Proposed Goods and Services Tax In India :
मित्रो !
मॉडल
जीएसटी लॉ ड्राफ्ट की धारा ७ की उपधारा (१) में "all
intra-State supplies of goods and/or services" पर जीएसटी लगाने का
प्राविधान किया गया है, धारा १० में केंद्र और राज्य
सरकारों को कतिपय विज्ञापित माल और / या सवाओं की सपलाई पर पूर्ण अथवा आंशिक कर
मुक्ति सम्बन्धी विज्ञप्ति जारी किये जाने की शक्तियां दीं गईं हैं। दोनों ही
धाराएं आपस में स्वतंत्र हैं। यह उचित नहीं है।
ड्राफ्ट
की द्वारा २ का क्लाज (४२) "exempt supply" की परिभाषा देता है।
परिभाषा के अनुसार इससे तात्पर्य ऐसी सप्लाई से है जिस पर कर देय नहीं है। इसमें
अनुसूची (schedule) में दिए हुए माल और सेवाओं की सप्लाई तथा १० के अंतर्गत
करमुक्त की जाने वाली सप्लाई को शामिल किया गया है। यदि मैं सही हूँ तब मेरा मानना
है कि अनुसूची में सूचीबद्ध किये जाने वाले माल और सेवाओं की सप्लाई के करमुक्त
होने का प्राविधान कहीं नहीं किया गया है। धारा ७(१) में "all
intra-State supplies of goods and/or services" पर कर लगाए जाने की बात
कही गयी है। धारा १० में भी अनुसूची में सूचीबद्ध माल और सेवाओं पर कर न लगाए जाने
की बात नहीं कही गयी है।
धारा
१० में जहां बिना शर्त करमुक्ति सम्बन्धी विज्ञप्ति जारी की जाएगी वहां कर न लगाए
जाने का स्पष्टीकरण (Explanation) जोड़ा गया है किन्तु
जहां पर आंशिक करमुक्ति की विज्ञप्ति जारी की जाएगी अथवा शर्तों पर पूर्ण करमुक्ति
दी जाएगी या राज्य सरकार के आदेश से किसी सेवा पर करमुक्ति का प्राविधान किया
जायेगा वहां पर क्या किया जायेगा का उल्लेख नहीं है।
मेरे
विचार से धारा १० का शीर्षक "Power to grant exemption
from tax" भी उचित नहीं है। उचित शीर्षक "Exemption
from levy and payment of tax" हो सकता था। इन्हीं तथ्यों तथा कुछ अन्य तथ्यों ने
विचाराधीन आर्टिकल लिखने के लिए प्रेरित किया है।
Power
to grant exemption from tax
On
June 26, 2016,
Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers has issued Model GST Law draft.
Copy of the said GST Law draft is available on the web site of Ministry of
Finance, Department of Revenue, and Government of India.
Proposed GST Law draft proposes levy of tax on “supply of goods or services or
both”. Section 7 of the proposed law deals with the incident of levy of tax.
This section provides that tax will be levied on all supplies of goods and / or
services. Section 10 of the model draft provides that State Government or the
Central Government may grant exemption from levy of tax on certain goods and
services either absolutely or conditionally. This section 10 runs as follows:
10.
Power to grant exemption from tax
(1)
If the Central or a State Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the
public interest so to do, it may, on the recommendation of the Council, by
notification, exempt generally either absolutely or subject to such conditions
as may be specified in the notification, goods and/or services of any specified
description from the whole or any part of the tax leviable thereon.
Explanation.- Where an exemption under sub-section (1) in respect of any goods
and/or services from the whole of the tax leviable thereon has been granted
absolutely, the taxable person providing such goods and/or services shall not
pay the tax on such goods and/or services.
(2) If the Central or a State Government is satisfied that it is necessary in
the public interest so to do, it may, on the recommendation of the Council, by
special order in each case, exempt from payment of tax, under circumstances of
an exceptional nature to be stated in such order, any goods and/or services on
which tax is leviable
(3)
The Central or a State Government may, if it considers necessary or expedient
so to do for the purpose of clarifying the scope or applicability of any
notification issued under sub-section (1) or order issued under sub-section
(2), insert an explanation in such notification or order, as the case may be,
by notification at any time within one year of issue of the notification under
sub-section (1) or order under sub-section (2), and every such explanation
shall have effect as if it had always been the part of the first such notification
or order, as the case may be.
