GST balm for small business

New Delhi: In a "massive relief" to small businesses, the GST Council on Thursday doubled the limit for exemption from payment of goods and services tax (GST) to Rs 40 lakh and announced that the higher turnover cap of Rs 1.5 crore for availing composition scheme of paying 1 per cent tax will be effective from April 1. 

The Council also allowed Kerala to levy a 1 per cent calamity cess on intra-state sale of goods and services for a period of up to two years to mobilise revenues to meet the cost of rehabilitating parts of states that were ravaged by floods last year. 

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the taxpayers with an aggregate turnover of Rs 40 lakh would now be exempted from the GST. For the north eastern states, the exemption would now be Rs 20 lakh. 

Currently, businesses with a turnover of up to Rs 20 lakh is exempt from GST registration, while the limit for hilly and north eastern states is Rs 10 lakh. Sources said the annual revenue loss on account of doubling exemption limit to Rs 40 lakh, considering that all states implement it, is Rs 5,200 crore.  Jaitley said the GST Composition Scheme, under which small traders and businesses pay a 1 per cent tax based on turnover, can be availed by businesses with a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore, against the earlier Rs 1 crore, with effect from April 1. 

Also, service providers and suppliers of both goods and services up to a turnover of Rs 50 lakh would be eligible to opt for the GST composition scheme and pay a tax of 6 per cent. The twin decision under the composition scheme would have an annual revenue impact of about Rs 3,000 crore. "The GST Council in its 32nd meeting today accorded massive relief for MSME sector," Jaitley tweeted. 

On GST rate for real estate, the council has decided for form a seven-member group of ministers after differences of opinion emerged at the meeting, he said, adding there were diverse views on lottery. 

A ministerial panel will look into it as well. Businesses opting for the composition scheme would have to file just one tax return annually but pay taxes once every quarter. Also, free accounting and billing software will be made available to small assessees up to Rs 1.5 crore turnover. Jaitley said: "A very large part of GST comes from formal sector and large companies. Each one of these decisions is intended to help the SMEs.

You have given them various options. If they are in services sector, they can get 6 per cent compounding, if they are in manufacturing and trading up to Rs 1.5 crore they can get 1 per cent compounding. They can make use of exemption of up to Rs 40 lakh".  

The Finance Minister said there would be two thresholds - Rs 40 lakh and Rs 20 lakh - for exemption from registration and payment of the GST for the suppliers of goods, with the facility that one can 'opt up or opt down' depending on revenue.