Council approves the (CGST) Bill and (IGST) Bill

Goods and Services Tax GST) Council approves the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Bill and the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) Bill.

The Goods and Services Tax GST) Council, in its meeting held today in Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley has approved the draft CGST Bill and the draft IGST Bill as vetted by the Union Law Ministry. This clears the deck for the Central Government to take these two Bills to the Parliament for their passage in the ongoing Budget Session.

Some of the main features of the two Bills, as finalized by the GST Council, are as follows:

i. A State-wise single registration for a taxpayer forfiling returns, paying taxes,and to fulfil other compliance requirements. Most of the compliance requirements would be fulfilled online, thus leaving very little room for physical interface between the taxpayer and the tax official.

ii. A taxpayer has to file one single return state-wise to report all his supplies, whether made within or outside the State or exported out of the country and pay the applicable taxes on them. Such taxescan be Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST), State Goods and Services Tax (SGST), Union Territory Goods and Services Tax (UTGST) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST).

iii. A business entity with an annual turnover of upto Rs. 20 lakhs would not be required to take registration in the GST regime, unless he voluntarily chooses to do so to be a part of the input tax credit (ITC) chain. The annual turnover threshold in the Special Category States (as enumerated in Article 279A of the Constitution such as Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Assam and the other States of the North-East) for not taking registration is Rs. 10 lakhs.

iv. A business entity with turnover upto Rs. 50 lakhs can avail the benefit of a composition scheme under which it has to pay a much lower rate of tax and has to fulfil very minimal compliance requirements. The Composition Scheme is available for all traders, select manufacturing sectors and for restaurants in the services sector.

v. In order to prevent cascading of taxes, ITC would be admissible on all goods and services used in the course or furtherance of business, except on a few items listed in the Law.

vi. In order to ensure that ITC can be used seamlessly for payment of taxes under the Central and the State Law, it has been provided that the ITC entitlement arising out of taxes paid under the Central Law can be cross-utilised for payment of taxes under the laws of the States or Union Territories. For example, a taxpayer can use the ITC accruing to him due to payment of IGST to discharge his tax liability of CGST / SGST / UTGST. Conversely, a taxpayer can use the ITC accruing to him on account of payment of CGST / SGST / UTGST, for payment of IGST. Such payments are to be made in a pre-defined order.

vii. In the Services sector, the existing mechanism of Input Service Distributor (ISD) under the Service Tax law has been retained to allow the flow of ITC in respect of input serviceswithin a legal entity.

viii. To prevent lock-in of capital of exporters, a provision has been made to refund, within seven days of filing the application for refund by an exporter, ninety percent of the claimed amount on a provisional basis.

ix. In order to ensure a single administrative interface for taxpayers, a provision has been made to authorise officers of the tax administrations of the Centre and the States to exercise the powers conferred under all Acts.

x. An agriculturist, to the extent of supply of produce out of cultivation of land, would not be liable to take registration in the GST regime.

xi. To provide certainty in tax matters, a provision has been made for an Advance Ruling Authority.

xii. Exhaustive provisions for Appellate mechansim have been made.

xiii. Detailed transitional provisions have been provided to ensure migration of existing taxpayers and seamless transfer of unutilised ITC in the GST regime.

xiv. An anti-profiteering provision has been incorporated to ensure that the reduction of tax incidence is passed on to the consumers.

xv. In order to mitigate any financial hardship being suffered by a taxpayer, Commissioner has been empowered to allow payment of taxes in instalments.

The remaining two Bills namely, State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) Bill and the Union territory Goods and Services Tax (UTGST) Bill, which would be almost a replica of the CGST Act, would be taken-up for approval after their legal vetting in the next meeting of GST Council scheduled on 16 March 2017.

Source-Press Information Bureau, Government of India, Ministry of Finance, 04-March-2017

GST - Draft Compensation Bill

The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley-led GST Council met on Saturday and finalised the Draft Compensation Bill, in a bid to speed up the rollout of Goods and Services Tax by July 1, 2017.

Crucial draft laws pertaining largely to Central GST (CGST), Integrated GST (IGST) and State GST (SGST) were approved by the panel. The Council also cleared the final drafting of the anti-profiteering clause to ensure benefit of lower taxes gets shared with consumers.

 The GST Council will now meet next on March 4 and 5 to give final touches to the CGST, IGST and SGST laws. Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Jaitley said all the outstanding issues surrounding these laws would most likely be resolved at the next meeting of the Council.

