Govt likely to give GST relief to Infosys, foreign airlines and foreign shipping lines: CNBC-TV18

The CNBC-TV18 report said that the Centre feels that the service sector needs clarity in GST and ease of doing business as well. (Photo: Shutterstock)

The Centre is likely to give GST relief to Infosys, foreign shipping lines and foreign airlines, CNBC-TV18 reported on August 22. The report said that the government is mulling to introduce changes on June circular in the forthcoming GST council, which is scheduled for September 9 next month.

The 54th Meeting of the GST Council will be held on 9th September, 2024 at New Delhi.
GST Council (@GST_Council) August 13, 2024

The report said that the Centre feels that the service sector needs clarity in GST and ease of doing business as well. The report also added that DGGI had recently sent notices to India's second largest IT company along with many foreign airlines.

On August 6, the Directorate General of Goods and Services Tax Intelligence (DGGI) had issued show-cause notices to 10 foreign airlines, including British Airways, Lufthansa and Emirates, for allegedly not paying Rs 10,000 crore in taxes, an Economic Times report said. The notices pertained to unpaid taxes on the import of services by Indian branches from their head offices.

According to a PTI report, the 54th Meeting of GST Council is likely to take up matters regarding reducing tax slabs, rate rationalisation, besides removing duty inversion under GST.

After the June 23 meeting, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said in "the next meeting of the GST Council, the Group of Ministers (GoM) on rate rationalisation under Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sumant Chaudhary, will give a presentation on the status of the work and aspects covered by the panel and work pending before the panel.”

The buzz around easing the 'related party transaction’ clause under the GST for foreign companies in India has been doing the rounds. Moneycontrol had earlier reported about the government plans where foreign airlines and shipping lines are likely to be exempted from paying GST at the time of import of services, but which they can pay at the time of disbursal of services.

Meanwhile, a Bloomberg report the Centre's new efforts to resolve tax disputes with major companies has a China angle to it. The report said that analysts have warned that the unusual tax demands — issued with little warning — may hamper India’s attempts to lure investment away from China, while perpetuating perceptions that the country remains a difficult place to do business.