On July 27, 2019, the 36th Goods & Service Tax (GST) Council Meeting was held in New Delhi Via Video Conference under the chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. It was attended by Union Minister of State for Finance & Corporate Affairs Shri Anurag Thakur, Revenue Secretary Shri Ajay Bhushan Pandey and other senior officials of the Ministry of Finance.
Key Points:
i. The GST Council made the following changes in the GST rate on supply of goods and services which will be effective from August 1, 2019:
- The GST rate on all Electric Vehicles (EVs) was reduced from 12% to 5%.
- The GST rate on charger or charging stations for EVs was reduced from 18% to 5%.
- Hiring of electric buses (of carrying capacity of more than 12 passengers) by local authorities was exempted from GST.
ii. Following changes were made in the GST Law:
- The last date for filing of intimation in FORM GST CMP-02, for availing the option of payment of tax under notification No. 2/2019-Central Tax (Rate) dated 07.03.2019 (by exclusive supplier of services) was extended from July 31, 2019 to September 30, 2019.
- The last date for furnishing statement containing the details of the self-assessed tax in FORM GST CMP-08 for the quarter April, 2019 to June, 2019 (by taxpayers under composition scheme) was extended from July 31, 2019 to August 31, 2019.
About GST Council:
It is the governing body of GST, chaired by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and assisted by the finance ministers of all the states of India. It is an apex member committee to modify, reconcile or to procure any law or regulation based on the context of goods and services tax in India and is responsible for any revision or enactment of rule or any rate changes of the goods and services in India.
