THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: State GST law has been amended to enable small-scale dealers up to a turnover of Rs 1.5 crore to opt for the composition scheme. This is in line with amendment brought to the Central Goods and Services Act recently.
Traders who provide 10 per cent of their annual turnover as service can also apply for the scheme as per the Kerala State GST (Amendment) Act, 2018.
Another change is the introduction of a reverse charge mechanism in which large registered traders can pay tax equivalent to the composition rate on purchases made from small unregistered traders. Under this, the buyer can avail of input tax credit.
Businesses with multiple branches can obtain separate registration. GST registration is mandatory for businesses in special economic zones. Registration authorities will have the power to cancel registration under specific circumstances.
Mandatory registration for e-commerce operators is applicable only for those collecting tax at source. Traders need not submit credit-debit note in every invoice. Instead consolidated notes can be submitted.
The pre-deposit for filing an appeal to appellate authority has been re-fixed as 10 per cent of the disputed tax amount or a maximum of Rs 25 crore.
In case of appellate tribunal, the figures are 20 per cent or a maximum of Rs 50 crore. Return of goods under job work should be made within one year in case of inputs and three years in case of capital goods.
The amendment gives powers to GST commissioner to grant extensions of one and two years, respectively.
Local authorities under the state or central governments, subject to CAG audit or other authorised audits, need not keep account books as prescribed in the law. Traders are responsible for ensuring correctness of the input tax credit claimed in returns.
Time period for seizing vehicles failing to pay tax and penalty has been raised from seven to 14 days. All the changes will come into effect from the date to be notified by the government.