New Delhi: The 57th GST Council meeting, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, was held yesterday. In it, approval was given to revoke the arrest powers granted to GST officials.
In addition, the minimum tax evasion threshold for registering cases and initiating criminal action against offenders has been raised from Rs. 1 crore to Rs. 5 crore. The statutory minimum punishment has been removed. It has now been decided to leave it to the court’s discretion in each case whether to impose a fine, imprisonment, or both.
Furthermore, it was decided at this meeting to reduce the maximum penalty for general offenses for which no specific penalty is prescribed from Rs. 25,000 to Rs. 10,000.
As a result, if a taxpayer files late, makes a mistake, or delays payment, only the tax due, interest, and the applicable penalty will be imposed. Beyond that, there will be no severe action such as arrest.
Businesses across the country had been complaining about stringent tax procedures and had been demanding the creation of an environment that makes it easier to do business. The Union Finance Ministry has said that decisions such as these have been taken on that basis.
Speaking to reporters after the GST Council meeting, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said, “Rather than making changes to GST tax rates, the GST Council has focused more on procedural reforms aimed at making business easier and reducing the tax compliance burden on businesses.”