In order to reduce government litigations, the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Saturday said the GST Council has fixed a monetary limit for filing appeals by the tax department before the various appellate authorities.

It has recommended a monetary limit of Rs 20 lakh for GST Appellate Tribunal, Rs 1 crore for the High Court and Rs 2 crore for the Supreme Court for filing of appeals by the department before these legal forums, she said after the 53rd GST Council meeting held here.

The Tax Authority would generally not go for an appeal if the monetary limit is less than the prescribed by the GST Council.

The Council has also recommended that the maximum amount for pre-deposit for filing appeal before the appellate authority be reduced from Rs 25 crore CGST and Rs 25 crore SGST to Rs 20 crore CGST and Rs 20 crore SGST, she said.

The Finance Minister also informed that services provided by the Indian railways like sale of platform tickets, facility of retiring rooms, waiting rooms, are exempted from GST.

Additionally, she said, the Council has exempted services by way of hostel accommodation outside educational institutions to tune Rs 20,000 per person per month.

It is meant for students or working class and exemption can be availed only if the stay is up to 90 days, she said.

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