Employees Not Required to Pay GST on the Perks Says Tax Body
The way an employer (either an individual or an institution) and workers see and treat one another at work is what is known as an employer/employee relationship. A connection between an employee and their employer begins the minute that individual signs their employment contract. Numerous variables, which differ from organisation to organisation, including the work environment and the nature of the industry, affect the nature of that interaction. Given that workers spend a large portion of their waking hours at work, frequently in close proximity to one another and to their employer, interactions of some sort are unavoidable.
The acts and attitudes of employer are mostly what shape the connection between them and the employee. For instance, the employer often determines whether the work atmosphere will be relaxed, formal, structured, creative, etc. Therefore, whether the employer/employee interactions are healthy and productive will depend on the environment the employer wants to establish.
And another major basis for forming this relationship is the payment or compensation package paid by the employer to the employee. This will be a combination of the basic salary, house rent allowance or HRA, dearness allowance or DA, any special allowance or such other allowances which are available as per the company and its HR policies along with the arrangement as per the agreement between the employee and employer. Most of the cases we can see there will be additional perks added in the package which are given to the employee by the employer and this is what is added here in the clarification by the Tax Authorities or Body.
According to the Central Board of Special Taxes and Customs or CBIC, perks provided by employers to workers are not taxable to Goods Services Tax or GST.
A recent circular state that services rendered by an employee to their employer while they are employed will not be regarded as the delivery of goods or services.That is only one of several explanations the CBIC has about the application of GST Council’s decisions from its most recent meeting, which took place in Chandigarh last week.According to the circular, it has even stated that, incentives supplied by the employer to the employee pursuant to the provisions of a contractual agreement between the employer and the employee shall not be subject to GST where the same is granted pursuant to the terms of the contract between the employer and the employee.
Since prior decisions and explanations had established the general rule that a transaction between two individuals would still incur GST, even if no considerations were involved, the question of whether GST should be applied to benefits has long been a source of debate.
The explanation which is provided by the government unequivocally is supporting the claim made by industry claim that the benefits or perks provided to the employees cannot be subject to GST since they are governed by contracts formed between the employer and employee as part of the employment, and according to Schedule III of the GST Act 2017 are exempt from GST.The question of whether the GST applied to employee perks was the subject of several legal disputes. The clarification provided by CBIC through the circular, would make it clear and likely to put an end to the uncertainty that was existing. Perks are non-cash perks that a business provides to employees, such as transportation, health care, insurance, or eating options.
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