Notifications / Circulars

GSTN on occasion of one year of the successful going live with the additional five new IRP portals, the e-invoice master information portal, and the e-invoice QR Code Verifier app, announces the launch of the revamped e-invoice master information portal https://einvoice.gst.gov.in . This enhancement is part of ongoing effort to further improve taxpayer services. New Features of the revamped E-Invoice Master Information Portal are as follows:

Mandatory Bank Account Details Submission as per law: All Registered Taxpayers are required under the provisions of CGST Act, 2017 and the corresponding Rules framed thereunder to furnish details of their bank account/s within 30 days of the grant of registration or before the due date of filing GSTR-1/IFF, whichever is earlier…..

To facilitate the taxpayer registered under GST with more methods of payment, two new facilities of payment have now been provided under e-payment in addition to net-banking. The two new methods are Cards and Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Cards facility includes Credit Card (CC) and Debit Card (DC) namely Mastercard, Visa, RuPay, Diners(CC only) issued by any Indian bank.

As per Notification No. 26/2022 – Central Tax dated 26th December 2022 two new tables Table 14 and Table 15 were added in GSTR-1 to capture the details of the supplies made through e-commerce operators (ECO) on which e-commerce operators are liable to collect tax under section 52 of the Act or liable to pay tax u/s 9(5). These tables have now been made live on the GST common portal. These two new tables will be available in GSTR-1/IFF from January-2024 tax periods onwards. Please click here for the complete advisory.

Dear Taxpayers,

The following Functionalities are made available on the portal for the GTA Taxpayers.

1. Filing of Online Declaration in Annexure V and Annexure VI for the existing GTA Taxpayers: As per the Notification No. 06/2023-Central Tax (Rate), dated 26.07.2023, the option by GTA to pay GST on Forward Charge mechanism or the Reverse Charge mechanism respectively on the services supplied by them during a Financial Year shall be exercised by making a declaration in Annexure V

• 1.  In order to facilitate the taxpayers in correct and accurate reporting of ITC reversal and reclaim thereof and to avoid clerical mistakes, a new ledger namely Electronic Credit and Re-claimed Statement was introduced on the GST portal. This statement was made available to help the taxpayers in tracking their ITC that has been reversed in Table 4B(2) and thereafter re-claimed in Table 4D(1) and 4A(5). Kindly…

Dear Taxpayers,

1.  GSTN is introducing two-factor authentication (2FA) for taxpayers to strengthen the login security in GST portal. The pilot rollout has been done for a state of Haryana and working seamlessly. Currently, 2FA will be rolled out for Punjab, Chandigarh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan and Delhi in 1st phase. In 2nd phase, it is planned to be rolled out all states across India…

Dear Taxpayers,

This is to inform taxpayers about recent developments concerning the application process for GST registration. It is advised to keep the following key points in mind during the registration process.

1.   Amnesty for Taxpayers: The GST Council, in its 52nd meeting, recommended granting amnesty to taxpayers who could not 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.

2.   In…

You can access and download the above said documents by clicking on the link below:

Difference in Input Tax Credit (ITC) available in GSTR-2B & ITC claimed in the GSTR-R3B

Dear Taxpayers,

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…

Vide Rule 37A of CGST Rules, 2017 the taxpayers have to reverse the Input Tax Credit (ITC) availed on such invoice…

This is to inform taxpayers about recent developments concerning the application process for GST registration. It is advised to keep the following key points in mind during the registration process.

Notification 51/2023 dated 29.09.2023 has introduced Table 5B in GSTR 5A w. e. f 01.10.2023. In this notification, Table 5B has been introduced to report supplies made to Registered GSTINs (B2B supplies). This would be implemented shortly at GSTN and till such time, OIDARs are advised to file the return in the existing GSTR 5A itself.

