(FE)
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair her first GST Council meet on Friday as the Centre-state body is likely to deliberate upon slashing rates for electric vehicles (EVs) and other two-wheelers, and extension of tenure of the anti-profiteering body by another year. Sources said the Council could also extend the deadline for filing annual return form (GSTR-9) in the face of difficulty faced by taxpayers.
Additionally, the Council in its 35th meeting would also consider granting approval for e-invoicing process that has been in the works since last month. The anti-evasion measure requires businesses to intimate a central portal at the time of issuing invoice to help the tax department keep track of transactions in real time.
The government faces revenue impact to the tune of Rs 8,400 crore and Rs 12,000 crore annually if the GST is brought down to 18% for two-wheelers and cement, respectively. Clearly, for the Centre, which has seen a huge GST revenue shortfall of Rs 1.6 lakh crore (against the original Budget estimate) and has set a daunting target of Rs 1.14 lakh crore/month for the current fiscal, rate cuts on these items are unaffordable.
