Page 9 - Banking Fiannce March 2018

GST UPDATE

GST

NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
NEWS
NEWS

Loan breather for GST GST reduced rates for low-cost homes and 1st time

regd. MSMEs buyers
The central bank had announced a The GST rate has been reduced to 8% from the existing 12% on purchase of
temporary houses availing of the credit linked subsidy scheme (CLSS)
loan-repay- under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojna. A first-house buyer
m e n t with a household income of up to Rs 18 lakh/annum can
breather to avail of a benefit of up to Rs 2.7 lakh in buying a house or
GST- r egis- an apartment of up to 150 sq m (1,615 sq ft) carpet area.
tered micro, small and medium Those who do not qualify for CLSS will pay 12% GST for the same house.
(MSMEs), whose cash flows were
affected due to implementation of Post anti-evasion steps of GST
the Goods and Services Tax regime. Collections under the GST, implemented from July 1 last year, were over Rs
95,000 crore for the first month, while in August the fig-
GST-registered MSMEs, whose ag- ure was just over Rs 91,000 crore. In September, it was
gregate exposure to banks and over Rs 92,150 crore, October (Rs 83,000 crore), Novem-
NBFCs did not exceed Rs. 25 crore as
ber (Rs 80,808 crore) and December (Rs 86,703 crore).
on January 31, 2018, with amounts Gold imports have been rising every month despite a 10
overdue as on September 1, 2017,
% customs duty. With GST in place, the revenue authori-
and payments due between Septem-
ties now have the power to seek details about end supplies.
ber 1, 2017 and January 31, 2018,
will be allowed by banks and NBFCs GST pinch to Gurudwara "langars"
to pay not later than 180 days from The cash-rich Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC), which man-
their original due date, without a ages gurdwaras, or Sikh shrines, across Punjab, Haryana
downgrade in asset classification.
and Himachal Pradesh claimed that the Goods and Ser-
The RBI said a provision of 5 % has vices Tax (GST) puts an extra burden on its finances in
to be made by the lenders (providing running the free food service. The Harmandir Sahib, the
relief to GST-registered MSME bor- SGPC claims to have paid nearly Rs 2 crore (about
rowers) against the exposures not $310,000) as GST.
classified as NPA. The provision in "The SGPC spends around Rs 75 crore to purchase desi ghee, sugar and pulses.
respect of the account may be re- Now, it will have to bear a financial burden of Rs 10 crore on these purchases as
versed as and when no amount is they come under the 5 to 18 per cent GST bracket," Union Food Processing
overdue beyond the 90- and 120-day Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal had written to the Finance Minister seeking
norm, as the case may be. exemption from the GST Act for all purchases made by the SGPC for langar sewa.

BANKING FINANCE | MARCH | 2018 | 9