In terms of the recent amendments made in the CGST/SGST Act, the IGST Act and the CGST/SGST Rules, any person located outside taxable territory making supply of online money gaming to a person in taxable territory, is liable to get registered in GST and is required to pay tax on such supply. In this context, every person located outside taxable territory making such supplies of online money gaming to a person in India is now mandated to take registration/amend his existing registration in accordance with the proposed Row (iia) in FORM GST REG-10 and also required to furnish information regarding the supplies in the proposed Tables in FORM GSTR-5A. GSTN is in the process of developing the functionality of such new registrations or required amendment in existing registration, as the case may be. In the meantime, till the said functionality is made available on the portal, a workaround is suggested to be followed as below:

In terms of the recent amendments to the Act and the rules and notification number 34/2023 dated 31.07.2023, persons supplying goods through e-commerce operators shall be exempt from mandatory registration under the CGST Act even if they supply goods through e-commerce operators (ECO) if they satisfy the following conditions:

GSTN has also provided APIs for ECOs (through whom unregistered persons can supply goods) to integrate with GSTN to obtain the details and facilitate the unregistered suppliers. The APIs are for validating the demographic details of the said suppliers and also for use in tracking and reporting supplies by such persons. The details of the APIs are in below link:

“Facility of enrolment for supply of goods through e-commerce operators by GST un-registered suppliers” and the advisory note can be assessed through below link:

“Person supplying of Online Money Gaming services or OIDAR or Both– Form GST REG-10 and Form GSTR-5A” and the detailed advisory note can be assessed through below link:

The CESTAT on 21st September 2023 vide Notification No 2 of 2023 has notified hearing on virtual mode and the copy of the notification enclosed for your reference.

The ministry of finance through Notification No. A-50050/150/2018-CESTAT-DoR dated 14th September 2023 has notified State level benches for Goods and Service Tax appellate tribunals and copy of notification has been enclosed for your easy reference.

The GSTIN on 19th September 2023 has issued an advisory note on enablement of Geocoding functionality for additional place of businesses. This facility has been already enabled in GST portal and the advisory note can be accessed through the link

The GSTN has issued an advisory note on the availability of a new functionality in the e-invoicing portal that allows taxpayers who are by default enabled for e-invoicing but are exempted from implementing it under the CGST (Central Goods and Services Tax) Rules to declare their exemption. The advisory note can be accessed through the link

A new functionality has been introduced by the GSTN for issuance of intimation in Form GST DRC-01B in cases where the liability declared in Form GSTR-1 exceeds the liability discharged through Form GSTR-3B, by a pre-defined limit or the percentage of such difference exceeds a threshold as recommended by the GST Council. Taxpayers are required to respond to such intimation in Part B of Form GST DRC-01B within 7 days from the issuance of notice, either by (a) discharging such differential tax liability through Form GST DRC-03 or (b) provide a suitable explanation for such difference. In case the differential tax liability is not paid or the explanation or reasons provided by the taxpayer are not accepted by the Proper Officer, recovery proceedings can be initiated. Detailed manual containing step-by-step guidelines on how to navigate this functionality can be accessed here.

With effect from 01.08.2023, CBIC has lowered the threshold of Aggregate Annual Turnover (AATO) from 10 crores to 5 crores, for applicability of e-Invoicing for B2B transactions. To facilitate the same, GSTN has now enabled e-invoice reporting by eligible taxpayers on all the six IRPs. Taxpayers can check their status of enablement of e-Invoicing through this link. The enablement status indicated on the e-Invoice portal does not indicate a legal obligation on taxpayers to use e-Invoicing and the onus is placed on the taxpayers to check the applicability and compliance of the e-invoicing provisions. 

GSTN has launched a mobile application (“EInvoice QR Code Verifier” App) to facilitate the verification of accuracy and authenticity of the value / information embedded in the QR code in the e-invoices. The app operates on a non-login basis and is currently available on Google Play Store (iOS version to be available soon)

Services provided by ‘Courts’ and ‘Tribunals’ will now be covered under the provisions of Reverse Charge Mechanism and the reference to Central / State Government in the RCM provisions would include a reference to ‘Courts’ and ‘Tribunals’. For instance, renting services in the nature of renting of premises to telecommunication companies for installation of towers, renting of chamber to lawyers etc.

