GST Council's Strategic Moves to Support Small Businesses and Ensure Fair Taxation

The 55th GST Council meeting in Jaisalmer focused on supporting small-scale sectors and preventing monopolies. Key decisions included clearer service location documentation for taxes and exempting traders in the composition scheme from reverse charge tax on rent. The Council addressed issues of tax rates on hotel food, cancer medicines, and late fees on returns.

The 55th meeting of the GST Council in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, has brought significant attention to supporting small businesses and ensuring fair tax distribution. The Council introduced stringent measures to prevent market monopolisation and provided much-needed clarity on online service tax locations, a move welcomed by the Kerala Finance Ministry.

In light of Kerala's persistent demand for improvement in the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) processes, a new committee has been established to examine settlement accuracy. Additionally, traders using the composition scheme will no longer face reverse charge tax liabilities on rent, alleviating financial strain.

Deliberations also included discussions on varying tax rates for hotel services, cancer treatment medicines, and GST return late fees. Kerala's stance against altering aviation fuel taxation underlined state concerns about maintaining their taxing autonomy, with further advocacy for state-specific cess collections following natural disasters.

(With inputs from agencies.)