Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 & changes related to GST Law

 

1.   Amendments in CGST Act, 2017:

Section 9: Extra Neutral Alcohol (ENA) used for manufacturing alcoholic liquor for human consumption excluded from central tax.

Section 11A: Government empowered to regularize non-levy or short levy of central tax due to general trade practice.

Section 16: New sub-sections (5) and (6) to relax input tax credit time limits for financial years 2017-18 to 2020-21.

Section 74A: Introduced to set a common time limit for issuing demand notices and orders for FY 2024-25 onwards.

Sections 107 and 112: Maximum pre-deposit amounts for appeals reduced.

Section 128A: Conditional waiver of interest and penalty for demands from FY 2017-18 to 2019-20 if full tax liability is paid before a specified date.

Section 140(7): Retrospective amendment for transitional credit availment for input services received by Input Services Distributors.

Section 171: Empowerment to notify GST Appellate Tribunal for anti-profiteering cases.

Schedule III: Activities like co-insurance premiums apportionment and reinsurance commissions treated neither as goods nor services.

Section 13(3): Amendment to cover reverse charge mechanism cases.

Section 17: Restriction of input tax credit blockage for tax paid under Section 74 to demands up to FY 2023-24.

Section 30(2): Provision for conditions and restrictions on revocation of registration cancellation.

Section 31(3)(f): Enabling provision for the time period to issue invoices under reverse charge mechanism.

Section 39: Mandate for monthly returns by TDS deductors, even with no deductions.

Section 54 and Section 16 of IGST Act: Prohibition of refund for unutilized input tax credit on zero-rated supplies subjected to export duty.

Section 70(1A): Authorized representative appearance provision.

Section 109: Empowerment to specify cases heard by Principal Bench of Appellate Tribunal.

Section 122(1B): Restriction of penal provisions applicability to specific Electronic Commerce Operators.

Sections 73 and 74: Limited applicability to demands up to FY 2023-24, new provisions under Section 74A from FY 2024-25 onwards.

Section 75: Redetermination of penalties if fraud, suppression, or willful misstatement not established.

2.  Amendments in IGST Act, 2017:

Section 5(1): No integrated tax on ENA used for manufacturing alcoholic liquor for human consumption.

Section 6A: Empowerment to regularize non-levy or short levy of integrated tax due to general practice.

Section 16(4): Notification provision for zero-rated supplies and related refund claims.

Section 20: Reduction of maximum pre-deposit amounts for appeals to appellate authority and Appellate Tribunal.

3.  Amendments in UT GST Act, 2017:

Section 7(1): No union territory tax on ENA used for manufacturing alcoholic liquor for human consumption.

Section 8A: Empowerment to regularize non-levy or short levy of union territory tax due to general practice.

4.  Amendment in GST (Compensation) Act, 2017:

Section 8A: Empowerment to regularize non-levy or short levy of cess due to general practice.

These amendments are proposed in the Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024, and will come into effect upon notification.