The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its next meeting on December 17, will consider proposals to decriminalize the GST law and set up an appellate tribunal to resolve disputes, a government official said.
The 48th meeting of the Council will consider the proposals of a Group of Ministers headed by Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, which examined the necessary changes in GST laws to bring them in line with various court orders relating to various aspects of the tribunal.
The setting up of tribunals across the country is expected to help in speedy resolution of GST related disputes, improve ease of doing business and reduce case load in high courts. The GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) is the forum of second appeal in GST laws. The first appeal lies with the tax authorities. GSTAT is also the first common forum for dispute resolution between the Center and the States.
Being a common forum, GSTAT is expected to resolve disputes and ensure uniformity in implementation of GST across the country.
The Council will also consider decriminalizing the GST law to improve the ease of doing business and reduce the compliance burden. The idea is to raise the monetary threshold for prosecution and to differentiate between procedural or technical loopholes and serious offenses with intent to evade taxes. GST laws now prescribe various jail terms for offenses in which the tax amount involved exceeds 1 crore.
The government had earlier decriminalized the Companies Act, making several offenses compoundable, besides rationalizing the punishment.
The council may also discuss a report on the tax structure for online gaming, horse racing and casinos if a ministerial group headed by Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma submits its report.
While there is a broad convergence of views within the panel for a uniform 28% GST rate for the three sectors, the basis on which the tax rate should apply is undecided, Peppermint Reported on 22 November. The GST Council will have the benefit of the views of the individual members of the ministerial panel to take a decision. It remains to be seen whether the council has to resort to voting to decide on the taxation structure for these industries.
The person cited above said a ministerial group on rate rationalization has received a proposal to reduce the GST rate on health insurance policies, but the panel is yet to submit its report.
An email sent to the finance ministry and GST secretariat on Monday for comments did not elicit any response till the time of publication.
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