The 55th GST Council meeting, held on December 21, 2024, in the stunning city of Jaisalmer, Rajasthan, brought some significant updates for consumers and businesses.
Having said that, the chairperson of this meeting was the Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman. In addition to this, Union Minister of State for Finance Shri Pankaj Chaudhary, Chief Ministers of Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Meghalaya and Odisha; Deputy Chief Ministers of Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana; besides Finance Ministers of States & UTs (with legislature) and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance & States/ UTs attended this meeting.
55th GST Council Meeting: Key Highlights
The Key Highlights of 55th GST Council Meeting are as follows:
– There is an exemption on GST to payment aggregators servicing payment of less than Rs. 2000. However, it is to be noted that the said exemption is limited to payment aggregators only and does not cover payment gateways or fintech services which does not call for settlement for funds.
– Further, there will be no applicability of GST on penal charges collection by banks and non-banking financial compliances (NBFCs) on borrowers for non-compliance of loan terms.
– Dried black pepper and raisins that the agriculturalist supply will not attract any GST charges.
– In addition to the above, the Council made a significant announcement wrt caramilsed popcorn. The caremilsed popcorn are to be treated at par with products having sugar. Therefore, it will attract GST @18%.
GST Rate on Popcorns:
| Particulars | GST Rate |
|---|---|
| Ready to eat popcorn mixed with salt and spices (not pre-packaged) | 5% |
| Pre-packaged and labelled popcorn mixed with salt and spices | 12% |
| Caramel popcorn | 18% |
– On sale of new Electric Vehicles (EV), there is applicability of GST @5%. But, there was no clarity on applicability of GST on sale of old TVs. Therefore, the Council has confirmed that no GST will be applicable on used EVs. However, if the businesses sells a used EV after refurbishments, the GST at 18% will be charged on margin value (Purchase price minus sale price) as would be for any other used car.
– The Council has made recommendation to reduce the rate of Compensation Cess to 0.1% on supplies to merchant exporters at par with GST rate on such supplies.
Lastly, imports of all equipment and consumable samples by Inspection Team of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be exempt from IGST, subject to certain conditions.
Decisions Deferred:
– The Group of Ministers (GoM) are given an extension to submit their report on the compensation cess, rate rationalisation and health & life insurance.
– The Council did not take any decisions on revising tax rates for online food delivery services.
– Further, the Council also did not take any decision on municipality charges for granting FSI under reverse charge.
What becomes Cheaper & Costlier?
| Goods/Services | Current Rate | Recommended Rate | Costlier / Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fortified rice kernels | 18% | 5% | Cheaper |
| Gene therapy to treat life-threatening diseases | Taxable | No GST | Cheaper |
| Food items going into preparation for free distribution to weaker sections under a government program subject to the existing conditions. | Taxed Higher | 5% | Cheaper |
| Fresh or dried black pepper/dried raisins when supplied by agriculturist | 5% | No GST | Cheaper |
| Approved skill training partners of NSDC | 18% | No GST | Cheaper |
| Sub-systems of Long Range Surface to Air Missile (LRSAM) and similar software | Taxable | No GST | Cheaper |
| ACC blocks (concrete) containing more than 50% fly ash content | 5% | 12% | Costlier |
| Popcorn | 5% / 12% | 18% | Costlier |
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