Finance Minister releases a short film titled “GST Council – 50 Steps towards a Journey”

The Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on the occasion of 50th meeting of the GST Council in New Delhi today has released a short film titled “GST Council – 50 steps towards a journey”.

This short film shows the journey of GST in the nation since its implementation in 2017. This short video shows plethora of emotions involved in making this tax system more efficient and how this indirect taxation system evolve with time according to the need of taxpayers, businesses and industries requirement.

In 23rd Meeting which held on 10th November 2017 in Guwahati, rates of 178 items under the slab of 28% have been rationalized, which made more products affordable and access for masses.

In 24th GST Council Meeting held on 16th December 2017, E-way Bills introduced into the tax system, which led to savings and logistic cost and time. Transportation of Goods across the country made smoother, swifter and easier.

On 10th January 2019 in 32nd meeting in New Delhi, the limit of annual turnover for availing Composition Scheme for supplier of goods has been increased to Rs.1.5 crore, which immensely benefited SMEs by reducing the compliance burden.

E-invoicing system was introduced in 35th Meeting, the current limit is Rs.10 crore which will be reduced to Rs.5 crore effective from 1.08.2023.

Other milestone decision taken by the council are:

1. Annual return has been made optional for small taxpayers.

2. Filing of Form GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B return have been made Quarterly(QRMP Scheme) for small taxpayers.

3. GST Appellate Tribunal constitution has been approved.

4. Amnesty Scheme have been introduced for Stakeholders.

GST Collection has also been increased to Rs.18,07,681 Crore with a buoyancy of 1.25 in last five years.

The Goods and Services Tax system has unified the country’s indirect tax system, simplified tax compliance and reduced the complexities of the pre-GST tax regime. A key feature of the GST journey has been the GST Council. The GST Council is a constitutional body led by the Union Finance Minister. The GST Council operates on the guiding principle of cooperative federalism. In the spirit of cooperative federalism, the Council has had 49 meetings and made nearly 1500 decisions. Analysis shows that trade has a positive experience with GST law. There is supply chain optimization and reduction in the cost of goods and services.

The 50th meeting of the GST Council is a landmark meeting, a milestone which indicates the success of cooperative federalism and establishment of a good & simple tax regime.

To see the Short Film visit Ministry of Finance Official YouTube Channel.