Page 53 - ELT_1st July 2020_Vol 373_Part 1

2020 ] TIT-BITS A27

On an application filed by Sterlite Technologies, the Gujarat-Bench of
AAR has ruled that GST is payable on goods sold to customer located outside
India, where goods are shipped directly from the vendor’s premises (located
outside India) to the customer’s premises.
In a separate ruling, the Bench said that value of exempted income, like
interest on PPF, savings bank account and loans given to family/friends, will be
included along with taxable supplies while calculating threshold limit for obtain-
ing GST registration. Under the GST law, businesses and individuals are re-
quired to obtain GST registration if their aggregate turnover is ` 20 lakh or more.
An individual, not engaged in any business, had filed a plea before the
Gujarat-Bench asking whether interest received from savings bank, PPF and
loans and advances to family would be considered for the purpose of calculating
threshold limit of ` 20 lakh for registration under GST law.
[Source : The Indian Express, New Delhi, dated 19-6-2020]
Government may fast-track import curbs on 371 Chinese
goods
The Commerce Ministry is fast-tracking measures to cut down on Chi-
nese imports and the findings will be presented to the Prime Minister’s Office
soon.
According to official sources, the Government has been gearing up to
place tighter restrictions on the import of 371 items - ranging from toys and plas-
tic goods to sports items, and furniture - which worth $ 127 billion. “A large
chunk of these originate in China and for those goods, we will pursue import
substitution,” a senior official said. Electronics, drugs, apparels, and consumer
durables from China are also on the list.
This will be done through the establishment of product standards, incen-
tives for domestic manufacturing, and discussions with business stakeholders to
source from a broader range of nations.
As of now, the Ministry is not keen on increasing tariffs on goods from
China as the move may hit manufacturing in India. However, a contingency
plan, prepared by the Government, bats for increasing duties on the top 100 im-
ports from China.
But officials warn that increasing tariffs on Chinese products may dis-
rupt the supply chain and more research is needed to see if Indian importers can
source goods from other nations. Considering that liquidity remains a prime
concern in most sectors, higher tariffs may give a price shock to importers, who
would then have to pay more for these items. Moreover, the ongoing COVID-19
crisis is likely to push back any decision on erecting tariff barriers until at least
July, a senior official said.
China lost the top position as India’s biggest trade partner to the United
States by a slim margin in 2018-19. Yet, it remains the biggest import source for
India.
Imports from the northern neighbour have been on the wane since 2017-
18 when it had peaked at $ 76 billion. In 2018-19, it came down to $ 70 billion,
mainly on the back of the less mobile phone, component imports. Until February
of 2019-20, imports stood at $ 62.37 billion and for the full financial year, it is
expected to be less the previous year (data on Chinese imports is awaited).

EXCISE LAW TIMES  1st July 2020  53