reverse Charges Mechanism, GST on Advances Received, E-Way bill, Extended Composition Scheme Return Due date.
- Composition Levy (Scheme)
- The composition Levy shall be made available to taxpayers having annual aggregate turnover of up to Rupees 1 crore as compared to the current turnover threshold of Rupees. 75 lakhs . This threshold of turnover for special category States, except Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand, shall be increased to Rupees 75 lakh (Seventy Five Lakhs) from Rupees. 50 lakhs(Fifty Lakhs). The turnover threshold for Jammu and Kashmir and Uttarakhand shall be Rupees 1 crore (one Crore). The facility of availing composition under the increased threshold shall be available to both migrated and new taxpayers up to 31-03-18. The option once exercised shall become operational from the first day of the month immediately succeeding the month in which the option to avail the composition scheme is exercised. New entrants to this scheme shall have to file the return in FORM GSTR-4 only for that portion of the quarter from when the scheme becomes operational and shall file returns as a normal taxpayer for the preceding tax period. The increase in the turnover threshold will make it possible for greater number of taxpayers to avail the benefit of easier compliance under the composition scheme and is expected to greatly benefit the MSME sector.
- Persons who are otherwise eligible for composition Levy(scheme) but are providing any exempt service were being considered ineligible for the said scheme. It has been decided that such persons who are otherwise eligible for availing the composition scheme and are providing any exempt service, shall be eligible for the composition Levy (scheme).
- A Group of Ministers shall be constituted to examine measures to make the composition levy( scheme) more attractive.
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Important Points
- GST Return Form GSTR-4 (composition scheme) Month of July to Sep extended to 15-11-2017
- The composition Levy shall be made available to taxpayers having annual aggregate turnover of up to Rupees 1 crore as compared to the current turnover threshold of Rupees. 75 lakhs
- GST Registration (Small Enterprises)
Presently, anyone making inter-state taxable Sale, except inter-State job worker, is compulsorily required to register, irrespective of turnover. It has now been decided to exempt those service providers whose annual aggregate turnover is less than Rupees 20 lakhs (Rupees 10 lakhs in special category states except J & K) from obtaining registration even if they are making inter-State taxable supplies of services. This measure is expected to significantly reduce the compliance cost of small service providers.
- Relaxation in GST Return (Small Enterprises)
To facilitate the ease of payment and return filing for small Dealers with annual aggregate turnover up to Rupees 1.5 crores(One Crore Fifty Lakh rupees) it has been decided that such taxpayers shall be required to file quarterly returns in GST Return FORM GSTR-1, FORM GSTR-2 and FORM GSTR-3 and pay taxes only on a quarterly basis, starting from the 3rd quarter of this f.y i.e. Oct.-Dec. 2017. The registered buyers from such small taxpayers would be eligible to avail ITC on a monthly basis. The due dates for filing the quarterly returns for such taxpayers shall be announced in due course. Meanwhile, all taxpayers will be required to file (FORM GSTR-3B on a monthly basis till Dec-2017. All Registered Persons are also required to file FORM GSTR-1, FORM GSTR-2 and FORM GSTR-3 for the months of July, Aug. and Sep-17. Due dates for filing the returns for the month of July-17 have already been announced. The due dates for the months of Aug and Sep-2017 will be announced in due course.
Important Points
- Payment and return filing for person annual aggregate turnover up to Rupees 1.5 crores, file quarterly returns in FORM GSTR-1, FORM GSTR-2 and FORM GSTR-3 and pay tax quarterly Basis.
- Quarterly basis return Started from Oct to Dec-17.
- All taxpayers are also required to file FORM GSTR-1, FORM GSTR-2 and FORM GSTR-3 for the months of July, Aug and Sep 2017
- All taxpayers will be required to file FORM GSTR-3B on a monthly basis till December 2017.
- Due dates for the months of Aug and Sep-17 will be announced in due course
- Reverse Charges Mechanism
The reverse charge mechanism (RCM) under sub-section (4) of section 9 of the CGST Act, 2017 and under sub-section (4) of section 5 of the IGST Act, 2017 shall be suspended till 31-03-2018 and will be reviewed by a committee of experts. This will benefit small businesses and substantially reduce compliance costs.
- GST on Advances Received (Small Enterprises)
The requirement to pay GST on advances received is also proving to be burdensome for small dealers and manufacturers. In order to mitigate their inconvenience on this account, it has been decided that taxpayers having annual aggregate turnover up to Rupees 1.5 crores shall not be required to pay GST at the time of receipt of advances on account of supply of goods. The GST on such supplies shall be payable only when the supply of goods is made.
- GTA to an unregistered person shall be exempted from GST
It has come to light that Goods Transport Agencies are not willing to provide services to unregistered persons. In order to remove the hardship being faced by small unregistered businesses on this account, the services provided by a GTA to an unregistered person shall be exempted from GST.
- TDS/TCS Registration Postponed
After assessing the readiness of the trade, industry and Government departments, it has been decided that registration and operationalization of TDS/TCS provisions shall be postponed till 31-03-2018.
- E-way bill Postponed
The E-way bill (Electronic Way Bill )system shall be introduced in a staggered manner with effect from 01-01-2018 and shall be rolled out nationwide with effect from 01-04-2018. This is in order to give trade and industry more time to acclimatize itself with the GST regime.
Rule Related to E-Way Bill (CGST Rule 138)
- GSTR-4 and GSTR-6 Return Form Filling date Extended
The last date for filing the return in FORM GSTR-4 by a taxpayer under composition scheme for the quarter July-Sep-17 shall be extended to 15-11-2017. Also, the last date for filing the return in FORM GSTR-6 by an input service distributor for the months of July, Aug. and Sep-17 shall be extended to 15-11-2017.
Important Points
- GST Return Form GSTR-4 (composition scheme) and GSTR-6 (input service distributor) Month of July to Sep extended to 15-11-2017
- Changes to Invoice Rule
Invoice Rules are being modified to provide relief to certain classes of registered persons.