GST Council Meeting Expectations: All eyes are on a key meeting of the all-powerful GST Council — the government’s top indirect tax rate-deciding body chaired by the finance minister — scheduled this week. The GST Council — which includes state and UT finance ministers — is likely to simplify the refund and registration rules for exporters and small traders, according to sources.
At its 56th meeting, expected to take place on September 3 and 4, the panel will also discuss a proposal to enable the completion of GST registration for small traders within three days, said the sources.
The panel will also take up a separate proposal to enable the issuance of refunds within seven days of filing, they added.
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Currently, it takes small traders up to 30 days to complete these tasks after successfully completing the stipulated steps.
56th GST Council Meeting | 90% of traders’ refunds to be issued within 7 days?
The sources also said that in the upcoming meeting, there will be a discussion on the plan to release 90 per cent of traders’ refunds within seven days.
Besides, the GST Council may also discuss completing refunds under the inverted duty structure within seven days to promote exports by small businesses.
ALSO READ: GST 2.0 Reforms: PM’s big Diwali gift to cost states 15-20% in revenue? Opposition-led state ministers gather
PM Modi’s big Diwali gift announcement on Independence Day
On August 15, during his record 103-minute Independence Day speech from the ramparts of Red Fort in the national capital, PM Narendra Modi announced a major GST relief before Diwali this year, promising “substantial” GST cuts on everyday items. “Next-generation GST reforms will be unveiled on Diwali, reducing taxes on essential goods and providing relief to MSMEs, local vendors, and consumers,” read an official statement released on the same day.
The Centre proposed major reforms to simplify the GST rate structure by reducing the number of tax slabs and lowering the rates on most goods.
Its key proposals include reducing the four-tier GST structure (5 per cent, 12 per cent, 18 per cent and 28 per cent) to a simplified, two-rate system (5 per cent and 18 per cent), doing away with the 12 per cent and 28 per cent rates.
The Group of Ministers has already cleared this proposal.
Also, the central government has said that an estimated 90 per cent goods currently under the 28 per cent slab will be moved to 18 per cent, proposing a new 40 per cent rate for select sin items such as tobacco products.
ALSO READ: GST Reforms 2.0: PM Modi’s ‘double Diwali’ gift to shave off Rs 1.8 lakh crore in revenue, states to bear brunt
