Indirect Tax Alert : Parliament passes GST Amendment Bills

According to the recommendations of the GST Council in its 50th and 51st meetings, the Parliament has passed two GST Amendment Bills inter alia clarifying the taxation of Online Gaming, Casinos and Horse Racing.

The gist of the proposed amendments to the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) and Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (IGST Act) are summarised hereunder.

Amendments to the CGST Act  the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023

  • Amendments to Section 2 of the CGST Act: The definition of the terms ‘online gaming’, ‘online money gaming’, ‘specified actionable claim’ and ‘virtual digital asset’ (VDA) have been introduced and the definition of ‘supplier’ has been amended.
  • Section 24 of the CGST Act has been amended to mandate a supplier of online money gaming from a place outside India to a person in India to obtain GST registration.
  • Entry 6 to Schedule III of the CGST Act has been amended to stipulate that ‘Actionable claims, other than specified actionable claims’ will neither be treated as a supply of goods nor a supply of services.
  • It is also provided that the amendments shall be without prejudice to the other legal provisions prohibiting/ restricting/ regulating betting, casino, gambling, horse racing, lottery or online gaming.

Amendments to the IGST Act  the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023

  • Amendment to Section 2 of the IGST Act: The definition of ‘Online Information and Data Access or Retrieval services’ has been amended to exclude ‘online money gaming’.
  • Proviso to Section 5(1) of the IGST Act is amended to exclude goods as notified by the Government, on which, IGST may not be required to be levied in terms of Section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 read with Section 12 of the Customs Act.
  • Section 10(1) of the IGST Act is amended to provide that in case of supply of goods made to an unregistered person, the place of supply shall be the location as per the address of such recipient recorded in the invoice issued. Further, in cases where the address of the recipient is not recorded in the invoice, the place of supply shall be the location of the supplier.
  • Section14A of the IGST Act is inserted to provide for the collection of GST on -
    • ‘Online money gaming’ supplied by a person located outside the taxable territory to a person located in India and for the compliance obligation of such supplier, including the requirement of taking a single registration under the Simplified Registration Scheme and the provisions dealing with payment of tax on such supplies.
    • In case of failure to adhere to the aforesaid provision for obtaining registration and payment of tax, access to the platform shall be blocked for access by the public in the manner provided under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

BDO India Comments

These amendments are made to give effect to the recommendations of the GST Council. During the Press Conference following the 51st GST Council meeting, it was indicated that the Government would endeavour to make these amendments effective from 01 October 2023.

[Source– Central Goods and Services Tax Amendment Bill, 2023 and Integrated Goods and Services Tax Amendment Bill, 2023]