GST in India came into effect from 1st July 2017, presently GST is in its nascent stage and the tax payers are still in the process of conversant themselves with this new Act and experiencing daily changes in its regulation by way of circular / notifications etc. GST being in the nature of indirect tax, incidence of tax must be borne by the end consumer. No any act can effectively work if it does not contain exemptions. GST Act also has some GST exemptions, let’s have an overview of GST exemptions on GST Act. GST Act has categorised the GST exemptions into five different categories

1. GST applicability based upon the threshold limit of Turnover
2. GST Exempt Supplies
3. Supplies considered as Nil Rated under GST
4. Zero Rated GST Supplies
5. Non GST Supplies

GST Applicability based upon the threshold limit of turnover Tax payer has the option for not register themselves in GST until they cross the threshold limit of turnover:

Threshold limit for Sale of Goods
For Normal Category States – INR 40 Lakhs	For Special Category States – INR 20 Lakhs
Normal Category States are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Telangana	Special Category states are Puducherry, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand
Threshold limit for sale of Services
For Normal Category States – INR 20 Lakhs	For Special Category States – INR 10 Lakhs
Normal Category States are Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Delhi, Bihar, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Haryana, Goa, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, J&K, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Kerala and Telangana	Special Category states are Puducherry, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Manipur, Sikkim, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand

GST Exempt Supplies Central Government and State Government can grant GST exemptions on any goods or services by way of notification, on the recommendation of GST Council and such exemption must be in public interest. The GST exemptions granted may be absolute and may be on conditions as per the notification. GST Exempted Goods are categorised as:

• Food: Fruits and vegetables, cereals, meat and fish, potatoes and other edible tubers and roots, tender coconut, tea leaves, jaggery, coffee beans, ginger, turmeric, milk, curd, etc.
• Raw Materials: Silk waste, raw silk, raw jute fibre, unprocessed wool, handloom fabrics, cotton for khadi yarn, khadi, charcoal, and firewood.
• Tools / Instruments: Shovels, spades, agricultural tools, handmade musical instruments, hearing aids, and tools used by physically challenged individuals.
• Miscellaneous: Contraceptives, semen, human blood, vaccines, organic manure, earthen pots, beehives, live animals (except horses), maps, books, journals, newspapers, non-judicial stamps, kites, and pooja props.

GST Exempted services are categorised as:

• All the services related to agriculture including harvesting, cultivation, supply, packaging, warehouse, renting or leasing of machinery, etc. are exempted from GST. However, this does not include the rearing of horses
• Transportation of individuals via public transport, metered cabs, auto-rickshaws, metro, etc
• Transport of agriculture produce and transportation of goods outside of India
• Transportation of goods where the total amount of charges is less than Rs 1500
• Government and foreign diplomatic services
• Services provided by RBI or any foreign diplomatic mission in India are also exempt from GST
• Services provided to diplomats including the United Nations
• Certain healthcare and educational services are also exempt from GST such as mid-day meal catering services, services provided by a Vet, clinic, or paramedics. Services by ambulances and charities are also included in the list

Supplies Considered as Nil Rated under GST Most of the supplies which are exempt contains Nil Rated, means no GST required to be paid, these are categorised in Nil rated so that their rate can be increased and make them taxable if the Central Government and State Government thinks so, based upon the recommendation of GST Council. Zero Rated GST Supplies Export supplies of goods or services including supplies made to SEZ or SEZ developer and including deemed exports are covered under zero rated GST supplies. In such case the exporter has option either to made export of goods or services without payment of tax based upon declaration and submission of LUT / Bond, or exporter has option to pay proper tax and then claim refund of tax based upon the confirmation of export from Customs Department. Non GST Supplies Those supplies of goods or services which do not come under the purview of GST Act are considered as Non GST supplies. Some examples of such type of supplies are:

• Alcohol for human consumption
• Petrol (including crude / high speed diesel / motor spirit / natural gas and aviation turbine fuel
• Services by employee to employer in the course / relation to employment
• Services of funeral / burial / crematorium / Mortuary.
• Services by any court or Tribunal
• Function performed by MPs / MLAs
• Actionable claims (other than lottery, betting and gambling)

With the ever changing Law and regulatory requirements, we keep on track and advise the same on timely manner in order to ensure proper compliance. We at ReturnFilings.Com will understand the purpose of your GST Exemptions and thereafter will provide you detailed analysis mentioning the law requirement and compliances need to fulfil in order to carry out GST exemptions economically and efficiently. We at ReturnFilings.Com will provide you details of regulatory filings in order to ensure proper smooth and timely compliances. We at ReturnFilings.Com are determinate to provide end to end solution; our motto is you concentrate on your business while we at ReturnFilings.Com will take care of all your compliances need for GST Exemptions.