For the returns filed upto December 2022 (return period), details of Credit Notes (CN) issued by vendors was being auto-populated separately in Table 4B(2) of the autopopulated Form GSTR-3B i.e. Other Reversals and taxpayers were advised to file the same accordingly. Now, as per the latest advisory, for the returns filed from January 2023 (return period), taxpayers are advised to declare the details of Credit Notes (CN) issued by vendors on a net basis itself in Table 4(A) i.e. ITC available of Form GSTR-3B, instead of declaring the ITC for the period in full in Table 4(A) and credit notes separately in Table 4(B)(2).
Based on the above changes, if the ITC available is lesser than the credit notes uploaded, value in Table 4(A) will be auto populated as a negative amount and such negative amounts can be entered in Table 4(A) i.e. ITC available of Form GSTR-3B. Hitherto, only positive amounts could be entered in such table.

GSTN has launched a new user-friendly E-invoicing portal (www.einvoice.gst.gov.in) which is a reference site for master data, news, updates and latest releases. However, for registering e-invoices and generation of IRN, taxpayers should continue using the current portal i.e. . 3 new Invoice Reporting Portals (IRPs) for reporting e-invoices are in the works and are expected to be active shortly.

Goods Transport Agencies (GTA) have an option to pay tax under forward charge by submitting ‘Annexure V’ on the GST portal every year before the commencement of a financial year. The cut-off date for exercising the said option is 15th March of the preceding financial year and once exercised the same cannot be withdrawn during the year. For FY 2023-24, facility of submission of ‘Annexure V’ has been enabled on the portal for GTA’s to exercise their option by 15th March, 2023 by navigating to: Services > User Services > Opting Forward Charge Payment by GTA (Annexure V) on the GST portal.

The CBIC has introduced the functionality for geocoding the principal place of business address (i.e. the process of converting an address or description of a location into geographic coordinates) on the GST Portal. This feature is introduced to ensure the accuracy of address furnished in the GSTN records and streamline the address location and verification process. Currently, this functionality is being made available for taxpayers registered in Delhi and Haryana only and can be accessed under Services>>Registration>>Geocoding Principal Place of Business after logging in to the GSTN portal.

The CBIC has notified the provisions of Finance Act, 2022 related to GST which shall be effective from October 1st, 2022. The key changes include extension in time limit of availment of ITC till 30th November of next financial year, amendment to GSTR 1 return till 30th November of next financial year, credit notes can be issued till 30th November of next financial year, Form GSTR-2 has been done away with, extension in time-limit to rectify errors or omission in Form GSTR -1 or GSTR-3B, omission of sections 42, 43 and 43A etc.

As per the directions of Hon‘ble Supreme Court, the facility for filingTRAN-1/ TRAN-2 or revising the earlier filed TRAN-1/TRAN-2 on the common portal by an aggrieved registered assessee will be made available by GSTN during the period from 01.10.2022 to 30.11.2022. In order to ensure uniformity in implementation of the directions of Hon‘ble Supreme Court, the CBIC has issued guidelines for the applicants for filing TRAN-1/TRAN-2 or revising earlier filed TRAN-1/TRAN-2.

The CBIC issued Notification No. 17/2022–Central Tax dated August 01, 2022 to amend Notification No. 13/2020 – Central Tax, dated March 21, 2020 to decrease the e-Invoicing aggregate turnover limit from 20 crore to 10 crore w.e.f. October 01, 2022. Hence, w.e.f. 01-10-2022 onwards Einvoice is applicable if aggregate turnover of taxpayer is exceeding Rs.10 crores in any one of the years from FY 2017-18 onwards.

Increase in Tax Rates

1. GST Rate on LED lamps, lights and fixtures proposed to be increased to 18% from 12%
2. GST Rate on Works Contract for construction of Road, Bridges etc proposed to be increased to 18% from 12%
3. GST Rate on Sale of E Waste proposed to be increased from 5% to 18%

Withdrawal of Exemption

1. Renting of residential dwelling to business entities
2. Hotel Accommodation priced at less than Rs 1000 to be taxed at 12%
3. Training or Coaching in Recreation Activity relating to Arts, Culture and Sports – To be exempt if provided by an Individual
4. Room rent (excluding ICU) exceeding Rs5000 per day per patient charged by a hospital shall be taxed to the extent of amount charged for the room at 5% without ITC.

