Key Highlights:

  • GST on Mobile Phones Raised from 12% to 18%
  • MRO Services to Attract 5% GST
  • The tax rate on handmade and machine-made matchsticks has been rationalized to 12%
  • The Council also decided to waive the late fee for delayed filing of annual returns for FY2018,FY2019 by entities with a turnover of less than Rs.2 Crore
  • The interest will also be levied on net tax liability from July 1 for delayed GST Payments
  • The council also asked Infosys, which has designed the GSTN, to provide a better groomed GSTN system by July 2020

The GST Council has decided to increase the goods and services tax on mobile phones to 18% with effect from 1 April, 2020. The decision was taken during the 39th GST Council meeting held on Saturday in New Delhi. 

“Mobile phones and specified parts to attract 18% versus 12%. All other items, if there’s a need to calibrate the rates, to remove the inversion, we can take them up at future, examination of that can happen at a later time,” Sitharaman said

However, with this new update, mobile phones will become expensive. Talking about manufactured goods like fertilizers, mobile phones, footwear, renewable energy equipment, and man-made yarns attract a GST of 5% to 12%, thereby leading to an inverted duty structure, where GST on finished goods is less compared to the duty on inputs. Not only this, the GST rate on handmade and machine-made matchsticks was also rationalized to 12% from the existing range of 5% and 18%.

Well, the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday also decided to reduce the GST on Maintenance Repair Overhaul (MRO) for aircraft to 5% from 12%. The Council also stated to waive off the late fee for delayed filing of annual returns for FY2018, FY2019 by entities with a turnover of less than Rs.2 crore. 

The Minister mentioned that the interest will be levied on net tax liability from July 1 for delayed GST payments. Sitharaman also said the GST Council has asked Infosys to deploy more skilled manpower, increase the capacity of hardware of GST Network to ensure that the system is glitch-free. The council has asked Infosys, which has designed the GSTN, to provide a better groomed GSTN system by July 2020, she added.