The GST Council’s 50th meeting was held in Delhi on July 11, 2023, under the chairmanship of the Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.
Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Appointment and Conditions of Service of President and Members) Rules, 2023:
The Council has recommended the Rules governing appointment and conditions of President and Members of the proposed GST Appellate Tribunal for enabling smooth constitution and functioning of GST Appellate Tribunal. The Council also recommended that provisions of Finance Act, 2023 pertaining to GST Appellate Tribunal may be notified by the Centre with effect from 01.08.2023, so that the same can be brought into operation at the earliest. Further the council has recommended the Chief Secretary of Maharashtra to be nominated as one of the members of the Search cum selection committee as per Section 110(4)(b)(iii) of CGST Act 2017. Regarding the number of State Benches, it was decided to start them in a phase wise manner.
Annual Returns for FY 2022-23:
The Council has recommended that the relaxations provided in FY 2021-22 in respect of various tables of FORM GSTR-9 and FORM GSTR-9C be continued for FY 2022-23. Further, for easing compliance burden on smaller taxpayers, exemption from filing of annual return (in FORM GSTR-9/9A) for taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover upto two crore rupees, to be continued for FY 2022-23 also.
Recommendation for making Input Services Distributor (ISD) mechanism mandatory for distribution of ITC for services received from third party:
The Council has recommended to clarify through a circular that Input Services Distributor (ISD) mechanism is not mandatory for distribution of input tax credit of common input services procured from third parties to the distinct persons as per the present provisions of GST law, and also to clarify issues regarding taxability of internally generated services provided by one distinct person to another distinct person. The Council has also recommended that amendment may be made in GST law to make ISD mechanism mandatory prospectively for distribution of input tax credit of such common input services procured from third parties.
Recommendation to provide clarity on warranty replacement of parts and repair services during warranty period without consideration:
Circular to be issued to provide clarity on various issues pertaining to the GST liability as well as the liability to reverse input tax credit in cases involving warranty replacement of parts and repair services during warranty period without any consideration from the customers, clarifying inter alia that no GST is chargeable by the manufacturer on such replacement of parts and/ or repair service and also, no reversal of input tax credit is required to be made by the manufacturer.
The Press Release can be accessed at: https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1938812