IMPORTANT NOTE ON GOODS & SERVICES TAX ACT, 2017

As we all are aware that GST Act has already been implemented and now, the new financial year 2018-19 has started so it is important to share the few important topics, which every dealer will deal on day to day basis while conducting his business.

GSTR-1 (Details of Outward Supplies of Goods or Services)

In Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017, for the Month of February 2018, March 2018, April 2018, May 2018 and June 2018 where turnover in preceding financial year is above Rs.1.5 crores, due Dates for Monthly Filing of FORM GSTR-1 are as follows:

                           Month                        Due date

                           Feb 2018                   10 April’18

                           March 2018               10 May’18

                           April 2018                 31 May’18

                           May 2018                  10 June’18

                           June 2018                  10 July’18

·       In case, the turnover in preceding financial year is below Rs. 1.5 crores, Due Dates for Quarterly Filing of FORM GSTR-1 for the Quarter of January 2018 to March 2018 and April 2018 to June 2018 are as follows:

                             Month                        Due date

                             Jan – March 2018     30 April’18

                             April-June 2018         31 July’18

GSTR-3B (Return in lieu of GSTR-3, when the time limit for GSTR-1 and GSTR-2 is extended)

·       For the Month of March 2018, April 2018, May 2018 and June 2018, due dates for Filing of Form GSTR-3B are as follow:

                           Month                        Due date

                           March 2018               20 April’18

                           April 2018                 20May’18

                           May 2018                  20 June’18

                           June 2018                  20 July’18

GSTR 2A [Details of auto-drafted supplies (Form GSTR-1, GSTR-5, GSTR-6, GSTR-7)]

·       Purchases are auto-calculated on the GST portal in the form GSTR 2A. Under GST, as reflected in GSTR-2A, all the taxable persons shall check the purchases which are made before 31st March 2018 with account books.

“Due date for furnishing the statement in FORM GST TRAN-2 extended till 30.06.2018” Earlier the date was 31.03.2018.

5. HSN Code to be mentioned in the Invoice as per scale of turnover

Taxpayers should calculate their turnover for financial year 2017-18, before issuing their first invoice in financial year 2018-19. Following parameters are to be followed:

1.     Taxpayers whose Aggregate turnover is more than Rs. 1.5 crores but upto Rs. 5 crores shall use 2-digit code

2.     The taxpayers whose Aggregate turnover is more than Rs. 5 crores shall use 4-digit code.

3.     The taxpayers whose Aggregate turnover is upto Rs. 1.5 crores are not required to mention HSN Code in their invoices.

1. If payment is not made to supplier within 180 days, then the ITC is to be reversed:

·       As per the Central Goods & Services Tax Act and its rules, if receiver does not make the full payment of amount along with tax within 180 days from the date of invoice after issuance of tax invoice by a supplier then the credit with regard to the invoice shall be reversed along with interest @ 18% p.a. from the date of availment till the date of reversal.

·       The credit can be re-availed in case the payment (deferred) is made subsequently.

·       In order to save himself from this situation, ageing analysis of the debtors and creditors shall be conducted.

       3. Gifts to employees:

·       During a financial year, if the value of gifts to the employee exceeds Rs.50,000/-, then same shall be considered as a supply and will be liable to tax under GST.

      L.U.T (Letter of Undertaking)

    

    Exporters must ensure to obtain fresh LUT for next year and same can be done by submitting online application on GST portal. Beside this, a person has to submit hard copy of the same to jurisdictional GST authorities.

IMPORTANT GUIDELINES ON E- WAY BILL

As we all know that for interstate transactions, E-way bill is compulsory from 01.04.2018 if the value exceeds Rs. 50,000/-. Some important guidelines on E-way bill are as under:

1.               E- Way bill on intra state transactions not notified yet and will be notified by each respective state government.

2.               E- way bill to be generated if consignment value exceeds Rs 50,000 either it is a case of supply or a case other than supply. A person dealing in nil rated or exempted goods, jewellery, alcohol etc. are not covered by e way bill.

3.               If you are transporting goods in non-motorized conveyance (Rickshaws etc) then no e way bill is required.

4.               If a principal sends goods for job worker to job worker in another state e way bill has to be compulsorily generated irrespective of any value.

5.               Transporter can also generate the Part A of e way bill (Basic details of invoice) after an authorization from the registered person.

6.               If goods are handed over to transporter then registered person has to update the details of transporter in Part-B of e way bill and transporter will generate e way bill after updating the vehicle number.

7.               Earlier transporter had to generate consolidated e way bill if aggregate value of goods carried in vehicle was more than 50,000. Now this provision is deferred.

8.               E way bill can be cancelled within twenty four hours of its generation but it cannot be cancelled if it is verified in transit.

9.               An e-way bill shall be valid for a period of 1 day per 100 Kilometres. The first day will expire on midnight of the day immediately after the day when e way bill is generated. For example: If e way bill is generated on 1st April 2018 at 4:00 P.M then it will be valid till 2nd April midnight 12 in case distance is upto 100 Kilometres.

