GST gets simpler for small businesses and exporters

NEW DELHI: The GST Council tweaked rules on Friday to make life simpler for small businesses and exporters and also cut rates on 27 products+ , including man-made yarn, which was a key demand of the textiles sector, in a bid to mollify those complaining about the new tax regime.

While the main focus was on reducing the compliance burden for a majority of taxpayers+ who contribute a minuscule part of the revenue, the move to reduce the rate on man-made fibre was meant to comfort businessmen in states such as Gujarat, where assembly elections are due later this year.

Similarly, the tax rate on rotis and khakra was cut along with savouries and ayurvedic and homoeopathic medicines.

GST Council's decision to help small, medium businesses: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had promised on Wednesday to remove all impediments, was quick to comment that the council's decisions would immensely help small and medium businesses, which have been complaining the most. "Good and simple tax becomes even simpler. Today's recommendations will immensely help small and medium business... GST is in line with our constant endeavour to ensure interests of our citizens are safeguarded and India's economy grows," he tweeted hours after finance minister Arun Jaitley announced the changes at a press conference.

After day-long deliberations, the Centre and the states agreed to put in place a new mechanism that will allow those with a turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore — which make up for over 90% of the base but only 5% of the tax collections — to file returns every quarter.

At the same time, Jaitley promised that none of the large businesses, which will have to file monthly returns, will be denied credit for the taxes paid by their smaller vendors.
In addition, the government has allowed traders, manufacturers and restaurants with turnover of up to Rs 1 crore, instead of the Rs 75-lakh cap earlier, to opt for the composition scheme that will reduce their compliance burden by paying a flat rate of tax ranging between 1% and 5%. In addition, the deadline for the reverse charge mechanism was also extended.

"If you look at the GST pattern, the large players provide substantial taxation. SMEs pay nil or nominal tax but have high compliance pressures," Jaitley said.

As a result, the GST Council has decided to exempt those covered by the advance authorisation scheme, export promotion capital goods or 100% export-oriented units from paying taxes on inputs till March. Merchant exporters will pay 0.1% GST for purchases from domestic players.
In Video: Govt reduces GST rates on 27 items; relief for small traders and exporters

The new Rs 50 notes to be issued by RBI are being made under the Mahatma Gandhi series.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will now issue new bank notes of Rs 50 denomination.  The new notes are being made under the Mahatma Gandhi series.
They will also have the motif of 'Hampi with Chariot'.
The new fluorescent notes will be printed in blue and will bear the signature of RBI governor Urjit Patel. The announcement was made in a notification released by the RBI.
The new Rs 50 notes have several geometric patterns that align with the colour scheme on both obverse and reverse sides.
Although the new notes have been announced, the RBI said that the old Rs 50 notes will continue to be legal tender.
This is the third denomination that has been revamped since the government's demonetisation on November 8 last year. Earlier, new notes of Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes were introduced.

Know about GST

1). In India GST came effective from July 1st, 2017. India has chosen _________ model of dual – GST.
a)   USA
b)   UK
c)   Canadian
d)   China
e)   Japan
Answer: (C).

2). How many countries have dual – GST model?
a)   5
b)   8
c)   10
d)   14
e)   None of these
Answer: (E). Till now Canada only has dual GST model but now India also started to use dual-GST model.

3). Which of the following country is the first one to implement GST?
a)   USA
b)   France
c)   China
d)   Switzerland
e)   Germany
Answer: (B). France implemented GST in 1954.

4). Around how many countries adopted GST?
a)   90
b)   120
c)   140
d)   160
e)   200
Answer: (D).

5). Which of the following country has the maximum GST tax slab?
a)   Greece
b)   China
c)   USA
d)   Australia
e)   India
Answer: (E). India has the maximum tax slab (28%) compared to other countries.

6). Which of the following country has the second highest tax slab?
a)   Australia
b)   Netherland
c)   Argentina
d)   Ireland
e)   South Korea
Answer: (C). Argentina has the second highest tax slab 27%

7).  Indian GST model has _________rate structure.
a)   3
b)   4
c)   5
d)   6
e)   2
Answer: (B). In India GST model has 4 rate structure. They are 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%

8). How many types of taxes will be in Indian GST?
a)   2
b)   3
c)   4
d)   5
e)   6
Answer: (B). Central GST (CGST), State GST (SGST) and IGST are three types of taxes.

