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IANS
New Delhi
In a major relief for MSMEs and small businesses, the GST Council on Thursday doubled the exemption threshold from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 40 lakh and raised the limit for availing the composition scheme to Rs 1.5 crore from the present level of Rs one crore.
It also allowed Kerala to impose a natural disaster cess of up to 1 per cent for a period of up to two years in view of the devastation the state faced due to massive floods in August last year.
Till now, businesses, most of them micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with a turnover up to Rs 20 lakh were exempt from paying Goods and Services Tax (GST). The revised limits will be applicable from April 1.
Announcing the decisions after the GST Council meeting here, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also ruled out any further cuts in tax rates and said “reductions will be made only when revenues move up”.
He said while under the original GST structure, it was envisaged for those with a turnover of up to Rs20 lakh to get exemption, the threshold for some north eastern and hill states was kept at Rs 10 lakh.
“We have decided to continue with the twin structure with two slabs. While the Rs 20 lakh threshold has been doubled to Rs40 lakh, for smaller states, the exemption has been kept at Rs20 lakh,” Jaitley said.
New Delhi
In a major relief for MSMEs and small businesses, the GST Council on Thursday doubled the exemption threshold from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 40 lakh and raised the limit for availing the composition scheme to Rs 1.5 crore from the present level of Rs one crore.
It also allowed Kerala to impose a natural disaster cess of up to 1 per cent for a period of up to two years in view of the devastation the state faced due to massive floods in August last year.
Till now, businesses, most of them micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), with a turnover up to Rs 20 lakh were exempt from paying Goods and Services Tax (GST). The revised limits will be applicable from April 1.
Announcing the decisions after the GST Council meeting here, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley also ruled out any further cuts in tax rates and said “reductions will be made only when revenues move up”.
He said while under the original GST structure, it was envisaged for those with a turnover of up to Rs20 lakh to get exemption, the threshold for some north eastern and hill states was kept at Rs 10 lakh.
“We have decided to continue with the twin structure with two slabs. While the Rs 20 lakh threshold has been doubled to Rs40 lakh, for smaller states, the exemption has been kept at Rs20 lakh,” Jaitley said.
