The Goods and Services (GST) Council recommended many relief measures regarding GST rates on goods and services in a meeting held here today.
The Council also recommended issuance of certain clarifications on issues relating to the GST rates and taxability of certain goods and services.
The major recommendations of the Council today included:
- To exempt supply of services by way of providing information under RTI Act, 2005 from GST.
- To exempt legal services provided to Government, Local Authority, Governmental Authority and Government Entity.
- To reduce GST rate on the construction of metro and monorail projects (construction, erection, commissioning or installation of original works) from 18 percent to 12 percent.
- To levy GST on the small housekeeping service providers, notified under section 9 (5) of GST Act, who provide housekeeping service through ECO, at five percent without ITC.
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- To reduce GST rate on services by way of admission to theme parks, water parks, joy rides, merry-go-rounds, go-carting and ballet, from 28 percent to 18 percent.
- To reduce GST rate on transportation of petroleum crude and petroleum products (MS, HSD, ATF) from 18 percent to five percent without ITC and 12 percent with ITC.
- To exempt dollar-denominated services provided by financial intermediaries located in IFSC SEZ, which have been deemed to be outside India under the various regulations by RBI, IRDAI, SEBI or any financial regulatory authority, to a person outside India.
- To exempt services by way of fumigation in a warehouse of agricultural produce.
- To reduce GST to 12 percent in respect of mining or exploration services of petroleum crude and natural gas and for drilling services in respect of the said goods.
- To exempt government's share of profit petroleum from GST and to clarify that cost petroleum is not taxable per se.
The Council also recommended rationalisation of certain exemption entries. These included:
- To provide in CGST rules that value of exempt supply under sub-section (2) of section 17, shall not include the value of deposits, loans or advances on which interest or discount is earned.
However, this will not apply to a banking company and a financial institution including a non-banking financial company engaged in providing services by way of extending deposits, loans or advances.
- To tax renting of immovable property by the government or local authority to a registered person under reverse charge while renting of immovable property by the government or local authority to an un-registered person shall continue under forward charge.
- To add, in the GST rate schedule for goods at 28 percent, actionable claim in the form of a chance to win in betting and gambling including horse racing.
The Council also made certain clarifications regarding the above. These included:
- Services provided by senior doctors/consultants/technicians hired by the hospitals, whether employees or not, are healthcare services which is exempt.
- Hospitals also provide healthcare services. The entire amount charged by them from the patients including the retention money and the fee/payments made to the doctors etc., is towards the healthcare services provided by the hospitals to the patients and is exempt.
- Food supplied to the in-patients as advised by the doctor/nutritionists is a part of a composite supply of healthcare and not separately taxable. Other supplies of food by a hospital to patients (not admitted) or their attendants or visitors is taxable.