About the 48th GST Council Meeting
The 48th GST Council meeting is going to be held on 17th December 2022 after a gap of six months.It shall be chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman comprising her state counterparts. The element of surprise will be that it will entirely be held through video conferencing this time. The last 47th GST Council Meeting was held almost 6 months before on 28th and 29th June 2022 at Chandigarh. 48th GST Council meeting was earlier expected to be held in Madurai, Tamil Nadu during the first week of August 2022 but was delayed later on
Every GST Council meeting is crucial for the future of GST as it brings key amendments in the policies of GST. In the last meeting, finance minister made a statement that the main agendas of 48th Council Meeting would include the setting up of GST Appellate Tribunals and fixing the GST rate on casinos, online gaming, etc based on the GoM’s report, rationalization of the structure of inverted duty.
There is a possibility that the Council in its 48th meet will discuss these key topics along with some other important matters. The relevance of this meeting increases by the fact that this is the last meeting before the Union Budget 2023. In this article, we’ll talk about the expected decisions that are most likely to be taken at the council meet.
About GST
As of 2022, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is five years old and people celebrate it by flagging the ease it brought to businesses and the relief on tax burden to consumers.
The implementation of GST in India was a historical move, as it marked a significant indirect tax reform in the country. The amalgamation of a large number of taxes which was levied at a central and state level into a single tax had expected to have big advantages. Four years ago, on this day, GST had replaced 17 local levies like excise duty, service tax, VAT and 13 cesses. Currently as per the rules, every business/entity that is involved in the buying and selling of goods/services have to register for GST. It is mandatory to get registered under GST if the turnover exceeds the threshold limit of Rs 40 lakhs for trading and manufacturing or 20 lakhs for service industry (Rs 10 lakhs for special category states)
One of the most important benefits of GST are the lessening of double taxation ITC claiming facility, Reduction in number of filing, unified indirect tax framework. GST is now paving the way for a common national market and Indian goods are also expected to be more competitive in international and domestic markets.
Expectations from 48th GST Council Meeting
1- Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT)
The Group of Ministers (GoM) on setting up the Appellate convened by the Haryana Deputy Chief Minister is ready with its final report and it will be brought before the council for discussion on 17th. The main purpose for setting up GSTAT is for hearing appeals against the orders passed by the Appellate Authority or the Revisional Authority.to hear dispute.
2- Decriminalization of GST law
In September, the authorities had ordered GST officers to launch prosecution against GST offenders in cases where the amount of evasion or misuse of input tax credit is more than Rs 5 crore. As per the officials, the Council may also look into the panel report concerned with decriminalizing certain offenses under the GST Act along with raising the threshold limit of launching prosecution to Rs 20 Cr, from presently Rs 5 crore.
Online Gaming, Casinos and Horse Racing
As per the sources, we are told that the GoM report on online gaming, casinos, horse racing may also be discussed during the meet if the report is submitted to the council before 17th December. The earlier meeting of the GoM could not arrive at a consensus on a tax framework for these industries. However, GoM looks to tax online gaming at par with casinos and horse racing can attract 28% GST but have differed on whether it should be levied on the platform fee or on the full amount given by the participants.
3- Competition Commission
The role of the Competition Commission of India as the anti-profiteering authority under GST must also be discussed. Competition Commission promotes a competitive environment that is conducive to free flow of trade, efficiency and innovation which brings more choices and better quality and prices of goods and services to consumers and thereby reduces ambiguity in the industry.
4- Other Important matters
The Council may also discuss other important related matters like the apportionment of taxes between the Centre and the state, rate rationalization, lowering GST on premiums for health insurance, elimination of IGST on the ocean freight
Suggested Read: Expectations from Upcoming 47th GST Council Meeting on June 28th-29th
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Conclusion
Various taxpayer-friendly decisions are expected to be taken by the authorities relating to changes in GST in the 48th Council Meeting. The benefits of GST are far-reaching and are not only business-friendly but consumer-friendly as well. It has made tax administration transparent and corruption-free. We hope that this meeting will further bring some positive outcomes for the business and taxpayers.
