GST council meet underway: 6 major announcements we can expect from govt.

After months of rolling out the Goods and Services Tax Bill (GST), the government may modify some rules that might cheer the small and medium businesses.

As the 22nd meeting of the GST council, chaired by Arun Jaitley is underway, many are expecting some major announcements ahead of the festive season.

Even the Prime Minister in his recent speech at the Institute of Company Secretaries hinted at some relief under the GST.

While the speculations are rife about what could the government announce, we have listed out 5 major possibilities that can soon become a reality after the council meeting gets over.

Liquidity issue faced by exporters:

The Kerala Finance Minister said that the issues likely to dominate the discussion at Friday’s meeting include how to ease the compliance burden of the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector.

The Kerala minister said the Council was also looking at a few measures to address the liquidity issues being faced by exporters. Though, he did not specify in what form the reliefs may come.

Experts believe, the council might enable exporters to utilise benefits and incentives derived from foreign trade policy to pay Integrated GST (IGST), push-back of reverse charge mechanism (RCM) among relaxation to ward off growing resentment among indirect taxpayers.

Smooth functioning of GST Network:

Traders are facing technical glitches on return filing platform of GST Network (GSTN). The council might assess the weaknesses and recommend measures for smooth functioning.

The Group of Ministers, under Sushil Modi, set up to look into GSTN glitches will also brief the Council on the portal’s functioning, PTI reported quoting officials in the ministry.

Real estate

The real estate sector can also expect some relief as it has been said that the stones used for constructions, that currently come under 28% slab will go in 18%.

Citing sources close to the development, a Zee business report stated that the Centre is going to propose GST rate cuts in many items that fall in the highest tax bracket of 28%.

Deferring of Reverse Change Mechanism(RCM)

There is a strong buzz that the council might defer the reverse charge mechanism (RCM) which is creating problems for small businesses.

Reverse charge is a mechanism where the recipient of the good or service will have to pay GST which otherwise would be paid by the supplier.

Reopening of registration for composition scheme

The indirect tax body may also reportedly reopen registration for composition scheme, under which businesses with a turnover below Rs 75 were allowed to pay concessional tax rate, for the third time.