Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman chaired the 48th meeting of the GST Council . The Council, which comprises of Union Finance Minister, the Minister of State (Revenue) and the State Finance Ministers, met on December 17 after a gap of 6 months.
Among a host of issues likely to be discussed by apex body for indirect taxation today include decriminalisation of offences under GST, provisions related to e-invoicing, treatment of statutory dues under GST laws,taxation of online gaming and casinos, and setting up of GST Appellate Tribunal.
In September, the government said that GST officers can launch prosecution against offenders in cases where the amount of evasion or misuse of input tax credit was more than Rs 5 crore. This would involve legal proceedings against the offenders. The council will be deliberating on the proposal to raise the threshold limit for criminal proceedings under GST offences to over Rs 20 crore. Also, the property of offenders below the set threshold will not be attached, officials said. The Council is also likely to consider removing the penal offences which are already covered under the Indian Penal Code (IPC) from the GST Act to make it more taxpayer-friendly. The law committee of GST officers has finalised the changes in Section 132 of the GST Act as part of the exercise to decriminalise the law, officials said.
Taxation of online gaming casinos
In the recommendations of the 47th meeting, the Council directed that the Group of Ministers on Casino, Race Course and Online Gaming re-examine the issues in its terms of reference based on further inputs from States and submit its report within a short duration. The panel submitted a report to the Finance Minister on Thursday. It is one of the issues is likely to be resolved by the end of the meeting today.
The online gaming industry is currently taxed 18% GST. This charge is applicable on revenues of gaming companies.
Cess on sports utility vehicles
The Council is also likely to clarify the eligible conditions for levying for charging GST cess on sports utility vehicles (SUVs). A GST fitment panel earlier said such vehicles were subject to 22% compensation cess based on certain criteria. The automobile industry sought a clarification on the GST compensation on SUVs, citing ambiguity on entry and description.
“The current entry for compensation cess in the GST regime is the same as the entry in the erstwhile central excise regime. The term SUV has not been defined, only an explanation has been provided in the description,” the panel noted.
GST on automobiles varies from 18-22% in different states. Cars are subject to both GST and compensation cess depending on the class of vehicle and jurisdiction of state.
Other issues
The GST Council may also clarify on rules pertaining to e-invoicing requirements of businesses, treatment of statutory dues under GST law in case of bankrupt businesses in tribunals, tax credit for corporate social responsibility and no claim bonus offered by insurance companies.
