GST Council to discuss e-Way Bill, anti-profiteering body

Updated - January 09, 2018 at 04:51 PM.

Will also look into textile sector demands

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Meeting for the second time after the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax from July 1, the GST Council hopes to tie up the loose ends of the regime and also review some tax rates.

The Council in its meeting on Saturday is expected to finalise the rules for the E-Way Bill and also modalities of the Anti-Profiteering Authority that would check undue price rise by companies.

With long protest and strikes by textile manufacturers, the Council is also expected to review the tax incidence on the sector.

Additionally, it is also likely to look into the issue of tax avoidance by rice millers, many of whom are understood to have withdrawn applications for registration in the hope of avoiding GST.

“It will also take stock of the implementation and the registration under GST. The next big challenge is filing of returns and that will be discussed at the meeting as well,” said a person familiar with the development.

The GST Council, led by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had held an emergency meeting through video-conferencing on July 18 to increase the cess on cigarettes and correct a duty anomaly that was yielding windfall profits to tobacco companies.

While at that time the Council had also reviewed the roll out of GST and registration, sources said this would be a more detailed review as there are concerns over online uploading of invoices and filing of returns by over 80 lakh GST assessees.

Similarly, the Council will also finalise the E-Way Rules, under which movement of goods worth over ₹50,000 had to be mandatorily registered with the GST Network.

Sources said that in some relaxation to industry, the threshold for the E-Way Bill could be raised marginally. The Centre and States are, however, keen to finalise the rules and begin the IT work for the Bill to launch it by October.

It is also keen that the Anti-Profiteering Authority becomes operational at the earliest.

Published on August 4, 2017 17:09