Some of the key decisions taken by the GST Council in today’s meeting is stated below:
  1. Pruning of GST rates:
 
S. No. Items Number of products recommended for rate shift Earlier GST rates Recommended GST Rate
Consumer goods, personal care goods and other articles like detergents, perfumes, shampoo, hair cream, furniture, fans  etc. 178 28% 18%
Wet grinders consisting of stones as grinder and tanks/other armored fighting vehicles 2 28% 12%
Condensed milk, refined sugar and sugar cubes etc. 13 18% 12%
Fly ash, Sulphur recovered in refining of crude etc. 6 18% 5%
Worn clothing, finished leather etc. 8 12% 5%
Unworked coconut shell, certain dried vegetables such as sweet potatoes etc. 6 5% Nil
  
  1. The GST Council further extended the requirement to file GSTR 3B for the months of January 2018 to March 2018 as well.  Such returns to be submitted on monthly basis by 20th day of next month.
  2. For small tax payers i.e. ones having annual aggregate turnover below INR 1.5 crores, the GSTR 3B would be further simplified and would be made interactive.  Details in requisite columns would only need to be provided.
  3. For small tax payers having ‘NIL’ details to be submitted, the return to be simplified significantly into three simple steps.
  4. For all tax payers, from a transitionary perspective, it has been decided that return in Form GSTR 1 would only be required to be submitted for FY 2017-18.  The revised schedule for submission of GSTR 1 is as under:
 
Tax payers having turnover Revised Due dates
Below 1.5 Crores For July 2017 to September 2017 by 31 December 2017
For October 2017 to December 2017 by 15 February 2018
For January 2018 to March 2018 by 30 April 2018
Above 1.5 Crores For the months of July 2017 to October 2017 – by 31 December 2017

For November 2017 – by 10 January 2018
For December 2017 – by 10 February 2018
For January 2018 – by 10 March 2018
For February 2018 – by 10 April 2018
For March 2018 – by 10 May 2018
 
  1. The due dates for filing GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 for the months of July, 2017 to March 2018 would be worked out by a Committee of Officers. However, filing of GSTR-1 will continue for the entire period without requiring filing of GSTR-2 & GSTR-3 for the previous month / period.
  2. A large number of taxpayers were unable to file their return in FORM GSTR-3B within due date for the months of July, August and September, 2017.  Late fee was waived in all such cases.  It has been decided that where such late fee was paid, it will be re-credited to their Electronic Cash Ledger under “Tax” head instead of “Fee” head so as to enable them to use that amount for discharge of their future tax liabilities. This would be implemented once the changes in the software are made.
  3. The late fees on delayed submission of return has been reduced as follows:
  • Where the return is a NIL return – Late fees of INR 20 per day for both CGST and SGST
  • For Other cases – Late fees at INR 50 per day for both CGST and SGST
  1. The GST rates applicable on restaurants have been rationalized.  Now all restaurants to pay GST at 5 percent (without ITC) unless such restaurant is in a hotel where the daily room rent is priced upwards of INR 7,500.  Such restaurants would continue to pay GST at 18 percent with benefit of ITC.
  2. GST rates applicable to assessees who have opted for Composition Scheme are also rationalized.  Now Manufacturers and Traders under Composition Scheme to pay GST at 1 percent. The tax will be payable only taxable supplies. Further, it is also proposed to increase the threshold limit for composition scheme to INR 1.5 crores from present 1 crore.  However, such revision in threshold would only be implemented after amendment in GST Acts.
  3. Exports of services to Nepal and Bhutan have already been exempted from GST. It has now been decided that such exporters will also be eligible for claiming Input Tax Credit on goods or services.
  4. The mandatory requirement for a ecommerce operator has also been rationalized, now an ecommerce operator would also need to obtain registration once its aggregate turnover breaches the limit of INR 20 lakhs (and INR 10 lakhs for specific states)
  5. Taking cognizance of the late availability or unavailability of some forms on the GSTN common portal, it has been decided that the due dates for furnishing the following forms shall be extended as under:
 
S. No. FORM and Details Original due date Revised due date
1 GST ITC-04 for the quarter July-September, 2017 25 October 2017 31 December 2017
2 GSTR-4 for the quarter July-September, 2017 18 October 2017 24 December 2017
3 GSTR-5 for July, 2017 20 August 2017 or 7 days from the last date of registration whichever is earlier 11 December 2017
4 GSTR-5A for July, 2017 20 August 2017 15 December 2017
5 GSTR-6 for July, 2017 13 August 2017 31 December 2017
6 TRAN-1 30 September 2017 31 December 2017(One-time option of revision also to be given till this date)
 
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