1.Railway Services
Exemptions: GST exemption extended to railway platform tickets, retiring rooms, waiting rooms, cloakroom services, and battery-operated car services.
- **Accommodation Services**: Exempted accommodation services up to ₹20,000 per month for students and working professionals, provided for a minimum period of 90 days.
2.Goods **Solar Cookers**: Uniform 12% GST on all solar cookers.
- **Carton Boxes**: GST rate reduced from 18% to 12%.
- **Milk Cans**: GST rate set at 12% for all milk cans regardless of material.
3. **Defence and Research**:
- **Exemptions**: Extended IGST exemption on imports of specific items for defense forces until June 2029 and on imports under the RAMA program.
4. **Other Goods**:
- **Sprinklers**: Clarified that all types of sprinklers will attract 12% GST.
- **Aerated Beverages and Energy Drinks**: Exempted from Compensation Cess when supplied by Unit Run Canteens under the Ministry of Defence.
*Trade Facilitation Measures:**
1. **Interest and Penalties**:
- **Waivers**: Recommended waiving interest and penalties for demand notices issued under Section 73 of the CGST Act for FY 2017-18 to 2019-20, if the full tax is paid by 31.03.2025.
- **Input Tax Credit**: Time limit to avail input tax credit deemed to be 30.11.2021 for the specified financial years.
2. **Litigation Reduction**:
- **Monetary Limits**: Prescribed limits for filing appeals: Rs. 20 lakh for GSTAT, Rs. 1 crore for High Court, and Rs. 2 crores for the Supreme Court.
- **Pre-Deposits**: Reduced pre-deposit amounts required for filing appeals under GST.
**Procedural Amendments:**
1. **Extra Neutral Alcohol**:
- **GST Exclusion**: Recommended excluding rectified spirit/Extra Neutral Alcohol used for manufacturing alcoholic liquors from GST.
2. **Electronic Commerce Operators (ECOs)**:
- **TCS Rate**: Reduced the TCS rate from 1% to 0.5%.
3. **Appeals**:
- **GST Appellate Tribunal**: Recommended amending the CGST Act to allow a three-month period for filing appeals to start from a government-notified date.
. **Extended Deadlines**:
- **Composition Taxpayers**: Extended the GSTR-4 filing deadline from 30th April to 30th June.
5. **Refund Mechanisms**:
- **IGST Refund**: Recommended a mechanism for refund of additional IGST paid due to upward price revision of exported goods.
*Clarifications and Other Measures:**
1. **Related Party Services**:
- **Valuation**: Clarified valuation for import of services by related persons, deeming declared invoice values as open market values under specific conditions.
. **Biometric Authentication**:
- **Aadhaar**: Recommended rolling out biometric-based Aadhaar authentication for GST registration on a pan-India basis.
3. **Transitional Credit**:
- **Amendments**: Recommended amending section 140(7) of the CGST Act for transitional credit concerning services invoices received by ISD before the appointed date.
4. Annual Returns
- **Exemptions**: Exempted filing of GSTR-9/9A for taxpayers with an annual turnover up to Rs. 2 crores for FY 2023-24.
These recommendations aim to streamline GST compliance, reduce litigation, and provide targeted exemptions and rate reductions to benefit various sectors and services.
