Sitharaman announces Aadhaar-based biometric authentication to combat fake GST invoicing
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a pan-India rollout of a biometric authentication system at the 53rd GST Council meeting on Saturday. The Aadhaar-based system is designed to combat fraudulent input tax credit claims made through fake invoices. "This will help us to combat fraudulent input tax credit claims made through fake invoices in the cases...," Sitharaman stated during the meeting.
Phased rollout to strengthen GST registration process
The biometric authentication system will be rolled out in a phased manner, according to a release from the Ministry of Finance. Sitharaman stated that this rollout will also strengthen the registration process in GST. The meeting was attended by Union Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary, chief ministers, deputy chief ministers, finance ministers of states and UTs and senior officers of the Ministry of Finance and states/ UTs.
Council recommends retrospective amendment for tax credit
Sitharaman revealed that the council recommended retrospectively amending the time limit to avail input tax credit under section 16(4) of the CGST Act for invoices or debit notes filed up to November 30, 2021. This amendment covers financial years from 2017-18 through 2020-21. A pilot program was run in Gujarat and Puducherry with positive results, leading to the decision for a nationwide rollout.
GST Council decisions aimed at easing trade
The council meeting also made decisions aimed at benefiting traders, MSMEs, and taxpayers by easing compliance burdens and facilitating trade. Among these were recommendations for uniform GST rates on various items including solar cookers, milk cans, carton boxes, and cases. Services provided by Indian Railways such as sale of platform tickets and facility of retiring rooms were also exempted from GST.
Extension and waivers recommended by the Council
In addition to the biometric authentication system, the council recommended extending the deadline to furnish detail and returns in form GSTR 4 to June 30 for the financial year 2024-25 onwards. Other key takeaways from the meeting included a waiver of interest on penalties on tax demand notice, a recommendation for a ₹20 lakh limit for filing of appeal by Tax Authorities before Appellate Tribunal, and a reduction in pre-deposit for filing appeals.