(4)
Every notification issued under sub-section (1) or sub-section (3) and every
order issued under sub-section (2) shall
(a)
unless otherwise provided, come into force on the date of its issue by the
Central or a State Government for publication in the Official Gazette; and
(b)
be made available on the official website of the department of the Central or a
State Government.
Comments:
In section 2, in clause (42), term “exempt supply” has been defined as follows:
(42) “exempt supply” means supply of any goods and/or services which are not
taxable under this Act and includes such supply of goods and/or services which
are specified in Schedule . . . of the Act or which may be exempt from tax
under section 10;
Proposed
sub-section (1) of section 7 runs as follows:
(1) There shall be levied a tax called the Central/State Goods and Services Tax
(CGST/SGST) on all intra-State supplies of goods and/or services at the rate
specified in the Schedule . . . to this Act and collected in such manner as may
be prescribed.
It is to be noted that in the proposed sub-section (1) of section 7, term “all
intra-State supplies of goods and/or services” includes “exempt supply” and the
supplies which may be exempted from levy of tax “partially” under section 10 of
the Act. By implication, one may say that for exempt supplies, rate of tax will
not be provided in the Schedule referred to in sub-section (1) of section 7
(for convenience, hereinafter referred to as Schedule of taxable supplies) and
therefore their supply will enjoy exemption (in absence of rate of tax, tax
cannot be quantified). In my opinion, it will not be a correct approach.
Moreover, under section 10, the Central Government / State Government may also
grant partial exemption from levy of tax on certain supplies mentioned in the
Schedule of taxable supplies. Where partial exemption will be granted, in those
cases of supply of goods and / services, tax will be determined at rates lower
than the rates provided in Schedule of taxable supplies.
Clause (42) of section 2 is a definition clause and therefore, by itself, it
does not grant exemption on supplies mentioned in exemption Schedule. Supplies
to be mentioned or described in exemption schedule, either should have been
excluded from tax levy clause in sub-section (1) of section 7 or some specific
provision for granting exemption on such supplies should have been made in the
proposed Act.
.
Had I been asked to draft section 10 of the Model GST Law Draft, I would have
put it in following manner:
10.
Exemption from levy and payment of tax
(1)
No tax shall be levied and paid on supply of goods and / or services mentioned
or described in schedule ----- to this Act.
(2)
Where the Central / State Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the
public interest so to do, it may, on the recommendation of the Council, notify
any goods and / or services on supply of which –
(a)
no tax shall be levied and paid under this Act; or
(b)
no tax shall be levied and paid under this Act subject to fulfillment of such
conditions as may be specified in the notification;
(c)
tax shall be levied and paid at such rate, lower than the rate provided in
schedule ----- for supply of such goods and / or services, as may be specified
in the notification.
(d) tax shall be levied and paid at such rate, lower than the rate provided in
schedule ----- for supply of such goods and / or services, as may, subject to
fulfillment of such conditions as specified in the notification, be specified
in the notification.
(3)
Where the Central / State Government is satisfied that it is necessary in the
public interest so to do, it may, on the recommendation of the Council, by
special order in each case, under circumstances of an exceptional nature to be
stated in such order, direct that no tax shall be levied and paid on supply of
any goods and / or services specified in such order and upon issue of such
order, no tax shall be levied on supply of such goods and / or services on and
collected from taxable person in whose case such direction has been issued.
(4) The Central or a State Government may, if it considers necessary or
expedient so to do for the purpose of clarifying the scope or applicability of
any notification issued under sub-section (2) or order issued under sub-section
(2), insert an explanation in such notification or order, as the case may be,
by notification at any time within one year of issue of the notification under
sub-section (2) or order under sub-section (3), and every such explanation
shall have effect as if it had always been the part of the first such
notification or order, as the case may be.
(5)
Every notification issued under sub-section (2) or sub-section (4) and every
order issued under sub-section (3) shall
(a)
unless otherwise provided, come into force on the date of its issue by the
Central or a State Government for publication in the Official Gazette; and
(b)
be made available on the official website of the department of the Central or a
State Government.
The law also proposes for payment of tax on reverse
charge basis. Relating to such cases, exemption clause, as new sub-section, may
also be added to section 10 in following words:
Where tax is leviable on and payable by the recipient on reverse charge basis
on any transaction of supply of any goods and / or services, no tax shall be
levied on and paid by supplier of such goods and / or services.
