Key Highlights from the 38th GST Council Meeting

From an extension of GSTR 9 & 9c deadlines to a proposed restriction on e-way bills, here are the key highlights under the 38th GST Council Meeting held on December 18th 2019.

1. Annual Returns / GST Audit: Due date for filing Form GSTR 9 (Annual Return) and GSTR 9C (Reconciliation Statement) for the Financial Year (‘FY’) 2017-2018 has been proposed to be further extended from December 31st 2019 to January 31st 2020. This has been done for the offline utilities as providing relaxation in certain reporting requirements are not yet available.
   
   
2. Late fee waiver: Waiver of late fee has been proposed on the filing of Form GSTR-1 for the period July 2017 to November 2019, provided such returns in Form GSTR-1 are filed by January 10th 2020.
   
   
3. Restriction in Input Tax Credit (ITC) claim: ITC for invoices / debit notes which are not reflected in Form GSTR 2A has been proposed to be restricted to 10% (currently 20%) of the eligible ITC.  Measures to block fraudulent ITC benefit availed by the taxpayers to be introduced.
   
   
4. Restriction on e-way bill: Issuance of e-way bill to be blocked for taxpayers who have not filed returns in Form GSTR-1 for two consecutive tax periods. Earlier, the said restriction was for non-filing of Form GSTR-3B.
   
   
5. GST on lottery: A single rate of GST at 28% on State owned and State authorised lottery proposed to be made effective from 1 March 2020.
   
   
6. Exemption for industrial plot developers: Exemption from GST on upfront payment for long term lease of industrial / financial infrastructure plots by an entity having ownership of 20% (presently 50%) or more of central / state governments. It will apply from 1 January 2020.
   
   
7. Changes in GST rates: Uniform GST rate of 18% is proposed to be levied from January 1st 2020 on woven and non-woven bags and sacks of polythene or polypropylene strips covered under HSN 3923 / 6305.
   
   
8. Grievance Redressal Committees to be set up to address taxpayer grievance: A number of grievance redressal committees will be introduced at Zonal/ State level to address the grievances of taxpayers. The Committees will include officers from both Central and State revenue authorities, representatives of trade and industry, etc.
   
   
9. SoP for none-filers to be released: Standard Operating Procedure to be released for Revenue Authorities in respect of actions to be taken in case of non-filing of return in Form GSTR-3B.
   
   
10. Extension for North East: Due dates of filing GST returns for the month of November 2019 to be extended for North Eastern States.
    
    
11. Other statutory amendments: The Council also approved various statutory amendments, which will be introduced in the Budget session for FY 2020-2021.