The Union government has made amendments to the current Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in order to prevent fraudulent invoicing and recovery activities. The GST Amendments changes, which are included in the Finance Act of 2021, will take effect on January 1, 2022. Businesses will be impacted more than customers under the new GST laws. The revisions will affect a variety of issues, including tax credit eligibility, taxable supply, and the criteria for filing appeals. The changes were made in order to make the indirect tax regime more rigid.
If a company has an annual revenue of more than Rs 5 crore, it is currently required to file two monthly returns, GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B. The GSTR-1 returns show sales invoices, but the GSTR-3B is a self-declared summary. Previously, if a company’s filings of both GSTRs differed, a government official would be summoned to recover the GST for the amount of sales on which tax had not been paid. According to the new rule, the government will send an official to a firm without first sending a show notice. This was done to reduce the use of bogus billing methods and make tax recovery from businesses easier.
Norms for granting credits for taxes paid on raw materials will also be revised. All sellers are required to include the information of their invoice in their monthly sales return or GSTR-1 form. Buyers who fail to follow this regulation will not be eligible for a refund of the taxes they paid on the item. This rule will also aid in the detection of forged invoices.
A taxable supply is defined as a transaction by a person, other than an individual, to its members or constituents for cash, deferred payment, or other valuable consideration. Transactions between members and the entity will also be considered taxable supplies. Businesses must additionally pay a 25% penalty if they dispute an official’s order in circumstances where items are seized for alleged transit or storage in violation of the guidelines.