9). What does “I” stands for in IGST?
a)   International
b)   Internal
c)   Integrated
d)   Intra
e)   Innovation
Answer: (C).

10). The tax IGST charged by _________Government.
a)   Central
b)   State
c)   Concerned department
d)   Both a and b
e)   All a, b and c
Answer: (A).

11). The maximum rate prescribed under IGST is _________.
a)   5%
b)   12%
c)   18%
d)   28%
e)   No such limit
Answer: (D).

12). In India GST was first proposed in _________.
a)   1993
b)   1996
c)   1999
d)   2000
e)   2002
Answer: (D).

13). GST is a _________ based tax on consumption of goods and services.
a)   Duration
b)   Destination
c)   Dividend
d)   Development
e)   Destiny
Answer: (B). main objective of GST is eliminate excessive taxation

14). GST comes under which amendment bill?
a)   118
b)   120
c)   122
d)   115
e)   129
Answer: (C).

15). Under which Act GST was introduced?
a)   100
b)   101
c)   102
d)   103
e)   104
Answer: (B)

16). GST council formation based on Article number _________.
a)   279A
b)   289A
c)   266A
d)   255A
e)   286A
Answer: (A)

17). The headquarters of GST council is _________.
a)   Mumbai
b)   New Delhi
c)   Ahmadabad
d)   Hyderabad
e)   Lucknow
Answer: (B).

18). Who is the chairman of GST council?
a)   President of India
b)   Prime Minister
c)   Finance Minister
d)   RBI Governor
e)   Finance secretary
Answer: (C). Arun Jaitley is the current chairman of GST council

19). _________ is GST Finance Ministers Panel Chairman.
a)   Amit Mishra
b)   Amit Malhodra
c)   Amit Chandresekar
d)   Amit Sastri
e)   Amit kohli
Answer: (A). Amit Mishra (West Bengal Finance Minister) is the Finance Ministers Panel Chairman.

20). _________ is the first state to ratify GST bill.
a)   Andhra Pradesh
b)   Assam
c)   Arunachal Pradesh
d)   Bihar
e)   Telangana
Answer: (B)

21). _________ is the first state that passed GST Bill.
a)   Andhra Pradesh
b)   Gujarat
c)   Uttar Pradesh
d)   Bihar
e)   Telangana
Answer: (E).

22). GST threshold limit of North Eastern States is _________ lakh
a)   5
b)   10
c)   12
d)   15
e)   20
Answer: (B).

23). GST threshold limit of Normal States is _________ lakh
a)   12
b)   15
c)   20
d)   25
e)   30
Answer: (C).

24). The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) announced that every year _________ will be considered as GST Day.
a)   April 1
b)   March 1
c)   June 1
d)   July 1
e)   January 1
Answer: (D)

25). Smart Phones will be taxed at _________ under GST.
a)   0%
b)   5%
c)   12%
d)   18%
e)   28%
Answer: (C).

26). Under GST, Insurance is taxed _________ percent.
a)   0%
b)   5%
c)   12%
d)   18%
e)   28%
Answer: (D).

27). Which of the following comes under sin tax?
a)   Pan Masala
b)   Tobacco
c)   Alcohol
d)   Both a and c
e)   All a, b and c
Answer: (E).

28). A special purpose vehicle _________ has been launched to cater the needs of GST.
a)   GSTC
b)   GSTN
c)   GSTM
d)   GSTR
e)   GSTS
Answer: (B). GSTN - Goods and Service Tax Network.

29). GSTN comes under which Act?
a)   Banking Regulation Act 1949
b)   RBI Act 1934
c)   Indian Partnership Act, 1932
d)   Limitation Act, 1963
e)   Companies Act, 2013
Answer: (E).

30). Combined Stake of Central and State Government in GSTN is _________.
a)   20%
b)   25%
c)   49%
d)   51%
e)   100%
Answer: (C). The remaining 51% stake is divided among five financial institutions—LIC Housing Finance with 11% stake and ICICI Bank, HDFC, HDFC Bank and NSE Strategic Investment Corporation Ltd with 10% stake each.

31). What does N stands for in HSN?
a)   Network
b)   Nationalization
c)   Nominee
d)   Nomenclature
e)   Nomination
Answer: (D). HSN - Harmonized System of Nomenclature. HSN code will be used for classifying under the GST regime.