10.           Person who is receiving the goods has to communicate his acceptance or rejection within 72 hours of getting the details on his portal or till goods are delivered whichever is earlier. So it is advised to regularly check your portal to accept or reject the e way bill details made available to you.

11.           Transporter is required to carry copy of e way bill and invoice /challan while transporting the goods.

12.           Vehicle number is required to be compulsorily mentioned for generating e way bill. In case you are carrying goods, you have to mention vehicle details in Part-B. In the case where transporter will transport your goods you have to enter his ID and e way bill will be generated by him when he updates vehicle number in Part-B of E-way bill. Transport Document Number will be mentioned if goods are transported by railways.

13.           E-way bill has to be compulsorily produced to get the goods delivered from railways at the time of delivery.

Seminar on E-way Bill (GST Act) at Hotel Best Western, Jalandhar,Thanks to Income Tax Bar for giving me this honor to invite me as a Key-speaker

(News in "Ajit" Punjabi Newspaper, Dated 30.03.2018)

Important judgment delivered by Hon'ble High Court Of Punjab And Haryana on the issue of refund even after issuance of refund voucher, directions were also given to release the interest of Rs. 25,27,989/- within Eight weeks, otherwise cost of Rs. 50,000/- will be burdened personally on Assistant Commissioner, Kapurthala

Refund was delayed by Aetc Kapurthala. Thereafter, the Contempt Petition was filed by M/s Aggarwal construction co., Kapurthala but only refund amount was granted without interest. Now, Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed to release amount of interest i.e Rs. 2527389/- within eight weeks and in default of the same, Officer concerned shall be liable to pay Rs. 50000/- as cost.

                                                                                           (News in "Punjab Kesari" Punjabi Newspaper, Dated 30.03.2018)

(News in "Ajit" Punjabi Newspaper)

Order is placed in form of images:-

Reverse Charge under GST Act, Seeks to exempt payment of tax under section 9(4) of the CGST Act, 2017 till 30.06.2018.

Seeks to exempt payment of tax under section 9(4) of the CGST Act, 2017 till 30.06.2018. (Reverse Charge)

[To be published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Subsection (i)]

Government of India

Ministry of Finance

Department of Revenue Central Board of Excise and Customs

Notification No. 10/2018 – Central Tax (Rate)

New Delhi, the 23rd March, 2018

G.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, on the recommendations of the Council, hereby makes the following further amendment in the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue),No.8/2017 – Central Tax (Rate), dated the 28th June, 2017, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 680 (E), dated the 28th June, 2017, and amended vide notification No.38/2017- Central Tax (Rate), dated the 13th October, 2017, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Subsection (i), vide number G.S.R. 1262 (E), dated the 13th October, 2017, namely:-

In the said notification, for the figures, letters and words “31st day of March, 2018”, the figures, letters and words “30th day of June, 2018” shall be substituted.

[F. No.349/58/2017-GST (Pt.)]

(Ruchi Bisht)

Under Secretary to the Government of India

Note: - The principal notification No.8/2017-Central Tax (Rate), dated the 28th June, 2017 was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Subsection (i) vide number G.S.R. 680 (E), dated the 28th June, 2017 and amended vide notification No.38/2017- Central Tax (Rate), dated the 13th October, 2017, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 1262 (E), dated the 13th October, 2017.

Download the notification by clicking here

Notification No 8/2017 (Central Tax Rate)

Rubber Manufacturer Association honored Advocate J.S. Bedi as a Chief Guest

Rubber Manufacturer Association honored Advocate J.S. Bedi as a Chief Guest and in the meeting, Advocate Bedi addressed the members by enlightening them about the provisions of the GST Act i.e. search, inspection, seizure, refunds, appeals under the GST Act.

Procedure for obtaining the Refund under the GST Act

As we all are aware that under the GST regime, all the major three acts i.e. Central Excise Act, Service Tax Act & VAT Act are merged and the system prevalent under the GST is creating the refunds, almost for every dealer especially for exporters and the dealers those are purchasing the goods as a raw material at higher rates and ultimately manufacture goods are covered under the Lower Taxability. So to deal with these types of contingencies and to obtain the refund, there is a special provision of refund in Shrine in the GST Act.

1.     Who are eligible for refund?

Following are the conditions, where the refund can be applied:

-        Refund of tax paid on Deemed Exports.

-        Refund of excess balance in Electronic Cash Ledger.

-        Refund of tax paid on zero rated supply of goods or services of both.

-        Finalization of provisional assessment.

-        Refund for tax paid on purchase made by UN bodies and other Notified Agencies.

-        Tax Refund for International Tourists.

-        Refund of tax on inputs/input services used in making zero rated supply.

-        Refund on account of ITC accumulated due to Inverted Tax Structure.

-        On account of appeal/any other adjudication order

2.     How to claim refund?

TABLE – I – Refund in case of Export on payment of IGST

·       A registered person is able to clear the goods for export either without paying IGST under Letter of Undertaking (LOU) and can claim refund ITC. Or he can pay IGST and claim refund of tax paid.

