Winning Bizness Desk
Mumbai. In the meeting of the Goods and Service Tax (GST) Council, Business fraternity got a relief when GST Council relaxed criminal action. The 48th meeting of the Council was held online under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. Nirmala Sitharaman said, due to paucity of time, a decision could be taken only on 8 out of 15 issues included in the agenda of the GST Council. Earlier there was a system of registering criminal cases in case of tax evasion of more than Rs 1 crore and now it has been increased upto Rs 2 crore. In cases of fake invoices, this criminal action will start only after Rs 1 crore. Fake invoices would include cases where the supply of goods was limited to paper only. The issue of preventing tax evasion in Pan Masala and Gutkha business could not be discussed. The discussion on levying GST on online gaming and casinos could not be held.
Clarification in case of SUVs
The definition of SUV vehicles has been decided in the GST Council meeting and according to this, vehicles with a capacity of more than 1500CC, length of more than 4000 mm and ground clearance of more than 170 mm are called SUV. It has been told in the meeting that SUV will attract 28% GST and 22% cess. In this case, the effective tax rate on this will be 50%. The council also issued some clarifications for a uniform system across all states. For example, 22% cess will be considered applicable only on those vehicles which will come under these 4 conditions. 1st- Vehicle should be SUV. 2nd- Engine capacity should be more than 1500 cc. 3rd- The length of the vehicle should be more than 4000 mm. 4th- Ground clearance should be 170 mm or more.
GST on Bio fuel reduced from 18% to 5%
At the same time, GST on bio fuel was reduced from 18% to 5%. GST on pulses hulls has now been reduced from 5% to nil. No decision has been taken regarding GST on online gaming and casino. A few days ago, a report on this has been submitted by the Group of Ministers headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma. The report has also not been circulated among the people of the Council.
