-By CA Vipul Khandhar

Advisory on introduction of new Tables 14 & 15 in GSTR-1:

As per Notification No. 26/2022 – Central Tax dated 26th December 2022 two new tables Table 14 and Table 15 were added in GSTR-1 to capture the details of the supplies made through e-commerce operators (ECO) on which e-commerce operators are liable to collect tax under section 52 of the Act or liable to pay tax u/s 9(5). These tables have now been made live on the GST common portal. These two new tables will be available in GSTR-1/IFF from January-2024 tax periods onwards.

These tables have now been made live on the GST common portal.

1. Taxable value along with tax liabilities from all the above four sections i.e., B2B, B2C, URP2B and URP2C of table 15 will be auto-populated to table 1.1(i) of GSTR-3B.
2. There will be no auto-population of e-invoice in Table -15. E-invoices reported for 9(5) supplies will be populated in FORM GSTR-1 as per existing functionality. E-commerce operator are advised to examine and add such records in table 15 related to 9(5)

Step to report details in Table 14/15:

1. To view Table 14/15, taxpayer can navigate to Returns Dashboard > Selection of Period > Details of outward supplies of goods or services GSTR-1 > Prepare Online
2. Taxpayers can access the Table 14(a) & 14(b) by clicking the Liable to collect tax u/s 52 (TCS) and Liable to pay tax u/s 9(5) respectively available at the top of table 14.
3. Similarly, the different section of Table 15 can be accessed using the respective tab available at top of the table 15 page.

After adding the records taxpayers can file their GSTR-1 as per the existing process.

• Introduction of new table ECO-Documents in GSTR-2B:
• The taxpayers are also being provided a facility to pass input tax credit (ITC) to the registered taxpayers who are receiving the supplies u/s 9(5) through Such ITC will be available to the registered recipient in newly introduce section in GSTR-2B. A new table “ECO – Documents” is being added under all other ITC section in GSTR-2B. In this table, the registered recipient can view the document details of the supplies received through e-commerce operator on which e-commerce operator is liable to pay tax under section 9(5) of the Act.

• The values will be auto populated from Registered Supplier and Registered Recipient (B2B) and Unregistered Supplier and Registered Recipient (URP2B) section of table 15 to this new ECO – Documents table of GSTR-

• To view the ECO-Documents table, taxpayer can navigate to Returns Dashboard > Selection of Period > Auto- drafted ITC Statement for the month GSTR 2B > View

To view the records in ECO-Documents table, taxpayer can navigate to Returns Dashboard > Selection of Period > Auto- drafted ITC Statement for the month GSTR 2B > View > ECO Documents.

3. Advisory on Payment through Credit Card (CC)/Debit Card (DC) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI)(19/01/2024)

To facilitate the taxpayer registered under GST with more methods of payment, two new facilities of payment have now been provided under e-payment in addition to net-banking. The two new methods are Cards and Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Cards facility includes Credit Card (CC) and Debit Card (DC) namely Mastercard, Visa, RuPay, Diners(CC only) issued by any Indian bank.

Advisory on Payment through Credit Card (CC)/Debit Card (DC) and Unified Payments Interface (UPI) To facilitate the taxpayer registered under GST with more methods of payment, two new facilities of payment have now been provided under e-payment in addition to net-banking. The two new methods are Cards and Unified Payments Interface (UPI). Cards facility includes Credit Card (CC) and Debit Card (DC) namely Mastercard, Visa, RuPay, Diners(CC only) issued by any Indian bank. Payment through CC/DC/UPI can be made through Kotak Mahindra Bank irrespective of CC/DC issued by any Indian bank. Other banks are in the process of integration. At present the facility is available in 10 states and remaining states are expected to join soon.

Quick Steps are as follows:

4. CBIC announces exclusive Customs Duty Payments on New ICEGATE Portal from January 14, 2024

As of January 14, 2024, the CBIC has implemented changes on the official ICEGATE website. Customs Duty and other payments can now be processed exclusively on https://www.icegate.gov.in/, with the discontinuation of these services on the older platform, https://old.icegate.gov.in/. Notably, modifications have been made solely to the E-payment User Interface, prompting the issuance of a new advisory. This update aims to provide users with clear step-by-step guidance for duty payments and other functionalities on the redesigned e-payment portal at the specified new website.

5.    GSTN enabled functionality to furnish Letter of Undertaking (LUT) for Financial Year 2024-25:

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has enabled the functionality to furnish a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) for the Financial Year 2024-2025 on the GST Portal.

The completion of this task is mandatory by March 31, 2024, or before the supply for Exports and Special Economic Zones (SEZ). The previous Letter of Undertaking (LUT) remains valid until March 31, 2024.

6. Kerala GST Department issued clarification and guidelines for filing appeals in absence of the GST Appellate Tribunal Circular No. 01/2024 dated January 11, 2024.

