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GST rate on AC restaurants may come down to 12% from 18%: Report Eating out has always been an expensive affair, more so if you want to enjoy a drink or two along with it. By the time you end up calculating the added taxes, service charges and cesses levied on the delicious butter chicken and naan you just had, you end up spending half of your evening and a good part of your hard-earned fortune on what was supposed to be a fine, relaxed evening. Then came Goods and Service Tax (GST). For better or for worse, the government decided to levy a standard tax on goods and services. Eventually in case of restaurants, it all boiled down to 12 per cent GST for non-AC restaurants and 18 per cent GST for AC restaurants. In case of five-star hotels, the charge was much more - 28 per cent.Currently, if any part of a  restaurant has an air conditioner, 18 per cent is charged as the GST, the Central Board of Excise and Customs had clarified in their FAQ. That also meant that take a ways from

The Aadhaar confusion Voluntary yet mandatory With the Supreme Court’s next hearing expected in November, one can wait for some more time before linking it to bank accounts and mobile numbers, say expertsIf you download the Aadhaar enrolment form from the Unique Identification Authority of India’s (UIDAI’s) website (https://goo.gl/zYVW76), at the top it states that “Aadhaar Enrolment is free and voluntary”. But, the government is going all out to ensure this 12-digit unique identity number becomes a necessity. Everyone, including banks, mobile operators, and even jewellers, want it. In the latter case, the government was quick to step in and clarify that there was no need to provide the Aadhaar or PAN card for transactions above Rs 50,000. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley recently hinted that Aadhaar might be needed for travelling abroad and buying a car as well. Meanwhile, banks and mobile operators are sending messages, which ‘request’ that you link it immediately, in rather int

CBEC to test online processsing of trade documents To promote ease of doing business, the revenue department has decided to launch shortly paperless processing of document sat Chennai and New Delhi on pilot basis.In March 2016, the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) had stated that it was in process of procuring IT infrastructure to captured igitally signed copies of the supporting trade documents. “Under project´Saksham´, the CBEC has upgraded its IT infrastructure, which would inter alia be used for introduction of paperless processing under Single Window Interface for Facilitation of Trade,” the Boardsaid. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 16th October 2017

[To be published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Subsection (i)] Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Excise and Customs Notification No. 38/2017 – Central Tax (Rate) New Delhi, the 13th October, 2017 G.S.R. (E).- In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 11 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017), the Central Government, on being satisfied that it is necessary in the public interest so to do, on the recommendations of the Council, hereby makes the following amendment in the notification of the Government of India, in the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue), No.8/2017- Central Tax (Rate), dated the 28th June, 2017, published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, Sub-section (i), vide number G.S.R. 680(E), dated the 28th June, 2017, namely:- In the said notification, the proviso under Paragraph 1 shall be omitted. 2. The exemption contained

3 months into GST exports rise over 25% Exports grew at a six month high rate of 25.7 per cent in September year on year, maintaining the momentum of 13 months of interrupted rise and despite the problems of getting refunds under the goods and services tax (GST) regime.This was the second month of exports expanding in double digits after outbound shipments were up 10.29 per cent in August. The pace of export growth comes after they contracted for more thanayear. The country exported goods worth Rs 28.61 billion in September against  Rs 22.76 billion in the same month last year.In the third month into the GST, export growth picked up mainly owing to rising global crude prices, which pushed up processed petroleum exports by nearly 40 per cent, apart from a broad based improvement in exports of major foreign exchange earners such as engineering goods and gems and jewellery. This may give credence to the observations of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EACPM) th

Aadhaar helped Indian govt check fraud save Rs 9 bn Nilekani The Indian government's Aadhaar card scheme, which has enrolled more than 1 billion people, has helped the exchequer save about Rs 9 billion by eliminating fraud in beneficiary lists, its architect Nandan Nilekani has said here.The system, launched by the previous UPA government, has been "enthusiastically" supported by the current government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, said the 62-year-old non-executive chairman of Infosys- India's second largest software services firm. It has really been a bipartisan thing, Nilekani said while participating in a World Bank panel discussion on Digital Economy for Development yesterday.He said that it is easier for the developing countries to leapfrog by building a right digital infrastructure.Aadhaar now has more than a billion people registered on its system, he said. "It has also saved the government about Rs 9 bill

Leased vehicles: Govt provides clarity on tax rate Leasing of vehicles purchased priorto July 1 will attract a tax equivalent to 65 percent of the current applicable GST (goods and services tax) rate for a period of thre eyears, the government said on Thursday.The GST Council, comprising Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and state finance ministers, in its last meeting on October 6 had  decided to levy concessional rate for leased vehicles. Also, such vehicles when sold will attract a GST of 65 percent of the  applicable GST rate, including compensation cess. Sale of vehicles by a registered person who had procured the vehicle priorto July1,2017 and has not availed any input tax credits of central excise duty, VAT (value added tax) or any other taxes paid on such motor vehicles, will also be subject to 65 percent of applicable GST rate. These rates would apply for three years with effect fromJuly1,2017. The Business Standard, New Delhi, 13th October 2017