GST Council Agrees To Cut GST on Pencil Sharpeners From 18% To 12%; Tribunal GoM Report Needs Modification

The GST Council, which is headed by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and comprises representatives of all states and UTs, took several decisions in its 49th meeting on Saturday. The Council agreed to reduce the GST rate on pencil sharpeners from 18 per cent to 12 per cent. It has also decided to reduce GST rate on liquid jaggery from 18 per cent to nil or 5 per cent, and also cut tax rate on certain tracking devices.

It has also rationalised the late fees on annual returns. Late fee for annual return up to 5 crore has been fixed at Rs 25 per day, subject to an maximum amount of 0.02 per cent of his turnover. For taxpayers having turnover of Rs 5 crore to Rs 20 crore, the late fee would be Rs 50 per day.

During the meeting, the finance minister discussed setting up appellate tribunals and curbing tax evasion in pan masala and gutkha businesses. On the appellate tribunals, Sitharaman said the GoM report has been agreed to and slight modifications are required in the report.

Announcing the GST Council decisions, Sitharaman said, “We have announced today that the entire due on the pending balance of the GST compensation will be cleared as of today… In other words, the entire pending balance of the GST compensation – a total of Rs 16,982 crores for June – will be cleared.”

(With Inputs From Agencies)

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