47th GST Council meeting was held on 28th & 29th of June 2022 wherein various recommendations were made regarding revision of GST rates on certain goods / services as well as several changes in procedural and legal aspects. Change of GST rate also includes withdrawal of certain exemptions.
Recommendations related to change of GST rates will be effective from 18th July 2022 whereas recommendations related to changes in procedural and legal aspects will be effective after issue of relevant Notifications.
In this article, I am sharing revision of GST rates pertaining to such goods & services which are common and applicable to many companies. I am also be sharing recommendations related to procedural as well as legal aspects which are common and applicable to many companies.
Revision of GST Rates
| Description of goods / services | Old GST Rate | New GST Rate |
| Goods | ||
| LED Lamps, lights and fixture, their metal printed circuits board | 12% | 18% |
| Solar Water Heater and system | 5% | 12% |
| Tetra Pak (Aseptic Packaging Paper) | 12% | 18% |
| Tar (whether from coal, coal gasification plants, producer Gas plants and Coke Oven Plants | 5% / 18% | 18% |
| Scientific and technical instruments supplied to public funded research institutes (concession withdrawn) | 5% | Applicable Rate |
| Services | ||
| Works contract service for roads, bridges, railways, metro, effluent treatment plant, crematorium etc. | 12% | 18% |
| Works contract service supplied to central and state governments, local authorities for historical monuments, canals, dams, pipelines, plants for water supply, educational institutions, hospitals etc. & sub-contractor thereof | 12% | 18% |
| Renting of truck/goods carriage where cost of fuel is included | 18% | 12% |
| Hotel accommodation priced upto Rs. 1,000/- per day | NIL | 12% |
| Room rent (excluding ICU) exceeding Rs 5000 per day per patient charged by a hospital | NIL | 5% |
Other Clarifications / Changes
- Sale of land after levelling, laying down of drainage lines etc. is sale of land and does not attract GST.
- Renting of motor vehicles for transport of passengers to a body corporate for a period (time) is taxable in the hands of body corporate under RCM.
- Goods transport agency (GTA) is being given option to pay GST at 5% or 12% under forward charge; option to be exercised at the beginning of Financial Year. RCM option to continue.
Legal and Procedural Changes
- Waiver of requirement of mandatory registration for person supplying goods through e-commerce operator
- Amendment in formula prescribed for calculation of refund of unutilized Input Tax Credit (ITC) on account of inverted rated structure to cover ITC on input services. Thus, refund of ITC of input services will also be allowed.
- In some cases, IGST refunds (export with payment of IGST) are withheld where the exporter is identified as risky exporter requiring verification by GST officers. Such IGST refund claims will be transmitted to the jurisdictional GST authorities for processing. This would result in expeditious disposal of such IGST refund claims, after due verification by GST officers, thus benefitting such exporters.
- Clause (c) of section 110 and section 111 of the Finance Act, 2022 to be notified by Central Government at the earliest. These provisions relate to-
- retrospective amendment in section 50(3) of CGST Act, with effect from 01.07.2017, to provide that interest will be payable on the wrongly availed ITC only when the same is utilized;
- amendment in sub-section (10) of section 49 of CGST Act to provide for transfer of balance in electronic cash ledger of a registered person to electronic cash ledger of CGST and IGST of a distinct person.
- Exemption from filing annual return in FORM GSTR-9 for FY 2021-22 to taxpayers having turnover upto Rs. 2 crores.
- No requirement of reversal of input tax credit for sale of Duty Credit Scrips by the exporters.
- In respect of refunds pertaining to supplies to SEZ, Explanation to be inserted to clarify that “specified officer” under the said sub-rule shall mean the “specified officer” or “authorized officer”, as defined under SEZ Rules, 2006.
- Provision for automatic revocation of suspension of registration once all the pending returns are filed on the portal by the taxpayer.
- Proposal for comprehensive changes in FORM GSTR-3B to be placed in public domain for seeking inputs/suggestions of the stakeholders.
Time period from 01.03.2020 to 28.02.2022 to be excluded from calculation of the limitation period for filing refund claim. Thus, now refund for last 4 years can be claimed. (You may refer to my earlier blog on the same subject).
