In the highly anticipated budget speech, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman covered a wide array of topics, from fiscal policies to new reforms. However, several crucial changes in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, which will significantly impact businesses and taxpayers, were not explicitly mentioned. Here, we delve into these key changes proposed in the Finance Bill 2024, shedding light on the amendments that might have flown under the radar.
Amendment of Section 9 of the CGST Act: One of the notable changes is the amendment to Section 9, which excludes un-denatured extra neutral alcohol or rectified spirit used for the manufacture of alcoholic liquor for human consumption from the purview of GST. This aligns with similar amendments in the IGST and UTGST Acts, providing clarity and consistency across the GST framework.
Insertion of Section 11A: A new section empowers the government to waive the recovery of GST not levied or short-levied due to a generally prevalent practice in trade. This provision aims to regularize past practices and provide relief to businesses that followed industry norms, even if those norms were not strictly compliant with the tax law.
Amendment of Section 13: Changes in Section 13 address the time of supply for services where the invoice is required to be issued by the recipient in reverse charge situations. This amendment ensures clarity in cases of reverse charge mechanisms, specifying the date of issue of the invoice by the recipient as the relevant date.
Amendment of Section 16: The insertion of sub-sections (5) and (6) in Section 16 provides exceptions to the existing rules, allowing registered persons to avail ITC for past financial years (2017-18 to 2020-21) under specific conditions. This retrospective amendment offers significant relief to businesses by extending the timeline for availing ITC.
Insertion of Section 128A: A new section introduces a conditional waiver of interest and penalty for demands raised under Section 73 for the financial years 2017-18 to 2019-20, provided the taxpayer pays the full amount of tax due. This offers a significant opportunity for taxpayers to settle past disputes without additional financial burden.
Disclaimer: The content/information published on the website is only for general information of the user and shall not be construed as legal advice. While the Taxmann has exercised reasonable efforts to ensure the veracity of information/content published, Taxmann shall be under no liability in any manner whatsoever for incorrect information, if any.
Taxmann Publications has a dedicated in-house Research & Editorial Team. This team consists of a team of Chartered Accountants, Company Secretaries, and Lawyers. This team works under the guidance and supervision of editor-in-chief Mr Rakesh Bhargava.
The Research and Editorial Team is responsible for developing reliable and accurate content for the readers. The team follows the six-sigma approach to achieve the benchmark of zero error in its publications and research platforms. The team ensures that the following publication guidelines are thoroughly followed while developing the content:
