GST Council

In order to implement GST, Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill (CAB for short) was introduced in the Parliament and passed by Rajya Sabha on 03rd August, 2016 and Lok Sabha on 08th August, 2016. The CAB was passed by more than 15 states and thereafter Hon’ble President gave assent to “The Constitution (One Hundred And First Amendment) Act, 2016” on 8th of September, 2016. Since then the GST council and been notified bringing into existence the Constitutional body to decide issues relating to GST.

On September 16, 2016, Government of India issued notifications bringing into effect all the sections of CAB setting firmly into motion the rolling out of GST. This notification sets out an outer limit of time of one year, that is till 15-9-2017 for bringing into effect GST.

GST COUNCIL

As per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution, the GST Council has to be constituted by the President within 60 days of the commencement of Article 279A. The notification for bringing into force Article 279A with effect from 12th September, 2016 was issued on 10th September, 2016.

As per Article 279A of the amended Constitution, the GST Council which will be a joint forum of the Centre and the States, shall consist of the following members: -

• Union Finance Minister - Chairperson
• b) The Union Minister of State, in-charge of Revenue of finance - Member
• c) The Minister In-charge of finance or taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government - Members

As per Article 279A (4), the Council will make recommendations to the Union and the States on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws, principles that govern Place of Supply, threshold limits, GST rates including the floor rates with bands, special rates for raising additional resources during natural calamities/disasters, special provisions for certain States, etc.

The Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved setting up of GST Council on 12th September, 2016 and also setting up its Secretariat as per the following details:

• (a) Creation of the GST Council as per Article 279A of the amended Constitution;
• b) Creation of the GST Council Secretariat, with its office at New Delhi;
• (c) Appointment of the Secretary (Revenue) as the Ex-officio Secretary to the GST Council;
• (d) Inclusion of the Chairperson, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), as a permanent invitee (non-voting) to all proceedings of the GST Council;
• (e) Create one post of Additional Secretary to the GST Council in the GST Council Secretariat (at the level of Additional Secretary to the Government of India), and four posts of Commissioner in the GST Council Secretariat (at the level of Joint Secretary to the Government of India). The Cabinet also decided to provide for adequate funds for meeting the recurring and non-recurring expenses of the GST Council Secretariat, the entire cost for which shall be borne by the Central Government. The GST Council Secretariat shall be manned by officers taken on deputation from both the Central and State Governments.

Rules for conduct of business in GST Council; View

GST Council Meetings

The GST Council is a constitutional body responsible for making recommendations on issues related to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India.The first meeting of the GST Council was held on September 22-23, 2016, and since then, the Council meets periodically to deliberate and decide on various issues related to GST.

The Council has been instrumental in deciding key issues related to the GST such as tax rates, exemptions, thresholds, and administrative procedures. During its meetings, the GST Council takes decisions through a consensus-based approachevery decision of the GST Council shall be taken by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting with a weightage of one-third of the total votes cast to the Centre and a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast to the States, promoting the spirit of the co-operative federalism.

The Council has so far held 49 meetings to date, and its decisions have had a significant impact on the GST implementation in India.Some important decisions taken in the GST Council meeting are:-

• For encouraging the self-reporting businesses, the GST Council in its 24 th Meeting introduced new e-way bill mechanism.
• The GST Council in its 35 th Meeting approved the roll out of e-invoicing system in GST, a digital mechanism for generating and reporting invoices in a standardized format under the GST regime in India. The e-invoicing threshold has been further reduced and it is made mandatory for small firms with annual turnover of₹5 crore or more to issue e-invoices for business-to-business supplies from August 1, 2023.
• Under the special scheme introduced for real estate Sector, the Council in its 33 rd and 34 th meetings, the Council reduced the effective rate from 12% to 5% on non-affordable and from 8% to 1% on affordable housing scheme applicable under construction properties.
• For promoting green energy initiatives, the GST Council in its 36 th Meeting reduced the GST rates on all the electric vehicles from 12% to 5% and Electric buses having occupancy capacity of more than 12 people exempted from GST.
• The GST Council in its 42 nd Meeting approved the Enhancement in the features of Return filing process and QRMP scheme was rolled out for small scale business.
• As a relief measure during COVID-19 pandemic, the Council in its 43 rd and 44 th Meeting approved the rationalization of duty on specified COVID related goods.
• The GST Council in its 47 th Meeting approved certain trade facilitation measures by way of amendment in CGST Rules like change in formula for calculation of refund in inverted duty cases, further waiver of late fees for delay in filing of GSTR-4, additional modes for payment of tax, etc.
• The Council in its 49th meeting has approved the creation of National Bench of the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) in principle.The National Bench of the Appellate Tribunal shall be situated at New Delhi. GSTAT shall be presided over by its President and shall consist of one Technical Member (Centre) and one Technical Member (State).
• All GST anti-profiteering complaints are now dealt by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) from December 1, 2022. Prior, the National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) was set up in November, 2017 to check unfair profiteering activities by registered suppliers and ensure that commensurate benefits of reduction in GST rates on goods and services and of the input tax credit are passed on to consumers by way of reduction in prices.Initially, it was set up for two years till 2019, but was later extended further.
• Simplification and auto-population of GST Returns, making compliance easier for taxpayers.
• Integrating e-invoices with the e-way bill system and GST returns, promoting ease of doing business.
• Introduction of the dynamic QR code on invoices to facilitate digital payment.
• Rate Rationalization: 226 Items under 28% GST slab reduced to 37 items till now.

The Goods and Tax(GST) regime has largely stabilizedas the major bumps and roadblocks have already been addressed. Over these years, despite some teething troubles, the GST regime has brought a sea change in how business is done in India and has also strengthened the idea ofco-operative federalismwith the GST Council.