GST ONLINE

The finance ministry on Friday said a 5 per cent GST will be levied on food and drinks supplied by the Indian Railways or IRCTC in trains, platforms or stations. The Finance Ministry has written to the Railway Board on March 31 about the 5 per cent rate to remove any doubt or uncertainty in the matter. This would bring about uniformity in the rate of GST applicable to supply of food and drinks m ade available in trains, platforms or stations. "It has been clarified ... that the GST rate on supply of food and drinks by the Indian Railways or Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd or their licensees, whether in trains or at platforms, will be 5 per cent without input tax credit," the statement said. The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which subsumed over a dozen local levies, was rolled out from July 1, 2017.

Collections under the goods and services tax (GST) were marginally lower by some Rs 100 billion, compared to the original target set by the government for the first eight months of the roll-out of the new indirect tax. The mop-up was subdued in October, November and January, and that has led to some shortfall. Against the target of Rs 7.28 trillion for the eight months, collections stand at Rs 7.18 trillion. The target was arrived from the monthly run rate of Rs 910 billion.  The run rate was, in turn, derived from the Budget Estimates and 14% indirect tax revenue growth for states for 2017-18.

The government has sanctioned GST refunds worth about Rs 127 billion or 80 per cent of the eligible claims of exporters, an official said on Sunday. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) had organised refund facilitation camps in field offices between March 15-31 to assist exporters in filling up refund claim forms and correct errors. "IGST refund claims worth Rs 86 billion till January 31 were lying with the CBEC. Of this, Rs 77 billion worth claims have been sancti oned so far," a senior official told PTI. With regard to those exporters who claimed refund of their input tax, the CBEC has sanctioned about Rs 50 billion, out of Rs 69 billion due till February end, the official added. "The CBEC has sanctioned Rs 127 billion IGST and Rs 50 billion Input tax credit (ITC) refunds. Together, this accounts for 80 per cent of the eligible claims lying with CBEC," the official added. About Rs 28 billion worth eligible refunds are pending which will