The 26th meeting of the GST Council was held on Saturday in the national capital in which the members approved the re-launch of the E-way Bill from April 1, while putting the decision to simplify the tax return filing system on hold. The council instead decided to continue with the existing system for three more months until June.
“It is clear that a consensus has not yet been arrived at on the changes in return filing process. In the circumstances, the continuation of the current dispensation for returns for further three months was inevitable and expected,” YG Parande, Senior Advisor, Deloitte India said.
Here are the key decisions by the GST Council last week:
1. Return Filing System
The GST Council decided to continue with the existing system of return filing for three more months i.e the traders and businesses will continue to file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B until June. Meanwhile, the council and the IT department will take the advice of tax experts to simplify the process.
2. E-way Bill
The GST Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, gave nod to the roll-out of the E-way Bill from April 1 for inter-state transportation/movement of goods beyond 10 kms. For intra-state movement of goods, the roll-out of E-way Bill will be in a phased manner but before the June 1 deadline set earlier. The council also made changes in some key rules to simplify the process. (Read here).
The E-way Bill was roll-out on February 1, however, due to technical glitches, it was deferred. “It is to be hoped that the roll-out will be preceded by extensive testing and validation so that the earlier glitches do not recur,” YG Parande said.
3. Exporters refund and tax exemption
The Council has assured the exporters of a refund by March 31. It was also decided to extend the available tax exemptions on imported goods for a further six months beyond March 31, 2018 to October 1, 2018. The Council in a statement said that by that time an e-Wallet scheme is expected to be in place to continue the benefits in future.