Clarifications

1. Electric Vehicle with or without battery to attract GST at the rate of 5%
2. Ice Cream Parlours paying GST at 5% during July 1, 2017 to October 5, 2021 – To be regularized to avoid litigation
3. Preferential Location Charges charged alongwith the lease rentals for land – To be treated as composite supply of lease rentals for land
4. Honorarium paid to Guest Actors on TV Channels to be liable to GST
5. Higher Toll for vehicles without FasTAG not to be treated as service but toll charges only
6. Sale of Land after levelling, laying down of drainage pipe etc to be treated as sale of land and hence not liable to GST
7. Services in form of Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) /In vitro fertilization (IVF) are covered under the definition of health care services for the purpose of exemption under GST

Other Changes

1. Proposal for comprehensive changes in FORM GSTR-3B to be placed in public domain for seeking inputs/suggestions of the stakeholders.
2. Waiver from compulsory registration for supplies made through E Commerce Operators subject to certain conditions
3. Tax Payers under Composition Scheme to be allowed to make intra state supplies through E Commerce Operators
4. Amendment to the formula prescribed for computation of refund under inverted duty structure
5. Waiver of late fee for delay in filing FORM GSTR-4 for FY2021-22 and extension of due date for filing FORM GST CMP-08 for Q1 of FY2022-23:
6. Present exemption of IGST on import of goods under AA/EPCG/EOU scheme to be continued and E-wallet scheme not to be pursued further.
7. Exemption from filing annual return in FORM GSTR-9/9A for FY2021-22 to be provided to taxpayers having AATO upto Rs.2crores
8. Explanation 1 after rule 43 of CGST Rules to be amended to provide that there is no requirement of reversal of input tax credit for exempted supply of Duty Credit Scrips by  the exporters.
9. All taxable service of Department of Posts would be subject to forward charge. Hitherto certain taxable services of Department of post were taxed on reverse charge basis
10. Goods transport agency (GTA) is being given option to pay GST at 5% or 12% under forward charge; option to be exercised at  the beginning of Financial Year. RCM option to continue