32). Coal comes under which rate Structure?
a)   0%
b)   5%
c)   12%
d)   18%
e)   28%
Answer: (C).

WhatsApp GST message

ஒரு கணவன் மனைவி செருப்பு கடைக்கு சென்றார்கள்....

கணவன் எல்லா செருப்பையும் பார்த்து விட்டு ஒரு 900 மதிப்புள்ள அழகிய செருப்பை தேர்ந்தெடுத்தான்....அதுவரை அமைதியாகவே அந்த மனைவி இருந்தாள்...

அந்த தேர்ந்தெடுத்த ரூபாய்.900 மதிப்புள்ள செருப்ப்பினை பில் போட போகும் சமயம் பார்த்து, அந்த கணவன் தனக்கு இடது கால் செருப்பு மட்டும் போதும் அதற்கு ரூபாய்450 தருவதாகவும்... அதற்கு மட்டும் பில் போட வேண்டும் என்று கூறினான்...

அதற்கு அதிர்ந்த கடைக்காரர்... ஏன் என்று கேட்டார்.... 500ரூபாய் க்கு மேல் உள்ள செருப்புக்கு GST ரொம்ப அதிகம் என்றான்...

அதுசரி அப்ப வலது பக்க செருப்பை என்ன செய்வது என்று கேட்டான் கடைக்காரன்....

அதற்கு அமைதியாக இருந்த மனைவி அதை நான் வாங்கி கொள்கின்றேன்... இந்த ருபாய்.450 தனியாக எனக்கு பில் போடு என்றாள்....

*கடைக்காரன் ரொம்பவே குழம்பி விட்டான்*

*அதற்கு அந்த கணவன் & மனைவி நன்கு ஒரு விளக்கம் கொடுத்தனர்*

*கடைக்காரன் ரூபாய்900 பில் போட்டால் gst போட்டால் Rs.162 வரி கட்ட வேண்டும்.*

*Rs.450 + Rs.450 இரண்டு பில்லாக போட்டால் Rs.45 (Rs.22.50 + Rs.22.50) மட்டுமே வரியாக போட முடியும்*

For day-to-day transaction purposes, the introduction of 200 rupee notes will add to the ease of operations

MUMBAI/KOLKATA: India's re-monetisation exercise appears to be entering its final lap, with the central bank beginning to print bills of 200 rupees – perhaps for the first time – to help ease consumer transactions.

The notes of Rs 200 denomination are being printed in one of the government-owned facilities after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) placed an order a few weeks ago for the bills, two people familiar with the matter told ET.

An email sent to the RBI seeking its comments could not elicit any response until the publication of this report.

"For day-to-day transaction purposes, the introduction of 200 rupee notes will add to the ease of operations," said Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economist at the SBI Group.

The introduction of the Rs-200 currency notes predates the federal government’s decision to overnight withdraw bills of higher denomination in November as part of a broader exercise to stop counterfeiting and curbing untaxed cash in Asia’s third-biggest economy.

The RBI board had earlier cleared the proposal to issue banknotes of Rs 200 denomination. The government, too, had examined the introduction of the new notes that would help citizens transact easily.

Before the November 8 de-monetisation, there were roughly 1,650 crore pieces of Rs 500 notes in circulation, according to data from the State Bank of India research. With the removal of this series from the system, there was a large gap in the value of notes in circulation.
Filling the Void

"A minor part of that has been replenished by 2000 rupee notes and a larger part by the new 500 rupee notes, though not in full,” said Ghosh. “The introduction of 200 rupee notes will replenish the missing middle, triggered by the withdrawal of the old series of 500 rupee notes."
Lower denomination notes aids the government’s efforts at realigning the currency mix in the system.

During demonetisation, it had ordered the withdrawal of the then existing Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes, which accounted for about 86% of currency in circulation of Rs 17.9 lakh crore.

As on June 9 this year, the currency circulation with the public is at Rs 14.6 lakh crore, still 18.4% lower than the pre-demonetisation level.

"The new 200 notes will carry advanced security features. The authorities are taking extra precaution to prevent counterfeiting," said a source aware of the printing schedule.

Currently, those notes are going through different levels of security and quality checks at the government's press unit at Hoshangabad (Madhya Pradesh), the person said.

The printing of currency notes is done either in printing units run by the government-run Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd or at printing presses in Mysore (Karnataka) and Salboni (West Bengal), managed by the RBI-owned Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Private Ltd.

