1. GST DEADLINES
1.1. Deadlines | December 23
● GST Compliance Calendar – December 2023
● GST Annual Return and Reconciliation Statement (GSTR9 and GSTR9C)
Due date 31st Dec 2023 for FY 22-23.
2. Notifications
2.1. Relaxation for filing appeals against demand orders passed till 31.03.2023 under Section 73 or 74 of the CGST Act, 2017
(Notification No.- 53/2023; Dated: - 2 Nov 2023)
Taxable persons:-
o who could not file an appeal against the order passed by the proper officer on or before 31.03.2023 under section 73 or 74 within 3 months specified in section 107(1) or the extended period of 1 month as specified under section 107(4) of the CGST Act, and
o whose appeal against the said order was rejected solely on the grounds that the said appeal was not filed within the time period specified in section 107,
shall file an appeal against the said order in FORM GST APL-01 in accordance with section 107(1) on or before 31st day of January 2024.
Further, an appeal against the said order filed in accordance with the provisions of section107 of the Act, and pending before the Appellate Authority before the issuance of this notification, shall be deemed to have been filed in accordance with this notification, if the appellant has paid:
a) in full, such part of the amount of tax, interest, fine, fee and penalty arising from the impugned order, as is admitted by him; and
b) a sum equal to 12.5% of the remaining amount of tax in dispute arising from the said order, subject to a maximum of Rs. 25 Crore rupees, in relation to which the appeal has been filed, out of which at least 20% should have been paid by debiting from the Electronic Cash Ledger.
No refund shall be granted on account of this notification till the disposal of the appeal, in respect of any amount paid by the appellant, either on their own or on the directions of any authority (or) court, in excess of the amount paid by the appellant as specified above before the issuance of this notification, for filing an appeal section 107(1). No appeal under this notification shall be admissible in respect of a demand not involving tax.
3. GST PORTAL UPDATES
3.1. Advisory for the procedures and provisions related to the amnesty for taxpayers who missed the appeal filing deadline for the orders passed on or before March 31, 2023
(Advisory Dated: 10 Nov 2023)
The GST Council, in its 52nd meeting, recommended granting amnesty to taxpayers who couldn't file an appeal under section 107 of the CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) Act, 2017, against the demand order under section 73 or 74 of the CGST Act, 2017, passed on or before March 31, 2023, or whose appeal against the said order was rejected due to not being filed within the specified time frame in sub-section (1) of section 107.
In compliance with the above GST Council's recommendation, the government has issued Notification No. 53/2023 on November 2, 2023.Taxpayers can now file appeal in FORM GST APL-01 on the GST portal on or before January 31, 2024 for the order passed by proper officer on or before March 31, 2023.
If a taxpayer has already filed an appeal and wants it to be covered by the benefit of the amnesty scheme would need to make differential payments to comply with Notification No. 53/2023. The payment should be made against the demand order using the 'Payment towards demand' facility available on the GST portal.
3.2. Advisory for Online Compliance Pertaining to ITC mismatch -GST DRC-01C
(Advisory dated: - 14 Nov 2023)
1. It is informed that GSTN has developed a functionality to generate automated intimation in Form GST DRC-01C which enables the taxpayer to explain the difference in Input tax credit available in GSTR-2B statement & ITC claimed in GSTR-3B return online as directed by the GST Council. This feature is now live on the GST portal.
2. This functionality compares the ITC declared in GSTR-3B/3BQ with the ITC available in GSTR-2B/2BQ for each return period. If the claimed ITC in GSTR 3B exceeds the available ITC in GSTR-2B by a predefined limit or the percentage difference exceeds the configurable threshold, taxpayer will receive an intimation in the form of DRC-01C.
3. Upon receiving intimation, the taxpayer must file a response using Form DRC-01C Part B. The taxpayer has the option to either provide details of the payment made to settle the difference using Form DRC-03, or provide an explanation for the difference, or even choose a combination of both options.
4. In case, no response is filed by the impacted taxpayers in Form DRC-01C Part B, such taxpayers will not be able to file their subsequent period GSTR-1/IFF.
3.3. ITC Reversal on Account of Rule 37(A)
(Advisory dated: - 14 Nov 2023)
Vide Rule 37A of CGST Rules, 2017 the taxpayers have to reverse the Input Tax Credit (ITC) availed on such invoice or debit note, the details of which have been furnished by their supplier in their GSTR-1/IFF but the return in FORM GSTR-3B for the said period has not been furnished by their supplier till the 30th day of September following the end of financial year in which the Input Tax Credit in respect of such invoice or debit note had been availed.
