1) Interest and penalty Waived:
The GST Council has proposed waiving interest and penalties for demand notices issued under Section 73 of the CGST Act, which covers cases not involving fraud, suppression, or willful misstatement, for the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20. This waiver applies if the taxpayer pays the full tax amount specified in the notice by March 31, 2025. To facilitate this, the Council has recommended adding Section 128A to the CGST Act, 2017.
2) ITC Time Limit Extended:
The GST Council has recommends that the deadline to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) for any invoice or debit note under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act, through any GSTR 3B return filed up to November 30, 2021, for the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21, should be considered as November 30, 2021.
3) Change in due date for filing composition taxpayers:
The due date for composition taxpayers to file FORM GSTR-4 has been extended from April 30th to June 30th. This change will be effective for returns starting from the financial year 2024-25 onwards.
4) Pre-deposit Reduction:
GST Council recommends reduction of the quantum of pre-deposit required to be paid for filing of appeals under GST.
5) New Deposit limit set for Appeals:
The Council has recommends monetary thresholds for filing appeals by the Department to reduce litigation. The recommended limits are Rs. 20 lakh for the GST Appellate Tribunal, Rs. 1 crore for the High Court, and Rs. 2 crore for the Supreme Court.
6) Amendment to CGST Act: Appeals in GST Appellate Tribunal:
The GST Council has recommends modifying the CGST Act to specify that the three-month window for filing appeals in the GST Appellate Tribunal will commence from a date that the Government will announce.
7) Reduction in TCS Rate for ECOs:
Reduction in rate of TCS from present 1% (0.5% CGST+0.5% SGST/UTGST, or 1% IGST) to 0.5% (0.25% CGST+0.25% SGST/UTGST, or 0.5% IGST) to be collected by the Electronic Commerce Operators (ECOs) for supplies being made through them.
8) Relief from Interest on Delayed GST Return Filing:
To reduce the interest burden on taxpayers, the GST Council has recommended that no interest should be charged under Section 50 of the CGST Act for delayed return filings, provided the amount is available in the Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) on the due date of the return.
9) New Optional Facility: FORM GSTR-1A for Taxpayers:
The Council recommended providing a new optional facility by way of FORM GSTR-1A to facilitate the taxpayers to amend the details in FORM GSTR-1 for a tax period and/or to declare additional details, if any, before filing of return in FORM GSTR-3B for the said tax period.
10) Annual return Filling Relief for Businesses with Turnover up to 2 Crore:
Filing of annual return in FORM GSTR-9/9A for the FY 2023-24 may be exempted for taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover upto Two crore rupees.
11) Reporting B2C supplies in GSTR-1:
The threshold for reporting of Business-to-Consumers (B2C) inter-State supplies invoice-wise in Table 5 of FORM GSTR-1 was recommended to be reduced from Rs 2.5 Lakh to Rs 1 Lakh.
12) Mandatory Monthly Filing of GSTR-7 with No Late Fee for Nil Returns:
The Council has advised that registered persons required to deduct TDS under Section 51 of the CGST Act must file FORM GSTR-7 every month, regardless of whether any tax has been deducted during that month. Additionally, it has been recommended that no late fee should be charged for the delayed filing of Nil FORM GSTR-7 returns.
13) Recommendation of 12% GST on Various Items Including Milk Cans, Paper Containers, Solar Cookers, and Sprinklers
It recommends 12% GST on milk cans (steel, iron, aluminum) irrespective of use; Carton, Boxes And Cases of both corrugated and non-corrugated paper or paper-board; Solar cookers whether single or dual energy source; and sprinklers including fire water sprinklers.
14) Cess exemption on SEZ Effective from July 2017:
It recommends exemption from Compensation Cess leviable on the imports in SEZ by SEZ Unit/developer for authorised operations from 1st July, 2017
15) Accommodation services:
The Council has proposed an exemption for accommodation services valued up to Rs. 20,000 per month per person, provided the service is offered for at least 90 continuous days. This exemption is also intended to apply retroactively to past cases, aiming to provide relief to students and working professionals.
16) Aadhar Authentication:
GST Council recommends to roll-out the biometric-based Aadhaar authentication of registration applicants on pan-India basis in a phased manner.