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Tax rate on 29 items, 54 services slashed

New Delhi: The all-powerful GST Council on Thursday cut the tax rate on 29 goods, including second-hand vehicles, confectionery and bio-diesel, while veering around to simplifying return filing process for businesses.
Also, the tax rate on 54 categories of services, including certain job works, tailoring services and admission to theme parks, has been lowered.
The panel at its next meeting may also consider bringing under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) purview items like petroleum and real estate which are currently outside the new regime, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said.
The Council cut GST rate on second-hand medium and large cars and SUVs from 28 percent to 18 percent and on other old and used motor vehicles to 12 percent.
Tax on diamonds and precious stones was slashed to 0.25 per cent from current 3 per cent.
While tax rate for bio-diesel was slashed to 12 percent from 18 percent, that for public transport buses run on environment-friendly bio-fuels has been reduced to 18 percent from 28 percent previously.
Tax rate on irrigation equipment, sugar boiled confectionery, drinking water packed in 20-litre bottles, fertiliser grade phosphoric acid, tamarind kernel power, mehendi paste in cones, LPG supplied by private distributors, articles of straw, velvet fabric and rice bran was also cut.
The new rates would be effective from January 25.
The Council, in its 25th meeting on Thursday, also discussed the process to make return filing simpler with just one return to being filed every month.
The Council discussed the possibility of retaining only GSTR- 3B or initial sales return while mandating sellers to upload their invoices.
Businesses at present have to file GSTR-3B as well as GSTR-1, which is the final invoice wise sales returns.
The minister further said that a nation-wide roll-out of the e-way bill would happen on February 1 for interstate transportation of goods through roads. Additionally, 15 states have said they will also start off with an e-way bill for intrastate movement of goods on the same day.
Given declining GST revenues, the Council, chaired by Jaitley and comprising his state counterparts, on Thursday reviewed the collections in the new indirect tax regime.
Jaitley said so far the government was relying on the unilateral declaration made by the business, and given declining collections; there was a need for anti-evasion measures.
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