To facilitate the taxpayers, such amount of ITC required to be reversed on account of Rule 37A of CGST Rules for the financial year 2022-23 has been computed from system and has been communicated to the concerned recipient. The email communication to this effect has been sent on the registered email id of the taxpayer.
The taxpayers are advised to take note of it and to ensure that such ITC, if availed by them, is reversed as per rule 37A of CGST Rules before 30th of November, 2023 in Table 4(B)(2) of GSTR-3B while filing the concerned GSTR-3B.
4. JUDICIAL PRONOUNCEMENTS
4.1. Mere Closure of Shop alone not a Ground for Cancellation of GST Registration: Delhi HC
(Vab Apparel Llp Vs Commissioner, Delhi Gst And Ors)
Petitioner received a show cause notice which was bereft of any material particulars and it neither specifies fraud alleged to had been committed by petitioner nor any alleged wilful misstatement made by petitioner - Petitioner was granted seven working days to respond said SCN, proper officer did not wait for said period to expire and passed order cancelling petitioner's GST registration.
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court has held that, merely because the petitioner’s shop was found closed, absent anything more, is not a ground for cancellation of petitioner’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration, directing the department to restore the registration, while the order of cancellation of registration was set aside.
4.2. Interest on Delayed GST Refunds Shall be calculated From Expiration of 60 days after Refund Application, not from date of Appellate Order: Delhi HC
(Bansal International Vs Commissioner Of DGST And ANR)
A Division Bench of the Delhi High Court composed of Justice Vibhu Bakhru and Justice Amit Mahajan ruled that interest on delayed Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds should be calculated from the expiration of 60 days after the refund application, not from the date of the appellate order, despite the initial denial.
4.3. Notice should be served on Legal Representative of Deceased before Proceeding under GST Act: Allahabad HC
(Mrs Lalitha Subramanian vs Union Of India And 3 Others)
The Allahabad High Court ruled that notice should be served on the legal representative of the deceased before proceeding under the Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (GST Act).
4.4. TRU not Statutorily Recognized to issue Clarification or Directive u/s 168 of CGST Act: Delhi HC
(Association Of Technical Textiles Manufacturers And Processors & Anr Vs Union Of India & Ors.)
The Delhi High Court recently observed that the Tax Research Unit (TRU) is not statutorily recognized to issue clarification or directive under Section 168 of the Central Goods & Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act).
4.5.Supreme Court issues notice in Sales Tax Bar Association’s Challenge to GSTAT Provisions
(SALES TAX BAR ASSOCIATION vs UNION OF INDIA & ORS.)
The Tax Bar Association has challenged the validity of the provisions of section 109 and 110 on the following grounds: —
a. Lack of provision for advocates to become judicial members – Section 110(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act.
b. Maximum tenure as per the impugned provisions is 4 + 2 years with maximum age limit at 67 years.
The ruling in the Madras Bar Association (2022) case by the Supreme Court mandated that the term of a tribunal member shall be 5 years. The petitioner also placed reliance on the 272nd Law Commission Reports, which had given recommendations in accordance with recent rulings of the Supreme Court against which the currently impugned provisions stand challenged before the apex court.
5. PRESS RELEASES
5.1. Food Delivery Apps Swiggy and Zomato receive GST Demand Notices from DGGI on Delivery Charges
(Advisory Dated 24 November, 2023)
The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) has issued demand notices totaling INR 1,000 Cr to popular food delivery platforms Zomato and Swiggy. The notices pertain to Goods and Services Tax (GST) dues on the delivery fees collected by the platforms since the inception of their food delivery services.
5.2. Central Govt Contemplates Raising GST Evasion Threshold to ₹3 Crore to Decriminalise Offences
(Advisory Dated 15 November, 2023)
The Central Government is contemplating a revision of the arrest and criminal prosecution threshold in cases of Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion, considering an increase from ₹2 crore to ₹3 crore. The primary aim of this initiative to decriminalise certain aspects is to reduce harassment and improve the overall ease of conducting business.
Disclaimer: “This material is intended to provide general information on particular subject(s) and is not an exhaustive treatment of such subject(s) or a substitute to obtaining professional service or advice. It is strongly recommended to seek professional advice before implementation of any of the aspects covered in the presentation.”)
Author can be reached at ca.hsinghal@gmail.com; +91 99172 11511
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