The first council Meeting regarding GST post the nationwide lockdown is held today at 11 am through video conferencing. However, no cut in tax rates is determined. The 40th council meeting includes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Anurag Thakur, finance ministers of states & UTs, and senior government officers.
The business people are naturally expecting a fall in GST rates to cut down the loss suffered and high demand during the COVID-19 pandemic that has led to an economic slowdown, but the government is aiming in generating revenue as the GST falls short and for the compensation of states; and to provide relief measures to people.
Taxpayers can expect relief measures regarding the late old GST and input tax credit relaxation by inverted duty structure. GST data for April to May 2020 is yet to be produced. But the tax revenue collections have been severely hit. Methods to manage these will be discussed in the meeting.
The government has already suffered losses due to the GSTR-3B from February to May 2020. So now, the government will concentrate on generating funds for compensating the revenue loss of the states.
Several relief measures like tax returns regarding GST were announced during the lockdown, and the E-way payments were extended. Even filing GST return online was facilitated.
In the meeting, the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, announced that the state government would take care of all its expenses of child laborers and their families in its Bal Shramik Vidya Yojana.
However, the gaming industry has been benefitted immensely since the onset of the lockdown due to the surge in the number of users.
The GST Council will plan to manage the revenue requirements, industry, and people’s needs. It has considered exempting direct taxes so as to encourage consumption, which will, in turn, increase the economy. The GST revenues will shoot up as a result of the State as well as the Central governments.
The government has decided to refund individual taxes, levies, and duties outside PM Modi’s Atma Nirbhar Bharat package, such as VAT for fuel.
After the meeting ends, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will give out statements to the media at 12:45