A fresh start : The GST Council must not lose sight of broader reforms
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council was convened last week for the first time in nearly nine months.
KEY HIGHLIGHTS
- Apart from several industry-specific measures, a few of which will kick in with retrospective effect
- The Council also opted to waive interest and penalty on tax dues for the first three years of GST, provided they are paid by March 2025.
- Moreover, it lowered the stipulated pre-deposits for filing appeals, including those that will be filed with the upcoming GST Appellate Tribunals
- and approved a new form for taxpayers to correct errors or oversights in previous returns.
- Beyond nitty-gritties, the Council also signed off on ending the anti-profiteering clause that required firms to pass on any tax cut gains to customers
- and mandating biometric-based Aadhaar authentication for all GST registrations in a phased manner across India.
- It is refreshing that the Council also plans to take stock of the 2021 plan to rationalise the multiple-rate GST structure, that has been in cold storage for a while, when it meets next.
- The apex GST body must not only revive and expedite GST rate reforms but also incorporate a road map to bring excluded items such as petroleum and electricity into the GST net while rejigging tax rates.