 "Parliament clears Manipur GST Amendment Bill; FM explains key reforms")
Parliament on Tuesday passed the Manipur Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Bill, 2025, with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserting that it will permanently align the state’s GST law with the reforms already implemented at the central level.
The Lok Sabha had cleared the Bill on Monday, while the Rajya Sabha returned it to the lower house on Tuesday after a voice vote.
The GST reform wasn’t implemented in the northeastern state as it was under President’s Rule.
Explaining the changes, Sitharaman said several important GST reforms, already approved through the Finance Act, 2025, are now being incorporated into Manipur’s law. These include the new track-and-trace system, which she described as a “very big step” in improving GST administration and preventing revenue leakages.
The Union minister said the Bill also simplifies the time of supply rules for vouchers, noting that issuing a voucher is not a supply of goods or services. Removing these rules, she explained, will reduce disputes and make compliance easier for businesses.
Another key amendment addresses a long-pending ambiguity in the definition of plant and machinery. The phrase “plant or machinery” has caused confusion since 2017.
Sitharaman said the law has now been clarified to read “plant and machinery”, and the change is being applied retrospectively from 1 July 2017, ensuring that businesses in Manipur get the same benefit as the rest of the country.
On procedural aspects, the Bill provides for a uniform 10 per cent pre-deposit for filing appeals before both the appellate authority and the GST Appellate Tribunal, even in cases where only a penalty is contested. This, she said, brings consistency to the appeals framework and discourages frivolous litigation.
The minister also clarified the treatment of transactions in SEZs and Free Trade Warehousing Zones. When goods kept inside these zones are sold before being physically removed, such transactions will now be treated as neither a supply of goods nor of services, eliminating unintended tax consequences.
On the issue of inverted duty structures, Sitharaman said most cases have been addressed under the “new generation GST”, with only a few items still pending correction.
For the hospitality sector, she highlighted that hotel rooms priced below ₹7,500 per night are now taxed at 5 per cent, down from 12 per cent, which she said will help tourism.