The GST Council on Saturday cleared a proposal to offer cash backs to consumers on trial basis for digital payments through Rupay cards, BHIM app and UPI system to promote cashless transactions in rural and semi-urban areas.
Volunteer States would roll out incentives on pilot basis for digital payments, and the GSTN, the IT backbone of the GST network, and the National Payments Corporation of India will develop a system soon for the same, Finance Minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after the GST Council meeting here.
Once implemented, customers making payments through Rupay card and BHIM UPI, would get a cash back of 20 per cent of the total GST amount, subject to a maximum limit of Rs 100, Goyal said ,while terming the move as a step towards formalisation of the economy.
“We have decided to undertake a pilot project. A broad framework has been worked out so that users of Rupay debit card, BHIM, Aadhaar, UPI, USSD transactions can be given the incentives because these are mostly used by poor people,” Goyal said.
A group of Ministers under Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, had yesterday worked out the cash back mechanism and had assessed that the revenue loss on account of it would be Rs 1,000 crore annually.
“The Council has decided to prepare the software and backend for this (cash back incentive) and whichever state volunteers for it, the pilot can be run in that state itself and impact on revenue can be assessed,” Goyal said.
The GST Council also set up a six-member panel of Ministers under Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla to look into the issues of the MSME sector.
Other members of the ministers' panel are Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, Kerala Finance Minister Thomas Isaac and Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal.
Simultaneously, the law and procedure as well as rates related issues for the MSME sector would be considered in detail by the law committee and the Fitment Committee comprising central and state tax officers. They will give their recommendations to the GoM, Goyal said.
The ministerial panel is expected to finalise its report within six weeks. On the issues faced by MSMEs, Sisodia said ever since the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been rolled out, there were concerns of the sector.
In the pre-GST regime, small businesses with turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore were exempt from excise duty.