Summary of Points Finalized in the Meeting

Relief to Small Taxpayers

Composition Scheme:
The Council decided to increase the turnover limit for eligibility under the Composition Scheme from ₹75 lakh to ₹1 crore (₹50 lakh for special category States, except Uttarakhand and J&K).
Composition taxpayers were exempted from paying tax on exempt supplies, and the tax rate was simplified for easier compliance.

Quarterly Returns:
Taxpayers with an annual turnover of up to ₹1.5 crore were allowed to file returns and pay taxes quarterly instead of monthly, easing compliance for small businesses.

Suspension of Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) for Unregistered Purchases
The Council approved the suspension of the RCM under Section 9(4) of the CGST Act till 31 March 2018, relieving registered taxpayers from the burden of paying tax on purchases from unregistered suppliers.

Implementation of E-Way Bill System
The Council decided to roll out the e-Way Bill system nationwide in a phased manner starting from 1 January 2018, with full implementation by 1 April 2018. This system aimed to curb tax evasion and improve the logistics tracking framework.

Relief Measures for Exporters

To ease liquidity issues faced by exporters due to delay in refunds, it was decided to start refund payments manually by 10 October 2017 for July exports and 18 October 2017 for August exports, until the online system became fully functional.

A new e-Wallet scheme was proposed to provide advance notional credit to exporters to offset taxes on inputs, expected to be implemented by April 2018.

Exemption from IGST for imports under Advance Authorization, EPCG, and 100% EOU schemes was approved as an interim measure.

Merchant exporters were allowed to procure goods at a nominal GST rate of 0.1% to support working capital.

Reduction in GST on Bunker Fuel
To promote coastal and international shipping competitiveness, the GST rate on bunker fuel was reduced to 5% for both foreign-going and coastal vessels.

Decisions on GSTN Functionality and IT Infrastructure
The Council reviewed the progress of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on IT Challenges, which identified 48 key issues in GSTN.
The Council noted progress on taxpayer registration, GSTR-3B filing, TRAN-1 issues, and refund modules, and directed GSTN and Infosys to improve system stability and user experience.

Revenue Trends and State Compensation

The Council took note of GST revenue collections for August and September 2017, which stood at approximately ₹92,000 crore.

It was agreed that a bi-monthly report of State-wise revenue and compensation figures would be shared with all States for transparency.

Exemption for Certain Service Providers
The Council approved exemption from GST registration for inter-State service providers whose aggregate turnover remained below the threshold limit of ₹20 lakh, reducing compliance burden for small service providers.

Law and Procedural Amendments

Extension of timelines for filing FORM GSTR-5A and ITC-01.

Amendments to CGST Rules, 2017 regarding invoice format and additional instructions in FORM GSTR-4.

Clarification issued regarding due dates for GSTR-2A and GSTR-1A for July 2017.

Tax on Development Charges (Gift City, Gujarat)
The Council clarified that GST would not apply on long-term lease development charges collected by GIFT City Company Limited for commercial/residential projects exceeding 30 years.