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GST Highlights from Union Budget 2024




  • New section 74A is introduced in CGST Act to apply the same timeline for determining of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised for any reason pertaining to Financial Year 2024-25 onwards. Earlier Sec.73 used to deal with the cases not involving fraud whereas Sec. 74 dealt with the cases involving fraud. As a result of the newly introduced Sec. 74A, Sec 73 & 74 will only be applicable for the cases relating to the periods up to FY 2023-24.
  • As per Sec. 74A, officer can issue notice within 42 months from the due date of furnishing of annual return of financial year during which tax not paid / short paid / wrongly availed input tax credit / wrongly utilized input tax credit and if the refund is already issued erroneously then within 42 months from the date of refund.
  • The officer shall issue the order within 12 months from the date of issuing notice under Sec.74A. If it cannot be issued due to proper reasons, officer not below the rank of Joint commissioner can further extend the time period up to maximum of 6 months.
  • Sections which have references to Sec. 73 or Sec.74 have been amended to provide reference to Sec.74A as well.
  • Sec.11A Power not to recover Goods and Services Tax not levied or short-levied as a result of general practice is newly introduced to empower the government to regularize the non-levy or short levy of GST where tax was not being paid or short paid due to general trade practices. On recommendations of the GST council, Central Government will issue guidelines for the applicable cases through notifications from time to time.
  • Sec.39(3) Furnishing of returns is substituted to mandate the furnishing of returns each month by the registered persons who require to deduct tax at source irrespective of whether deduction has been made or not in the said month. Form and due date will be prescribed by the government from time to time. (Earlier, they used to file returns only if any deduction was made in the said month and due date was prescribed in the Act itself).
  • Sec.54(15) Refund of tax is newly inserted to provide that no refund on account of unutilized input tax credit nor IGST paid on account of Zero-rated supply of goods will be allowed if such goods are subject to export duty.
  • Sub section (1A) is inserted in Sec.70 Power to summon persons to give evidence and produce documents to provide that authorized representatives can also appear on behalf of the summoned persons before the proper officer who issued summons.
  • Sec.107(6) Appeals to Appellate Authority is amended to reduce the maximum amount of disputed tax to be pre-deposited to Rs. 20 Crores for filing an appeal before the appellate authority. (Earlier it was Rs. 25 crores).
  • Sec.112 Appeals to Appellate Tribunal
    • Sec.112(1) and 112(3) are amended to empower the government to notify the time limits for filing appeals before the appellate tribunal.
    • Sec.112(6) is amended to enable the Appellate Tribunal to admit the appeals filed by the department within 3 months after the expiry of specified 6 months period subject to the satisfactory reasons.
    • Sec.112(8) is amended to reduce the maximum percentage of disputed tax to be pre-deposited to 10% and to reduce the maximum amount of disputed tax to be pre-deposited to Rs. 20 Crores for filing an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal. (Earlier, it was 20% and Rs. 50 crores respectively.)
  • Sec.122(1B) - Penalty for certain offences is amended to restrict the applicability of sub-section only to the e-commerce operators who are required to collect tax at source as per Sec.52. It is retrospective amendment applicable from 01-Oct-2023 when the sub-section came into force.
  • Para 9 is inserted in Schedule III - Neither a Supply of Goods nor a Supply of Services to include activity of apportionment of co-insurance premium by lead insurer to the co-insurer subject to the condition that the lead insurer pays GST on the entire amount of premium paid by the insured.
  • Para 10 is inserted in Schedule III - Neither a Supply of Goods nor a Supply of Services to include the services by insurer to the reinsurer for which ceding commission or reinsurance commission is deducted from the reinsurance premium paid by the insurer to the reinsurer subject to the condition that the GST is paid by the reinsurer on gross insurance premium payable by the insurer to the reinsurer inclusive of said ceding commission or the reinsurance commission.

M P Naveen Chandra

Author pursued Bachelor of Commerce from Nizam College, Hyderabad. He articulates his interests for informative purposes.

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