Daily news 12 june 2017

1. India, Mauritius sign MoU to institutionalize cooperation between Parliaments

i. India and Mauritius have signed an MoU to institutionalize cooperation between Parliaments of the two countries. The MoU was signed by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and Speaker of National Assembly of Mauritius Santi Bai Hanoomanjee in Port Louis.
ii. Mrs. Mahajan was on a five-day visit to Mauritius from 6th of June with a Parliamentary delegation.

Static Takeaways from above News-

The President of Mauritius is Ameenah Gurib-Fakim.
Port Louis is the capital of Mauritius.
The currency of Mauritius is Mauritian rupee.
2. Govt launches Tele Law to provide legal aid in rural areas via video conferencing

i. The government of India has launched ‘Tele Law’ service to provide legal aid for the people living in rural areas through video conferencing. The service has been launched to make legal aid easily accessible to the marginalized communities and citizens living in rural areas.
ii. The Ministry of Law and Justice partnered with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to provide legal aid services through its Common Service Centres, CSC at the panchayat level, spread across the country. The service was launched by IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.
iii. Under the scheme, the Tele-Law portal will be available across the CSC network connecting the citizens to legal service providers. In the first phase, the Tele-Law scheme will be tested as a pilot across 1000 CSCs in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Takeaways from above News-

Ravi Shankar Prasad is the Law & Justice, Electronics & Information Technology Minister of India.
3. Dr. Jitendra Singh Announces “Hill Area Development Programme” for Northeast

i. The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), Dr Jitendra Singh announced the launch of “Hill Area Development Programme” (HADP) for Northeast in Imphal, Manipur.
ii. He announced the launch of the program to address a meet of Investors and Entrepreneurs, organized by NEDF (North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd), with joint participation of the Union Ministry of DoNER and the Government of Manipur.
iii. The program aims to bridge the gap between the hill and valley districts in terms of infrastructure, quality of roads, health and education. HADP was launched during the Fifth Five Year Plan aimed at balanced regional development.

Static Takeaways from above News-

Keibul Lamjao National Park is situated in Manipur.
Nongthombam Biren Singh is the newly selected CM of Manipur.
4. Kolkata to get India's first underwater Metro

i. Kolkata, the ‘City of Joy’ is about to experience a wonder in the form of an underwater Metro train which will run beneath the Hooghly river. It’s one of the path-breaking projects in India as never before a tunnel has been dug beneath a flowing river.
ii. The entire project is 16.6 km long, out of which 10.8 km runs under the ground. Of this 10.8 km, 502 meters is under the water. The project connects Howrah to the west and Salt Lake to the east.
iii. The project is expected to be completed by December 2019.

Static Takeaways for IBPS PO Exam-

Managing Director of Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation Ltd is Satish Kumar.
Howrah Bridge is a propped cantilever bridge with a suspended span over the Hooghly River in, Kolkata, West Bengal.
5. GST Council revises rates for 66 items

i. At its meeting in New Delhi, the council revised rates on 66 items such as pickles, sauces, fruit preserves, insulin, cashew nuts, insulin, school bags, coloring books, notebooks, printers, cutlery, agarbattis and cinema tickets, following representations from industry.
ii. Restaurants, manufacturers and traders having a turnover of up to Rs 75 lakh can avail of the composition scheme with lower rates of 5%, 2%, and 1%, respectively, with lower compliance, against Rs 50 lakh previously.
iii. A GST rate of 5% will be applicable on outsourcing of manufacturing or job work in textiles and the gems and jewelry sector. Bleaching and cleaning of human hair, a big industry in Midnapore, will not face any tax.

Takeaways from above News-

GST Council is Headed by Finance Minister of India Mr. Arun Jaitley.
6. The French Open 2017- Complete list of Winners

i. The French open title 2017 was held recently from 22 May-11 June 2017 at Roland Garros in Paris, France. Here is the complete list of all the winners in different categories of The French Open 2017.

