The government after the failure of Demonetisation came up with a new concept of Goods and Service Tax (GST) with the basic purpose of simplifying the very complicated tax regime and to provide uniformity so as to help the citizens of the country to understand and comply with. GST has specifically turned out to be a head spinning experience for the MSME Sector which employs 70% of the working Indians and many of them are close to the level of bankruptcy. Moreover, it has enhanced the cost of input and the cost of manufacturing increased with inflation as the products which were taxed 14% in pre-GST period are now taxed @18% which affected the manufacturer’s business quite negatively.
No steps were taken by the central government until and unless the small traders in Surat and Ahmedabad were getting affected and made complaints to the government and RSS trade union arm complained about the same to the Union Ministry being insensitive to the small traders.
Various changes were finally announced following the 22nd GST Council meeting on October 7, 2017. In addition, the government also realised that the sidelining and brightening of exporters wouldn’t be in the benefit of the nation as it as an essential part of the “Make in India” program. Hence, the following changes were announced post 22nd GST Council:
1.MSME with a turnover of up to Rs. 1.5 crore can now file tax returns once a quarter instead of monthly returns.
2.The eligibility limit in turns of annual turnover has been raised from Rs. 75 Lakh to Rs. 1 Crore.
3.The council has allowed duty free sourcing of materials for the export production till March 2018. The refund process for the exporters for the month of July and August has also been started.
4.Tax on 27 items including stationery items, Khakhra unbranded ayurvedic medicine has been reduced.
5.A committee is also to be set up in order to frame principles to reduce prices depending upon the revenue patterns of the GST.
6.To study the all the aspects of the composition scheme, a council of group of ministers has also been constituted.
All these measures have been brought into effect to bring a relief on the GST front.
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