The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council on Saturday is likely to lower the tax rate on job works like making fabric for garments, to 5 percent. Moreover, it will also put in place a mechanism to facilitate the online registration of goods above a certain value before they can be transported, according to a report by PTI.
The Council, headed by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, will also review the implementation of the new GST regime since July 1 and is likely to finalise a mechanism to operationalise the much delayed anti-profiteering provision to protect consumer interest.
Vanaja Sarna, chairperson of Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) said the movement of goods between states has smoothened with 25 out of 29 states abolishing check posts. "About 25 states have removed those check posts. So far, it has been going all right," she told PTI.
This process is expected to further smoothen out after the e-way bill in GST -- that requires any goods valued at more than Rs 50,000 to be pre-registered online before it can be moved -- is implemented. "As the e-way bill process for the whole of India gets panned out, we should be able to do something which will be better," Sarna said.
She, however, declined to comment on whether the threshold in e-way bill will be retained at Rs 50,000 amid demands from various quarters to raise it.
Officials said rules for the e-way bill will be decided tomorrow. This GST provision requires any goods more than Rs 50,000 in value to be pre-registered online before it can be moved.
As per the draft provision, GSTN would generate e-way bills that will be valid for 1-20 days, depending on distance to be travelled -- one day for 100 km, 3 days (100 to less than 300 km), 5 days (300-less than 500 km) and 10 days (500- less than 1,000 km).
Earlier this week, Jaitley had said it would be mandatory for manufacturers to pass on benefits of reduction in taxes post GST to consumers.
The information technology platform for the e-way bill system is being developed by the National Informatics Centre.
