In a major relief to small businesses hit by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Government is reportedly considering excluding small online sellers from the ambit of GST registration. Presently, all e-commerce retailers must register for GST irrespective of their turnover.
“Representations have come from the industry and trade to bring parity between online and offline sellers on the issue of GST registration, saying that the current norm comes in the way of small businesses reaching a larger customer base. Discussions are on between the central and state governments. The law committee of the GST Council will examine the matter before a decision is taken,” according to the report which quoted a source as saying.
The proposal, if approved, will bring online and offline sellers on par as far as GST registration is concerned.
Also, the government is planning to reduce the number of GST slabs from the current four to three. As per a report, a new median slab of 15 percent may be introduced in place of 12 percent and 18 percent slabs. The 5 percent rate may be replaced by a new rate which will be 6 percent or 7 percent, but the rate tweaking will be done in a manner that not more than four slabs are created at any point in time, according to reports.
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