GST Compendium - January 2023

Key highlights of the publication

• The Goods and Services Tax Council (the GST Council) held its 48th meeting on 17 December 2022 and took the following welcoming decisions:
  • First, decriminalisation of a few offences to support the ease of doing business in India;
  • Second, an increase in the threshold limit, except in the case of fake invoice, for GST evasion from one crore to two crores for launching prosecution; and
  • third, GST is not payable when a residential property is rented to a person registered under GST if used as the residence by such registered person.
• Key judicial pronouncements: The Delhi High Court has ruled that mere non-payment to supplier cannot restrict the credit entitlement and cannot be a ground to block credit lying in the electronic credit ledger of the taxpayers. The High Court has reiterated that the GST law does not forbid the recipient from taking the input tax credit prior to paying the supplier of such goods or services. We have analysed this ruling in this edition for the benefit of our readers.
• Important developments in direct taxes: On the direct tax front, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued a circular for tax deduction at source on salary for FY 2022-23. Furthermore, to avoid hardship for non-residents not having a Permanent Account Number, the CBDT has provided certain relaxations regarding the electronic filing of Form No. 10F.