Exemptions Under GST in INDIA - Things You Should Know

The true yield of GST is yet to be seen, and we will get to know the impact of what is touted to be a game changer policy in future. A lot of processes and businesses although already under the scanner and preview of GST are yet to fully integrate and melt into the eco system. Therefore, the impact is to be seen. Meanwhile, let us cover Five important things about GST, focusing the exempted goods and service. Read!

There's no tax on tax

The tax system used to levy cascading taxes, which used to be ultimately borne by the common men. GST aims to wipe out the multiple tax buckets and thus reduce or lower the burden from the end consumers. The GST replaces the following taxes which used to be levied and collected by the Centre:

• Central Excise Duty
• Duties of Excise (Medicinal and Toilet Preparations)
• Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance)
• Additional Duties of Excise (Textiles and Textile Products)
• Additional Duties of Customs (commonly known as CVD)
• Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD)
• Service Tax
• Central Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services
• State taxes that would be subsumed under the GST are
• State VAT
• Central Sales Tax
• Luxury Tax
• Entry Tax (all forms)
• Entertainment and Amusement Tax (except when levied by the local bodies)
• Taxes on advertisements
• Purchase Tax
• Taxes on lotteries, betting and gambling
• State Surcharges and Cesses so far as they relate to supply of goods and services

The taxpayers who are exempted from GST Registration include

• Agriculturists
• Persons falling in Threshold Exemption Limit
• Persons making Nil-Rated/ Exempt supplies of goods and services
• Persons making Non-Taxable/ Non-GST supplies of goods and services
• Activities that are neither Supply of Goods nor Services
• Persons making only supplies covered under reverse charge

Agriculturists - If you cultivate something on your land, and sell it, you are exempted from GST. Agro-inputs like fertilizers, seeds, machinery and skills are relaxed from the ambit of GST.

Persons falling in threshold exemptions limit

A business with an annual turnover of less than Rs. 20 lakh is exempted from the ambit of GST. However, for some special category states, the relaxation is Rs. 10 lakh. These states include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand

Nil rated goods, goods of non-GST rated are exempted from the GST. The entire effort of GST is focused on making the tax system entirely simple and clustered so that it becomes hard to evade tax and the government can easily collect the taxes. The accountability will be increased. However, wait for our article for a comprehensive list of goods and services which are exempted from the ambit of GST. Meanwhile, to get help with GST billing, please click the website