The decisions taken by the GST Council since implementation of GST to bring continuous improvement and simplification in the GST regime are commendable, said Mr. Rashesh Shah, President, FICCI. The rationalization in rates of various items in the meeting yesterday would benefit the nation. The decisions relating to simplification of returns and especially keeping the interests of small taxpayers are noteworthy. This would facilitate ease of doing business both for small and large taxpayers, added Mr Shah.

Many of the recommendations made by FICCI have also been approved by the GST Council and would go a long way in strengthening the confidence of the taxpayers under the GST regime. These decisions would indeed increase compliance, widen the tax base and are in the right direction to achieve the objectives of GST, said Mr Shah. Some of the key FICCI recommendations accepted by the GST Council are:

•Issue of consolidated credit/debit note in respect of multiple invoices

•Rate of tax on accommodation service to be based on transaction value instead of declared tariff, which is likely to provide major relief to the hotel industry

•Supply of services to qualify as exports even if payment is received in INR, where permitted by RBI

•Capping of pre-deposit amount in case of appeal

•Doing away with the liability to pay interest in case the recipient fails to pay the due amount to the supplier within 180 day