Sub-section (1) of Section 112 of CGST/SGST Act provides that any person aggrieved by an order passed against him under section 107 or 108 of the Act may file an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order within three months from the date on which the order sought to be appealed against is communicated to him. As the constitution of the said GST Appellate Tribunals is not finalized yet, the appeal or application cannot be filed within the time limit specified in the said Section. In order to remove difficulties in filing the appeal under the said section, the Government, vide Notification S.R.O. No. 1024/2019 dated 31.12.2019 [Kerala State Goods and Services Tax (Eleventh Removal of Difficulties) Order 2019] clarified that for the purpose of calculating the “three months from the date on which the order sought to be appealed against is communicated to the person preferring the appeal” in sub-section (1) of section 112, the start of the three months period shall be considered to be the later of the following dates:-

(i) date of communication of order; or

(ii) the date on which the President of the Appellate Tribunal after its constitution under section 109, enters office;

Thus, as of now, the time limit specified to make application to the appellate tribunal is counted from the date on which the President or the State President enters office.

In the meantime, various complaints have been received from taxpayers that in cases where the decision in the appeal filed before the first appellate authority is against the taxpayers, the Department has initiated the recovery process, even though the taxpayer intends to file an appeal against the order of the first appellate authority before the Appellate Tribunal. It has also come to the notice of the undersigned that the appellate process is being kept pending by several Appellate Authorities as the Appellate Tribunal has not been constituted as if no remedy is available against their Appellate Orders.

This matter has been examined in detail. In order to clarify the issue and to ensure uniformity in the implementation of the provisions of the law across field formations, in exercise of the powers conferred u/s 168 of the KSGST Act, the following clarifications and guidelines are issued;

The appeal against the order passed by the first Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the Kerala SGST Act lies with the Appellate Tribunal. Relevant provisions for the same are mentioned in Section 112 (1) of the Kerala SGST Act which reads as follows:-

“Any person aggrieved by an order passed against him under section 107 or section 108 of this Act or the Central Goods and Services Tax Act may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order within three months from the date on which the order sought to be appealed against is communicated to the person preferring the appeal.”

As mentioned in para 1 above, in the circumstances wherein the Appellate Tribunal has not been made functional, in order to remove difficulty arising in giving effect to the above provision of the Act, it has been clarified that the appeal to Appellate Tribunal can be made within three months (six months in case of appeals by the Government) from the date of communication of order or date on which the President of the Appellate Tribunal after its constitution under section 109, enters office, whichever is later.

Hence, as of now, the time limit specified to make an application to the Appellate Tribunal will be counted from the date on which the President of the Appellate Tribunal enters office. The Appellate Authority while passing an order may mention in the preamble that appeal may be made to the Appellate Tribunal within three months from the President of the Appellate Tribunal entering office. Accordingly, it is advised that the Appellate Authorities may dispose of all pending appeals expeditiously without waiting for the constitution and functioning of the Appellate Tribunal.

Regarding the recovery of arrears, after the disposal of appeal u/s 107, if any demand exists as a result of the Appellate Authority’s order, then in such cases taxpayer shall submit a declaration in Annexure-I before the DC/AC/STO of the arrear recovery wing of the district stating that he is proposing to file an appeal u/s 112(1) of the Kerala SGST Act against the order of Appellate Authority.

The Joint Commissioners of Taxpayer Services vertical are instructed to take necessary steps to inform the above guidelines to taxpayers under the respective districts at the earliest.

Difficulty, if any, in the implementation of this Circular may be brought to the notice of the office of the Commissioner of State Tax, Kerala.

This circular shall cease to have effect on the date when the President of the Appellate Tribunal enters office.

7. AAR & Important Judgements:

(i) AAR On Lessor has to pay GST on rent if property is used for commercial purposes:

(Applicant – Deepak Jain] 

The Rajasthan bench of the Authority for Advance Rulings has held that GST (Goods and Services Tax) is applicable on the rent if a residential property is used for commercial purpose by a lessee (who is registered for GST purposes).

In the case of Deepak Jain (the applicant) who had leased out his property to a private limited company, which was engaged in back-office operations, the AAR observed that, up to July 17, 2022, renting of residential dwellings for use as a residence was exempt from GST, while renting for commercial use was taxable at 18%.

However, from July 18, 2022, the taxability of renting residential property underwent certain changes and services by way of renting of residential dwelling used as a residence is taxable under the reverse charge mechanism, if rented to a registered person.

In this case, the lease deed issued by the Jaipur Development Authority stipulated that the land use of the property is residential. However, the lease agreement entered into by Jain and the private company stipulated that the property would be used solely for commercial use. According to the AAR despite potential classification as residential by local authorities, the predominant commercial use becomes the determining factor for GST levy.

Renting for commercial use is taxable at 18% and the applicant will have to pay GST on forward charge basis.

Responding to the specific questions on which the advance ruling was sought the AAR held that the premises will not be covered in the definition of a residential dwelling, under the notification dated July 13, 2022, due to its commercial use. Further, the use and length of stay by the users determine the nature of the property.

Disclaimer:

This publication contains information for general guidance only. It is not intended to address the circumstances of any particular individual or entity. Although the best of endeavour has been made to provide the provisions in a simpler and accurate form, there is no substitute to detailed research with regard to the specific situation of a particular individual or entity. We do not accept any responsibility for loss incurred by any person for acting or refraining to act as a result of any matter in this publication.

(The author is a well known Chartered Accountant practicing at Ahmedabad)