GST Council meeting takes key decisions to support small-scale sector

Thiruvananthapuram/Jaisalmer, Dec 21: The 55th meeting of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council held in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, on Saturday, made key decisions aimed at supporting the small-scale sector and preventing market monopolisation, the Kerala Finance Minister's office said here.

The council also introduced measures expected to boost the business sector, a significant step taken during the meeting, according to an official release.

Kerala has been demanding for a long time to ensure accuracy in the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST).

One of the key decisions was to mandate that bills for online services clearly specify the state where the service is provided, it added.

Currently, many inter-state transactions lack proper documentation of the service's location, resulting in the state of consumption not receiving the applicable tax. This change is expected to address the issue and ensure more accurate tax distribution, the release said.

In the previous GST Council meeting, it was decided that if unregistered individuals rent out buildings to businesses, the tenant would be required to pay GST on the rent under the reverse charge mechanism. However, this created an additional burden for traders under the composition scheme, as they are not eligible to claim input tax credit for such payments.

To address this, the GST Council meeting has decided to exempt traders registered under the composition scheme from the reverse charge tax liability on rent, the release added.

The Council meeting also intervened in key issues such as the tax rate on food in hotels with premium room rents, taxes on medicines for specific cancer treatments, and the imposition of late fees on GST returns.

In response to Kerala's demand for accurate IGST settlement, the GST Council has formed a committee of officials to examine various aspects of the IGST process. This committee is tasked with providing recommendations to improve the accuracy of settlements.

The release stated that these effort will further continue to ensure accuracy in this area and will strengthen the state treasury.

During discussions on including aviation turbine fuel in the GST framework, Kerala firmly opposed any move that could undermine the limited taxing powers of the states post-GST implementation, the release added.

Additionally, while Kerala was granted permission to collect a flood cess after the 2018 floods, Andhra Pradesh has also sought approval from the Council to levy a cess.

Kerala not only supported this demand but also called for state governments which are better attuned to local issues to be allowed in mobilising the necessary resources, the release added.