French Men's Singles Open Title- Spain's Rafael Nadal (10th French Title) defeated Stan Wawrinka (Switzerland).
French Women's Singles Open Title- Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko (1st Grand Slam Title) defeated Simona Halep (Rome).
French Men's Doubles Title- Michael Venus (New Zealand) and Ryan Harrison (USA) defeated Santiago Gonzalez and Donald Young.
French Women's Doubles Title- Bethanie Mattek-Sands (USA) and Lucie Safarova (Czech Republic) defeated Ashleigh Barty and Casey Dellacqua.
French Open Mixed Doubles title- Rohan Bopanna (India) and Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) defeated Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Robert Farah.
7. Shashikant Kutwal wins gold at world chess championship for differently-abled

i. Shashikant Kutwal has won the gold medal at the 17th World Individual Chess Championship for differently-abled.
ii. The World Chess Championship was held in Slovakia. Shashikant Kutwal is a railway employee with Pune Division.

Static Takeaways from Above News-

The Capital of Slovakia is Bratislava and its Currency is Euro.
8. Poet, essayist Haraprasad Das gets Kalinga Literary Award

i. Legendary poet and essayist Haraprasad Das was conferred with the covetous Kalinga Literary Award for his work and contribution to literature at the fourth edition of Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF).
ii. The three-day literary festival was inaugurated by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. This year the KLF introduced two new awards -- the Kalinga International Literary Award, which was received by Anand Neelakantan for his contribution towards literature, and the Kalinga Karubaki Award, which was given to Paramita Satpathy for her contribution to Odia poetry.

9. Jairam Ramesh’s book on the naturist in Indira Gandhi launched

i. The book “Indira Gandhi – A life in Nature”, was launched by Congress president Sonia Gandhi at the Indira Gandhi Memorial.
ii. The book was authored by Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh. The 488-page book was launched to mark the birth centennial year of the former Prime Minister.

What will cost more and what will be cheaper for you due to GST? Here's the list

With the passage of the GST Bills in the Lok Sabha last week, India's biggest tax reform - Goods & Services Tax (GST), is all set to see the light of day soon. Touted as a reform which would reduce business transaction costs by creating a single seamless nationwide market, GST is expected to provide the much required tonic for economic growth.

With prospects of GST increasing the GDP by 2 percent, the momentous legislation, atleast for the short term, may emerge as a mixed bag for the common man. While most services may turn out to be more expensive, it may be a jumble for goods.

While in the long-term, GST should have quite a favourable impact on most sectors in the Indian economy, the short-term impact, as in the case of most reforms, may be limited. Basis the GST implementation experience in most countries, India may witness an inflationary impact during the transition phase, which should fade away with the legislation sinking in and operationalizing of measures like anti-profiteering.
Here is a look, at the expected immediate impact of GST on the common man's pocket:

These services are likely to become more expensive
A commoner should, at least till the time the service industries do not pass on the benefit of increased credits, budget for some increased pocket pricking on some necessary services like:
Mobile bills
Renewal premium for life insurance policies
Banking and investment management services
Basic luxuries for a common man like WIFI and DTH services, online booking of tickets may become costlier as well.

Prices of these essential services also likely to rise
Also, in the backdrop of quite a bit of current exemptions subsiding, various essential services may cost an arm and a leg under the GST regime. For example, where the current exemptions are discontinued:
Residential rent
Health care
School fees
Courier services
Commuting by metro or rail may become expensive.

Services that may get cheaper in most states
With entertainment taxes getting subsumed in GST, prices of movie tickets and theatrical performances may become cheaper in most states.
Dining in restaurants may also become more pocket friendly in most states.

Essential goods, certain vehicle categories likely to be cheaper
In terms of goods, where an exemption/ lower rate is prescribed for essential goods, GST is expected to marginally better the house economics as a whole. Further, under the GST regime, depending on the current supply chain arrangement and state of operation following may become cheaper:
Two-wheelers
Entry-level sedan (except small cars)
SUVs and luxury or premium cars

Marginal impact on white goods
Again depending on the current supply chain structure and related indirect taxes, a commoner could expect a 2% to 3% plus or minus impact on white goods like:
Televisions
Washing machines
Stoves

Aerated drinks , sin goods prices likely to jump
The Government aligned with its negative outlook to deleterious goods, proposes a higher tax on 'sin goods' which essentially includes aerated drinks, cigarettes and tobacco products. Where a higher rate of around 40% is proposed on aerated drinks, the same may witness an increase in their prices.

Positive impact on cost of most supplies in long term expected
While the above anticipations are mostly basis the information released/ statements of government officials available in the public domain, we would need to await the final fitment structure released by the Government on categorization and related rates for various goods or services. Nonetheless, with enabling of anti-profiteering and other corrective measures, GST should result in a decreased cost for most supplies to the end consumer in the long run.