"After the meeting on March 4 and 5, we hope to table the legislative laws in Parliament in the second half of the Budget session which begins on March 9," he said. "The SGST law will go to the state assemblies for approval."

He said that after the next meeting, only one more major sitting of the GST Council would be required to fit commodities into specific slabs.

The GST Law Committee said that 57 issues raised in the past had been resolved at Saturday's meeting.

A Finance Ministry official said that a new GST law for Union Territories will have to be crafted that will be a replica of the SGST.

In the run-up to the GST Council’s tenth meeting in Udaipur, the Law Ministry had sent the approved language and draft of the model GST Law outlining the new national sales tax meant to be levied on products and services. A sub-committee of the GST Council’s made up of central and state officials had discussed the draft of Friday.

The government plans to introduce the model GST law in Parliament in the second half of the Budget Session beginning next month. The government is keen to roll out the new regime from July 1 but for that, it will have to get two laws - the Central GST (CGST) Act and Integrated GST (IGST) Act — approved by Parliament and each of the state legislatives have to pass the State GST (SGST) Act. The model GST law provides a common draft of CGST Act, SGST Act. Besides, there is an IGST law and Compensation law.

The anti-profiteering clause allows for the constitution of an authority that examines whether input tax credits availed by any registered taxable person, or the reduction in the price on account of any reduction in the tax rate, actually result in a commensurate reduction in the price of the said goods and/or services supplied by the person.

TNVAT-Form WW

Dealers can file manual Form WW for the financial Year 2015-16 in the pre-revised format (old format)

for further details TNVAT-2006

Importer-Exporter Code (IEC)

(TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE GAZETTE OF INDIA EXTRAORDINARY PART-II, SECTION – 3, SUB-SECTION (II))

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF COMMERCE AND INDUSTRY
DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF FOREIGN TRADE
NEW DELHI

NOTIFICATION NO. 34/2015-20, Dated: January 29, 2016

Subject: Amendment in para 2.05 (c) of Foreign Trade Policy (2015-20)

In exercise of powers conferred by Section 3 of FT (D&R) Act, 1992, read with paragraph 1.02 and 2.01 of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2015-2020, as amended from time to time, the Central Government hereby amends the existing para 2.05 (c) of Foreign Trade Policy(2015-20) and introduces a new provision, part (d) under para 2.05. The existing para reads as under:

2.05 Importer-Exporter Code (IEC)

(c) Briefly, following are the requisite details /documents (scanned copies) to be submitted/ uploaded along with the application for IEC:

(i) Details of the entity seeking the IEC:

(1) PAN of the business entity in whose name Import/Export would be done (Applicant individual in case of Proprietorship firms).

(2) Address Proof of the applicant entity.

(3) LLPIN /CIN/ Registration Certification Number (whichever is applicable).

(4) Bank account details of the entity. Cancelled cheque bearing entity’s preprinted name or Bank certificate in prescribed format ANF-2A (I).

(ii) Details of the Proprietor/ Partners/ Directors/ Secretary or Chief Executive of the Society/ Managing Trustee of the entity:

(1) PAN (for all categories)

(2) DIN/DPIN (in case of Company /LLP firm)

(iii) Details of the signatory applicant:

(1) Identity proof

(2) PAN

(3) Digital photograph

2. After amendment para 2.05 (c) would read as under:

2.05 Importer-Exporter Code (IEC)

(c) Only the following are required to be uploaded along with the application for IEC with immediate effect:

(1) Digital photograph of the signatory applicant;

(2) Copy of the PAN card of the business entity in whose name Import/Export would be done (Applicant individual in case of Proprietorship firms);

(3) Cancelled cheque bearing entity’s pre-printed name or Bank certificate in prescribed format ANF-2A(I)

3. The new insertion, part (d) under Para 2.05 would read as under:

(d) Only online application for IEC /modification in IEC can be made by applicants through digital signature (Class-II or Class-III) with effect from 1.4.2016.

4. Effect of this Notification: From the date of this notification only two documents are required to be uploaded /submitted along with the digital photograph while applying for IEC. Further, applications for IEC/ modification in IEC can be made only in online mode by applicants through digital signatures with effect from 1.4.2016.

[F.No.01/89/180/20/AM-13/PC-2 (B)]

(Anup Wadhawan)
Director General of Foreign Trade

SEVENTH SCHEDULE - List III.- Concurrent List

(Article 246)

1. Criminal law, including all matters included in the Indian Penal Code at the commencement of this Constitution but excluding offences against laws with respect to any of the matters specified in List I or List II and excluding the use of naval, military or air forces or any other armed forces of the Union in aid of the civil power.

