Some Highlights You Must Know about the New GST Limit of
Rs40 lakh

1. Applicability: The limit is applicable from FY 2019-20 onward, i.e., for financial year starting from 1 April 2019.

 

2. Only for Goods, Not Services: The limit is applicable only for sale of goods. And for service providers limit continues to be Rs20 lakh for all states (except for special states where it is Rs10 lakh).

 

3. Not for Interstate Sales: The limit is not applicable if you are selling goods from one state to another i.e inter-state.

 

4. Amendments made: GST being a dual tax (Central and state), the limit for turnover will have to be changed in both the Acts. This will have to be done for each state in Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 as well.

 

5. Registration Rules: Section 24 of GST Act makes it compulsory to register in certain circumstances, and this Section is not amended. Hence, if a small businessman is registered due to that, he will have to continue with the registration. Exporters and those selling on websites like Flipkart, Amazon etc will have to continue with their registration. 

 

6. No Clarity on Service Income: If a person, who is selling goods, has even small service income like rent for neon signs or product placements at his shop, it is not clear whether the limit of Rs20 lakh or Rs40 lakh will apply to him or not. For example, a person may have sales of Rs25 lakh and rental income of Rs5 lakh, will he be covered by the new exemption limit? Since increase in limit is for goods only and there no separate limit for goods and services for aggregate turnover, once registered, GST has to be charged on all outward supplies whether goods or service.

 

7. Turnover Calculation: Section 22 of GST Act use the word aggregate turnover (taxable goods plus taxable services plus exempt/nil rated goods plus exempt/nil rated services) while describing persons who are liable for registration. Hence, small shop-owners will have to see their turnover in totality before deciding. Even for as basic an issue as the limit for registration , what was the need to have so much complications                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       On top of all the above points, we should remember Section 17(5)(i), which says that if you decide that tax is not payable but GST department asks for tax and you loose in appeal, you may not be eligible for input tax credit on purchases.