KSA Infomatrix

Clubbing 12% and 18% rates may cause an annual revenue loss of ₹1 lakh cr: Official The Revenue Department does not think it would be appropriate even in the near future to merge the two standard rates of Goods & Services Tax (GST) into one rate. The existing GST regime has multiple rates: 0, 0.25, 1, 3, 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. The 12 per cent and 18 per cent rates are known as ‘Standard Rates.’ There has been talk of merging the two rates and having one standard rate of 15 per cent to simplify the GST structure. Also, it will help blunt the criticism of there being too many rates. (0.25, 1 and 3 are special rates. The 0.25 per cent rate is for uncut diamonds; 1 per cent is for affordable housing and 3 per cent for gold and silver.) “At this juncture clubbing of the two rates into one rate of 15 per cent might cause a revenue loss of approximately ₹1 lakh crore annually,” a senior Revenue Department official told  BusinessLine . He further added that su...

Stakeholder comments invited; formal rollout expected in July The Goods & Services Tax (GST) Authority has come out with a draft of a new and simplified return form. The new form is expected to be formally rolled out in July. Through this exercise, made public on Wednesday, the authority aims to obtain feedback on the user interface and its functionalities. The users can fill the template and mail the same. The new GST Return will have Form GST RET-1 (Normal), Form GST RET-2 (Sahaj) and Form GST RET-3 (Sugam) on either monthly or quarterly basis along with the Annexure of Supplies (GST ANX-1) and the Annexure of Inward Supplies (GST ANX-2). The template can be accessed on https://demoofflinetool.gst.gov.in/instructions. Two categories Stakeholders can share their comments on ‘feedback.newreturn@gstn.org.in’, said GSTN, the IT backbone of the GST regime. As on date, there are 1.21 crore assessees under the indirect tax regime that are clubbed mainly into two catego...