2. Criminal procedure, including all matters included in the Code of Criminal Procedure at the commencement of this Constitution.

3. Preventive detention for reasons connected with the security of a State, the maintenance of public order, or the maintenance of supplies and services essential to the community; persons subjected to such detention.

4. Removal from one State to another State of prisoners, accused persons and persons subjected to preventive detention for reasons specified in entry 3 of this List.

5. Marriage and divorce; infants and minors; adoption; wills, intestacy and succession; joint family and partition; all matters in respect of which parties in judicial proceedings were immediately before the commencement of this Constitution subject to their personal law.

6. Transfer of property other than agricultural land; registration of deeds and documents.

7. Contracts, including partnership, agency, contracts of carriage, and other special forms of contracts, but not including contracts relating to agricultural land.

8. Actionable wrongs.

9. Bankruptcy and insolvency.

10. Trust and Trustees.

11. Administrators-general and official trustees.

11A. Administration of Justice; constitution and organisation of all courts, except the Supreme Court and the High Courts.]

12. Evidence and oaths; recognition of laws, public acts and records, and judicial proceedings.

13. Civil procedure, including all matters included in the Code of Civil Procedure at the commencement of this Constitution, limitation and arbitration.

14. Contempt of court, but not including contempt of the Supreme Court.

15. Vagrancy; nomadic and migratory tribes.

16. Lunacy and mental deficiency, including places for the reception or treatment of lunatics and mental deficients.

17. Prevention of cruelty to animals.

17A. Forests.

17B. Protection of wild animals and birds.]

18. Adulteration of foodstuffs and other goods.

19. Drugs and poisons, subject to the provisions of entry 59 of List I with respect to opium.

20. Economic and social planning.

20A. Population control and family planning.]

21. Commercial and industrial monopolies, combines and trusts.

22. Trade unions; industrial and labour disputes.

23. Social security and social insurance; employment and unemployment.

24. Welfare of labour including conditions of work, provident funds, employers' liability, workmen's compensation, invalidity and old age pensions and maternity benefits.

25. Education, including technical education, medical education and universities, subject to the provisions of entries 63, 64, 65 and 66 of List I; vocational and technical training of labour.]

26. Legal, medical and other professions.

27. Relief and rehabilitation of persons displaced from their original place of residence by reason of the setting up of the Dominions of India and Pakistan.

28. Charities and charitable institutions, charitable and religious endowments and religious institutions.

29. Prevention of the extension from one State to another of infectious or contagious diseases or pests affecting men, animals or plants.

30. Vital statistics including registration of births and deaths.

31. Ports other than those declared by or under law made by Parliament or existing law to be major ports.

32. Shipping and navigation on inland waterways as regards mechanically propelled vessels, and the rule of the road on such waterways, and the carriage of passengers and goods on inland waterways subject to the provisions of List I with respect to national waterways.

33. Trade and commerce in, and the production, supply and distribution of,-
(a) the products of any industry where the control of such industry by the Union is declared by Parliament by law to be expedient in the public interest, and imported goods of the same kind as such products;
(b) foodstuffs, including edible oilseeds and oils;
(c) cattle fodder, including oilcakes and other concentrates;
(d) raw cotton, whether ginned or unginned, and cotton seed; and
(e) raw jute.]

33A. Weights and measures except establishment of standards.]

34. Price control.

35. Mechanically propelled vehicles including the principles on which taxes on such vehicles are to be levied.

36. Factories.

37. Boilers.

38. Electricity.

39. Newspapers, books and printing presses.

40. Archaeological sites and remains other than those [declared by or under law made by Parliament] to be of national importance.

41. Custody, management and disposal of property (including agricultural land) declared by law to be evacuee property.

42. Acquisition and requisitioning of property.]

43. Recovery in a State of claims in respect of taxes and other public demands, including arrears of land-revenue and sums recoverable as such arrears, arising outside that State.

44. Stamp duties other than duties or fees collected by means of judicial stamps, but not including rates of stamp duty.

45. Inquiries and statistics for the purposes of any of the matters specified in List II or List III.

46. Jurisdiction and powers of all courts, except the Supreme Court, with respect to any of the matters in this List.

47. Fees in respect of any of the matters in this List, but not including fees taken in any court.