The 53rd GST (Goods and Services Tax) Council meeting chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today decided to exempt services provided by Indian Railways from GST.

Addressing the media after the council meeting, the Finance Minister said the purchase of railway tickets and payments for waiting room and cloak room charges have been exempted from GST.

Similarly, no GST will be levied on services provided like battery-operated vehicles and intra-railway services.

The Council has also decided to exempt GST on charges for hostels for students that are located outside educational institutions.

The exemption will be extended to hostels run by communities as well under certain conditions, while certain are already exempt from GST.

Waivers for Interest, penalty on notices under Section 73 recommended

In its taxpayer-friendly decisions, the GST Council recommended the waiving of interest and penalty in cases of tax demand notices that have been sent under Section 73, of the GST Act.

“In the case of demand notices issued for 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, interest and penalty will be waived off, if tax is paid by Mar 31, 2025,” FM Sitharaman said.

The GST Council has also recommended that the time limit to avail input tax credit in respect of any invoice or debit note under section 16(4) of the CGST Act filed up to the Nov 30, 2021 for the financial years 17-18, 18-19, 19-20 and 20-21 may be deemed to be 2011 to 2021.

So for the same requisite amendment retrospectively with effect from July 1, 2017, she said.

In order to reduce tax litigation which is expected to benefit both taxpayers and the government, the GST council recommended a minimum limit for filing appeals of ₹20 lakh for the appellate tribunal, ₹1 crore for the High Court and ₹2 crore for the Supreme Court.

In another taxpayer-friendly measure, the GST Council has decided to introduce Form GSTR 1A to enable taxpayers to add information they have missed or correct mistakes they have made when filing Form GSTR 1.

Uniform 12% GST on milk cans, cartons, water sprinklers

The Council meeting also recommended a uniform GST rate of 12% on all milk cans whether they be made of steel, iron, or aluminium.

The council also recommended a uniform GST rate of 12% on all carton boxes and cases of both corrugated and non-corrugated paper or paper board.

This will in particular help the apple growers of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir, said the FM.

A uniform 12% GST has also been recommended on all types of water sprinklers including fire water sprinklers, she added.

Pan-India Aadhar authentication

The Council also decided to roll out pan-India Aadhaar-based biometric authentication to check fake invoicing used to fraudulently claim input tax credit (ITC) by unscrupulous elements.

To facilitate GST registration, Aadhaar biometric authentication will become mandatory for new registrations across the country, the FM added.

“This will help us to combat fraudulent input tax credit claims made through fake invoices,” she said.

FM Sitharaman said that while a lot of decisions were taken at today’s meeting, not all GST issues could be included in the agenda.

The GST Council will meet again after the Budget Session of Parliament is over to take up these issues.

The meeting is likely to be held in mid-August, she added.

(Compiled from syndicated feed)