Tax Experts react to 39th GST Council meeting's announcements

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, the 39th GST Council meeting made a slew of significant announcements including the decision to increase tax-rate on mobiles, requiring Infosys to come up with solution for continued technical glitches, etc. While Mr. Nandan Nilekani, assured that he would personally monitor the progress of the GSTN project and also agreed to attend the IT-GoM for the next 6 months or till such time the initiatives are implemented, GST Council asked him to iron out the issues by July 2020. 

On law and procedural front, Council gave a big sigh of relief by deferring the implementation of the new return system and e-invoicing. Further, Council approved introduction of “Know Your Supplier” (KYS) scheme. Council’s decision clarifying that delayed GST payment will attract interest on net tax liability, retrospectively from July 1, 2017 is definitely a welcome move.