GST: The story so far

JULY 1 Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee launch GST from the Central Hall of Parliament; Govt imposes 10% basic customs duty on imported cellphones and certain parts; First day of GST witnesses blackout in sales of items such as cars and refrigerators

JULY 7 Consumer affairs minister Ram Vilas Paswan clarifies that pasting stickers with revised prices on pre-July stock is not a breach of rules; allows revised MRP stickers till Sept 30

JULY 8 President Pranab Mukherjee promulgates two ordinances introducing GST in Jammu and Kashmir; Govt spares airlines from dual levy of GST on leased aircraft

JULY 10 Govt clarifies that benefits to staff by employers as part of employment contract, occasional gifts up to R50,000 are not subject to GST JULY 11 Finance ministry clarifies that GST is not applicable on free food supplied by religious institutions JULY 15 CBEC clarifies that services by lawyers and law firms will continue to be taxed under ‘reverse charge’ AUG 5 GST Council lowers tax rates on a few services AUG 31 Finance minister Arun Jaitley indicates the number of GST slabs could be pruned in future SEPT 1 Modi proposes GST registration for small taxpayers; GST Council waives late fee for July tax returns SEPT 3 President Ram Nath Kovind promulgates ordinance enabling increase in GST cess on motor vehicles from 15% to 25%. SEPT 4 GST Council extends deadline for filing detailed tax returns for July SEPT 9 GST Council raises cess on medium sized-to-large cars and sports utility vehicles in the range of 2-7 percentage points SEPT 26 GST receipts for August touch R90,669 crore, 3.6% less than July collections SEPT 29 Consumer affairs ministry lets businesses to sell pre-GST goods till Dec 31, 2017 with revised price stickers OCT 6 GST Council to meet in New Delhi to review compliance, transition issues OCT 8 GST to complete 100 days