House nod to raise age limit for GST appellate tribunal

House nod to raise age limit for GST appellate tribunal

Subject :Polity

Section: National body

Context: House nod to raise age limit for GST appellate tribunal

More about the news:

• The Rajya Sabha has returned a bill to raise the age limit of the President and members of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunals from 67 to 70 years and 65 to 67 years, respectively, aligning them with the age limits of other tribunals.
• The Central GST (Second Amendment) Bill, 2023, was introduced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
• The amendment aims to address issues arising from the Madras High Court’s 2019 decision to strike down the formation of GST Appellate Tribunals, necessitating amendments to the GST Act in July 2023.
• The Bill also allows members of the Bar with 10 years of experience to serve as judicial members of the tribunals.
• The Rajya Sabha also returned the Provisional Collection of Taxes Bill, 2023, which replaced the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931. Both bills were passed by the Lok Sabha on the preceding day.

What is Goods and Services Tax (GST):

• GST is an indirect tax that came into effect from 1 July 2017 through the implementation of the 101st Amendment to the Constitution of India by the Indian government.
• It has actually replaced various indirect taxes such as – service taxes, VAT, excise and others in the country.
• GST rates are divided into five different tax slabs for collection of tax – 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
• There are three types of GST i.eState Goods and Services Tax (SGST), Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) and the Integrated Goods and Services Tax(IGST)

What is the GST Council:

• GST Council is a constitutional body for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax.
• It makes recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to Goods and Service Tax and was introduced by the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.
• As per Article 279A of the amended Constitution, the GST Council which will be a joint forum of the Centre and the States, shall consist of the following members: –
  • Union Finance Minister – Chairperson
  • The Union Minister of State, in-charge of Revenue of finance – Member
  • The Minister In-charge of finance or taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government – Members
• As per Article 279A (4), the Council will make recommendations to the Union and the States on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws, principles that govern place of Supply, threshold limits, GST rates including the floor rates with bands, special rates for raising additional resources during natural calamities/disasters, special provisions for certain States, etc.
• Every decision of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be taken at a meeting by a majority of not less than three-fourths of the weighted votes of the members present and voting, in accordance with the following principles, namely:
  • The vote of the Central Government shall have a weightage of one third of the total votes cast, and
  • The votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast, in that meeting.

What is GST Appellate Tribunal:

• The Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 in Section 109 mandates for the constitution of a GSTAT and its Benches.
• The GSTAT is the specialized appellate authority for resolving disputes under the GST laws.
• Composition:
  • The GST Tribunal will have one principal bench in New Delhi and as many benches or boards in states as decided by each state, subject to approval of the council.
  • North-eastern states could opt for one bench for 2-3 states and an additional bench for very far-flung areas.
  • The principal bench and state boards would have two technical and two judicial members each, with equal representation from the Centre and states.
  • All four members would not sit for hearing each case. It depends on the threshold or value of dues involved.