GST Exemption Limit Raised to Businesses With Annual Turnover of Up To Rs 40 Lakh From 20 Lakh

New Delhi, August 24: The Ministry of Finance on Monday announced that businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh are exempted from the Goods and Services Tax (GST). Previously, this limit was Rs 20 lakh. Moreover, those with a turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore can opt for the composition scheme and pay only 1% tax, the Finance Ministry said in its statement. It added saying that the taxpayer base has almost doubled since the rollout of GST.

The numbers of assessee covered by the GST at the time of its inception were about 65 lakh. However, now the assessee base exceeds 1.24 crore. The Ministry of Finance added saying that all processes in GST have been fully automated and till now 50 crore returns have been filed online and 131 cr e-way bill generated. "Once GST was implemented, the tax rate on a large number of items was brought down. As of now, the 28% rate is almost solely restricted to sin and luxury items. Out of a total of about 230 items in the 28% slab, about 200 items have been shifted to lower slabs", the Ministry said. GST Day 2020: Check Current GST Rates, List of Important Items and Slabs Under Goods And Services Tax in India.

Here's the tweet:

Taking to Twitter, the Ministry said that it is now widely acknowledged that GST is both consumer and taxpayer-friendly. "While the high tax rates of the pre-GST era acted as a disincentive to paying tax, the lower rates under GST helped to increase tax compliance", it said. The Ministry added that the multiple markets across India, with each state charging a different rate of tax, led to huge inefficiencies and costs of compliance.

Under GST, compliance has been improving steadily while the taxpayer base has almost doubled to 1.24 crore. Moreover, significant relief has been extended to the construction sector, particularly the housing sector. It has now been placed at the 5% rate. GST on affordable housing has been reduced to 1%, the Finance Ministry said.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) last week notified Aadhaar authentication for GST registration with effect from August 21, 2020. All businesses which will provide Aadhaar number while applying for registration under the Goods and Services Tax will get the approval in three working days.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 24, 2020 11:54 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).