Bringing respite for small and medium enterprises, the GST Council on Friday hiked the turnover threshold to Rs 1 crore for businesses to avail of the composition scheme that allows them to pay 1-5 per cent tax without having to go through tedious formalities. "Compliance burden of medium and small taxpayers in GST has been cut and the eligibility of Composition Scheme has been raised to Rs 1 crore," said Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley while briefing media following the conclusion of 22nd meeting of the GST Council. The new indirect tax regime had put extra burden on small business owners and traders, and therefore, the council decided to provide taxpayers the option of availing the so-called Composition Scheme given their turnover stands at less than Rs 1 crore. The previous limit was Rs 75 lakh. The Finance Minister also stated that the tax refunds of July and August for exporters will be processed from October 10, adding that e-wallet for exporters will start from April 1, 2018. ALSO READ: GST Council has done some work on rates to ease pain: Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia Jaitley also announced that GST rates on 27 items have been reduced. He further said businesses with turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore have been allowed to file quarterly returns as against monthly filings. The GST rate on unbranded namkeen, unbranded ayurvedic medicine, sliced dried mango and khakra has been reduced to 5 per cent from 12 per cent, while the same on man-made yarn used in textile sector has been reduced to 12 per cent from 18 per cent. Tax rate on stationery items, stones used for flooring (other than marble and granite), diesel engine parts and pump parts has been cut to 18 per cent from 28 per cent. The GST rate on e-waste has also been reduced to 5 per cent from 28 per cent. Over 15 lakh of the 90 lakh registered businesses have so far opted for the composition scheme. The tax rate for traders of goods in the composition scheme is 1 per cent, while it is 2 per cent for manufacturers and 5 per cent for suppliers of food or drinks for human consumption (without alcohol). Service providers cannot opt for the composition scheme. It allows small businesses, including eateries, to pay 1-5 percent tax without having to deal with the three-stage filing process. The scheme cannot be opted by supplier of services other than restaurant related services; manufacturer of ice cream, pan masala, or tobacco; casual taxable person or a non-resident taxable person; and businesses which supply goods through an e-commerce operator. With PTI inputs
