Exemption Limit for GST at Rs. 20 Lakh

Moving towards rolling out GST from 1 April, the Centre and states on Thursday agreed on a timetable for deciding on the tax rate and completion of legislative work but differences remained on the turnover limit for exemption from the new tax.

Chairing the first meeting of the newly-constituted Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council for the second day on Friday, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that the exemption threshold for GST is fixed at Rs. 20 lakh. However, exemption threshold for GST in North-East states is fixed at Rs. 10 lakh.

If a trader’s turnover is less than the threshold limit per annum, he won’t be covered under the indirect tax reform.

The financial year ending March 31, 2016 will be the base year for making revenue projection.

The Council will meet again on September 30 to finalise draft rules on exemptions. It will meet between October 17-19 to discuss rates.

The minister added that the central and state governments have agreed on a timetable for deciding the GST rate and completing legislative business.