1. Recommendations relating to GST law and procedure
   1. Requirement of filing FORM GST ITC-04 under rule 45 (3) of the CGST Rules has been relaxed as under:
      • Taxpayers whose annual aggregate turnover in preceding financial year is above Rs. 5 crores shall furnish ITC-04 once in six months;
      • Taxpayers whose annual aggregate turnover in preceding financial year is upto Rs. 5 crores shall furnish ITC-04 annually.
   2. There was no clarity on whether to pay interest for ineligible credit at the time of availment or after both availment and utilization for payment of tax.  Council decided that interest in such cases should be charged on ineligible ITC availed and utilized at 18% w.e.f. 01.07.2017.
   3. Unutilized balance in CGST and IGST cash ledger may be allowed to be transferred between distinct persons (entities having same PAN but registered in different states), without going through the refund procedure, subject to certain safeguards
   4. Issuance of the following circulars in order to remove ambiguity and legal disputes on various issues, thus benefiting taxpayers at large  (Circulars awaited)
      • Clarification on scope of “intermediary services”
      • Clarification relating to interpretation of the term “merely establishment of distinct person” in condition (v) of the Section 2 (6) of the IGST Act 2017 for export of services.  This was applicable for transaction between Head office and foreign branch of Head office.
      • W.e.f. 01.01.2021, the date of issuance of debit note (and not the date of underlying invoice) shall determine the relevant financial year for the purpose of section 16(4) of CGST Act, 2017;.  As per section 16(4), there is a time limit upto September or filing of annual return whichever is earlier to avail the Input Tax Credit for a FY.  Now, it is clarified that date of Debit Note to be considered for time limit.
      • There is no need to carry the physical copy of tax invoice in cases where invoice has been generated by the supplier in the manner prescribed under rule 48(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017 i.e. under e-invoicing provisions.
2. Measures for streamlining compliances in GST:
   • Aadhaar authentication of registration to be made mandatory for being eligible for filing refund claim and application for revocation of cancellation of registration
   • Late fee for delayed filing of FORM GSTR-1 to be auto-populated and collected in next open return in FORM GSTR-3B.
   • Refund to be disbursed in the bank account, which is linked with same PAN on which registration has been obtained under GST.
   • Rule 59(6) of the CGST Rules to be amended with effect from 01.01.2022 to provide that a registered person shall not be allowed to furnish FORM GSTR-1, if he has not furnished the return in FORM GSTR-3B for the preceding month.
   • Rule 36(4) (Limit of additional credit on unmatched credit upto 5%) of CGST Rules, 2017 to be amended, once the proposed clause (aa) of section 16(2) of CGST Act, 2017 is notified, to restrict availment of ITC in respect of invoices/ debit notes, to the extent the details of such invoices/ debit notes are furnished by the supplier in FORM GSTR-1/ IFF and are communicated to the registered person in FORM GSTR-2B.  As per clause (aa) of section 16(2) of CGST Act, 2017, condition to avail ITC is supplier files GSTR 1 return and available to the receiver in his 2B.  Hence, after implementation of this provision, it looks like the intention of the government is to remove additional 5% provided under rule 36(4) of CGST Rules.
   • GST Council has also recommended amendments in certain provisions of the Act and Rules which will be notified soon.
3. Changes pertaining to rate of Goods:
   • COVID-19 relief measure in form of GST rate concessions:  Extension / further reduction of concessional GST rates on certain drugs for Covid 19 treatment.  This is applicable upto 31st Dec 2021.
   • Reduced / Increased rates on some goods like Retro fitment kits for vehicles used by the disabled, Fortified Rice Kernels etc.
   • Supply of mentha oil from unregistered person has been brought under reverse charge.
   • Brick kilns would be brought under special composition scheme with threshold limit of Rs. 20 lakhs, with effect from 1.4.2022. Bricks would attract GST at the rate of 6% without ITC under the scheme. GST rate of 12% with ITC would otherwise apply to bricks.
   • Correction in Inverted Duty structure in Footwear and Textiles sector
   • In terms of the recent directions of the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala, the issue of whether specified petroleum products should be brought within the ambit of GST was placed for consideration before the Council. After due deliberation, the Council was of the view that it is not appropriate to do so at this stage.
4. Changes pertaining to rate of Service:
   • Validity of GST exemption on transport of goods by vessel and air from India to outside India is extended upto 30.9.2022.
   • Exempted Services by way of grant of National Permit to goods carriages on payment of fee
   • Exempts Skill Training for which Government bears 75% or more of the expenditure [ presently exemption applies only if Govt funds 100%].
   • Licensing services/ the right to broadcast and show original films, sound recordings, Radio and Television programmes [ to bring parity between distribution and licencing services].  Rate increased from 12% to 18%.
   • Printing and reproduction services of recorded media where content is supplied by the publisher (to bring it on parity with Colour printing of images from film or digital media). Rate increased from 12% to 18%.
   • E Commerce Operators are being made liable to pay tax on following services provided through them
     • transport of passengers, by any type of motor vehicles through it [w.e.f. 1st January, 2022]
     • restaurant services provided through it with some exceptions [w.e.f. 1st January, 2022]
5. Certain clarifications provided in relation to rate on Goods to remove the ambiguity in the law.  Please refer attached press release for list of such clarifications provided.
6. Certain clarifications provided in relation to rate on Service to remove the ambiguity in the law.   Please refer attached press release for list of such clarifications provided.
7. The Council decided to set up a GoM to examine the issue of correction of inverted duty structure for major sectors; rationalize the rates and review exemptions from the point of view of revenue augmentation, from GST. It was also decided to set up a GoM to discuss ways and means of using technology to further improve compliance including monitoring through improved e-way bill systems, e-invoices, FASTag data and strengthening the institutional mechanism for sharing of intelligence and coordinated enforcement actions by the Centre and the States.