Crunching numbers: City experts decode 5 proposed GST changes

Ludhiana: The new Union Budget has evoked a mixed response from the business community, which needs more time to interpret it properly. As far as the GST (goods and services) laws are concerned, leading tax professional of the city have decrypted the fine print related to input tax credit (ITC) and deadlines for amendment.

Giving more insights into the changes, tax expert Naveen Kumar Thaman said: “The government has proposed several changes to the GST laws that will be notified later. ITC can be claimed only if not restricted in details communicated to the taxpayer in form GSTR-2A/2B. Even today, these forms come with the ‘no credit allowed’ comment and the department diesn’t allow ITC based on these comments without any legal provision. But now a legal provision to restrict this ITC has been added.”

Thaman said: “The provision relating to interest is proposed to be amended with effect from July 1, 2017 (date of introduction of the GST) so that the interest can be levied on wrongly claimed ITC. Earlier, this interest was levied even if the amount claimed wrontly was not utilised and just lay in the balance. An annual interest rate of 18% instead of 24% has been notified with effect from July 1, 2017. The deadline for claiming ITC in respect of any invoice or debit note pertaining to the financial year has been extended to November 30 of the next financial year or the due date of furnishing of GSTR-9 and 9C for the relevant financial year, whichever is earlier.”