·       If there is ITC of GST in balance which cannot be used otherwise, the registered person could clear the goods on payment of IGST & claim its refund. If not having ITC of GST in balance, he can clear the goods against letter of undertaking. The decision can be made consignment wise.

·       The shipping bill containing details of invoice shall be deemed to be an application for refund of IGST paid. When the exporter will file his monthly GSTR-1 (Table 6A) return & GSTR-3B, details of relevant tax invoice shall be transmitted electronically by common portal to Customs System. The custom system shall process the refund claim and amount of refund will be electronically credited to bank account of exporter.

·       Exporters can check refund status on “icegate.gov.in” by creating their Login by clicking on link,” https://www.icegate.gov.in/Download/New_Registration_Demo_Updated_APPROV ED.pdf” After login go to column “IGST Validation Details Enquiry”. Correct the error mentioned in this column so that your claims for refund are processed at the earliest

·       For complete process & mismatching issue & solutions, pls refer - Circular No. 05/2018-Customs

TABLE–II-Refund of unutilized ITC (Export without payment of IGST & Other cases)

·       Application for refund shall be filed for a tax period in FORM GST RFD-01A online on the common portal.

·       Valid return in FORM GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 has to be filed for the tax period for which refund application has been filed.

·       Registered person applying for refund must give an undertaking to the effect that the amount of refund sanctioned would be paid back to the Government with interest in case it is found subsequently that the requirements have not been complied with in respect of the amount refunded.

·       On filing of refund application, an Acknowledgement Reference Number shall be generated.

·       The FORM GST RFD-01A along with the ARN and other necessary documents prescribed in Rule 89(2) of the CGST Rules, 2017 / Circular No. 17/17/2017-GST dated 15.11.2017 needs to be submitted manually in the office of the jurisdictional Tax officer

C. Refund of unutilized ITC to exporters

Refund of any unutilized input tax credit of inputs and input services will be allowed except where the goods exported out of India are subjected to

·       Export duty; or

·       Exporter claims drawback of CGST or refund of IGST paid on such export.

D. Time period for processing the refund application, otherwise interest @ 6%

The amount of refund is required to be sanctioned within 60 days from the date of receipt of application. It is also not disputed that 90% of the amount will be refunded within 7 days from the date of acknowledgment in form GST-RFD-04.

If the amount will not be refunded or the application will not be decided within 60 days then applicant/ claimant is entitled for interest @ 6%.

Refund amount will be credited directly to the claimant’s bank account.

Provisional refund shall be calculated taking into account the total Input Tax Credit, without making any reduction of credit being provisionally accepted.

List of documents required for GST Refund in case Exports

1.         RFD 01A Online

2.         RFD 01 Manual

3.         GSTR 1

4.         GSTR 3B

5.         Credit ledger ( of Debit of amount on applying of refund)

6.         Forwarding letter

7.         ARN Receipt received on applying of refund

8.         Copies of BRC

9.         Copies of Shipping bill

10.      Copies Bill of lading

List of documents required for GST Refund in case of Inverted Tax Structure

1.         RFD 01A Online

2.         RFD 01 Manual

3.         GSTR 1

4.         GSTR 3B

5.         Credit ledger ( of Debit of amount on applying of refund)

6.         Forwarding letter

7.         ARN Receipt received on applying of refund

8.         Copies of all the purchase bills of refund period

9.         Few copies of sale bill

10.      List of all the raw materials used (% of GST, HSN Code)

11.      List of goods sold (% of GST, HSN Code)

Note: All the documents have to be self-attested.

·       Time lines have been set for processing of refund claims and claims not settled within 60 days will be paid with interest @6%.

·       Refund amount will be credited directly to the claimant’s bank account.

·       The process is online and hassle free and with minimum interface with tax authorities.

E. Limitation period for filing the claim of refund

The refund claim has to be filed within two years from the relevant date.

F. Refund can be claimed even if payment was made in wrong head

A claimant can apply for refund of amount of tax which was wrongly deposited. To deal with this situation the taxable person is to file the refund application for the amount of wrongly credited in the Electronic Cash Ledger.

Conclusion:

It is an effort to compile the provisions of refund under the GST Act beside this during the process of refund application it is observed that still the claimant is to submit number of documents while filing the application manually which is creating unnecessary trouble in the business community. So it is very important to make issue the necessary  instructions to the offices so that unnecessary documents should not be called for.

Hon'ble Punjab & Haryana High Court in Contempt petition filed against AETC, directed to release amount of refund alongwith interest

Contempt petition filed against Assistant Excise & Taxation Commissioner, Kapurthala for non compliance of orders of Hon'ble Punjab and Haryana High Court in which directions were given to decide refund application and to release refund if entitled for refund but A.E.T.C. has not decided the same.Now Aetc has granted refund of Rs 10474770/- and Rs. 492469/- but without interest now Court has directed to give interest for delay. Orders available on Honble punjab Haryana High Court website.

Link to download order: CLICK HERE

News related to the above orders on the issue of delayed refund, as petitioner is also entitled for interest after the lapse of 90 days from filing of application.

DAINIK BHASKAR (13.03.2018)

PUNJAB KESARI (13-03-2018)