The July edition of the GST compendium offers insights into the latest developments by the GST Council, highlighting key recommendations such as conditional waivers of interest and penalties, reduced pre-deposit amounts for filing appeals, and clarifications on related party transactions and ITC eligibility under the Reverse Charge Mechanism. It also includes judicial updates from the Bombay High Court, customs instructions by the CBIC, and direct tax amendments from the CBDT.
Key highlights of the GST Compendium July 2024
- Important updates/announcements: The GST Council held its 53rd meeting on 22 June 2024, wherein the Council inter-alia proposed various tax-friendly measures, including an extension of the input tax credit (ITC) timeline, conditional waiver of interest and penalty, reduction in pre-deposit amount, sunset clause for anti-profiteering provisions, changes in the GST rates on goods and services, etc. The CBIC has issued various circulars specifically address the concerns related to the import of services between related entities, the ITC eligibility under the reverse charge mechanism, ITC reversal mechanism in the case of post-supply discounts, monetary limit for filing a department appeal, the taxability of loans between related parties, warranted/extended warranty services, etc.
- Key judicial pronouncements: The Bombay High Court ruled that splitting the consideration for a slump sale into intellectual property rights and other assets does not constitute an ‘itemised sale.’ The principles established in this judgment can be relied upon to differentiate between an ‘itemised sale’ and a ‘slump sale’ under the GST law.
- Important developments in direct taxes: The CBDT notified the Cost Inflation Index for FY 2024-25 and provided that a higher rate of TDS/ TCS in case of non-filers of ITR would not apply to payments made to/received from RBI. Further, the Telangana HC has upheld the application of GAAR over SAAR in the case of a bonus-stripping transaction.
