53rd GST Council Meeting: 12% GST on solar cooker, tax relief on platform ticket, retiring room, waiting room charges

New Delhi. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave information about the important decisions taken in the 53rd GST Council meeting. Nirmala Sitharaman said that the proposals passed in today’s meeting will benefit traders, MSMEs and taxpayers.

The Union Finance Minister informed that the Council has recommended imposing 12 per cent GST on all solar cookers, irrespective of whether it has single or dual energy source. At the same time, services provided to the common man by the Indian Railways such as sale of platform tickets, retiring rooms, waiting rooms, cloakroom facilities and battery operated car services are being exempted from GST. Apart from this, hostels for outstation students in educational institutions are also being exempted from GST. The value of supply of accommodation services is up to Rs 20,000 per person per month. These services are supplied for a continuous period of minimum 90 days.

Sitharaman informed that in order to reduce government litigation, the Council has recommended monetary limits of Rs 20 lakh for GST Appellate Tribunals, Rs 1 crore for High Courts and Rs 2 crore for Supreme Court for filing appeals by the department before these legal forums. The Council has also decided and recommended that the provisions of the CGST Act shall be amended to provide that the three-month period for filing appeals in the GST Appellate Tribunal shall start from the first day of the commencement of the said Act.

The Finance Minister recalled the old days when GST was implemented, I remember senior minister Arun Jaitley was talking about GST at that time that petrol and diesel prices can be handled for which the law has already been made, so, once the states agree, the Council will have to decide what the tax rate will be.