17 Jul CBIC Clarifies GST Applicability on Railways, RERA, Digital Payments, and Insurance Services | Circular No. 228/22/2024-GST
The CBIC, through Circular No. 228/22/2024-GST dated July 15, 2024, has provided clarifications regarding the applicability of GST on certain services. This action is taken under the authority of section 168(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, following the recommendations of the 53rd GST Council meeting held on June 22, 2024, in New Delhi. The circular addresses the following issues:
- GST Exemption on Outward Supplies by Ministry of Railways (Indian Railways)
- Previous exemptions for Indian Railways' supplies were withdrawn effective October 20, 2023. The 53rd GST Council recommended reinstating exemptions for services provided to the general public, such as platform tickets, retiring rooms, cloakroom services, and battery-operated car services. These exemptions are effective from July 15, 2024, with past liabilities regularized from October 20, 2023, to July 14, 2024.
- GST Exemption on Transactions Between SPVs and Ministry of Railways
- The 48th GST Council had clarified that services between SPVs and the Ministry of Railways were taxable. However, difficulties were reported, leading the 53rd GST Council to recommend exemptions for these transactions from July 15, 2024, with past liabilities regularized from July 1, 2017, to July 14, 2024.
- GST on Statutory Collections by RERA
- The 53rd GST Council clarified that statutory collections by the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) fall under the exemption notification No. 12/2017-CT(R) dated June 28, 2017.
- GST on Incentive Amounts in the Digital Payment Ecosystem
- Incentives paid by MeitY to acquiring banks for promoting RuPay Debit Cards and low-value BHIM-UPI transactions are considered subsidies and thus not taxable. The 53rd GST Council clarified that further sharing of these incentives among stakeholders is also not taxable.
- GST on Reinsurance of Specified Insurance Schemes
- The reinsurance of certain general and life insurance schemes, exempt from GST, has been clarified to be exempt for the period from July 1, 2017, to January 24, 2018.
- GST on Reinsurance of Government-Paid Insurance Schemes
- Reinsurance of insurance schemes fully paid by the government is exempt from GST for the period from July 1, 2017, to July 26, 2018.
- GST on Retrocession Services
- The term 'reinsurance' includes 'retrocession' services as per the 53rd GST Council's recommendations.
- GST on Certain Accommodation Services
- Accommodation services costing less than or equal to ₹20,000 per person per month, provided for a minimum continuous period of 90 days, are exempt from GST starting July 15, 2024. Past liabilities for these services are regularized from July 1, 2017, to July 14, 2024.
The full circular is available at: Circular No. 228/22/2024-GST.
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