Key Features of GST Explained
Key Features of GST Explained
Home GST GST Basics Basics of GST: A Beginner's Guide Updated on: 06 Mar, 2024 04:06 PM
Contents :-
What is GST?
What is the date from which GST came into force in India?
What is SGST?
What is CGST?
What is UTGST?
What is IGST?
Are all goods and services covered under GST? Which goods
and services have been excluded from the GST coverage?
What is GST?
The full form of GST is Goods and Service Tax. It is an indirect tax introduced in
India from 1st July 2017. It is a value-added tax levied on the manufacture, sale,
and consumption of goods and services. Alternatively, GST can be defined as a
destination based tax where the tax is collected on the place where the ultimate
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consumption is done, no matter how long the journey of good otherwise had
PEOPLE ALSO
been!! At every stage of supply, credit for, the taxes already paid on purchases
ASK
or inward supply is allowed. And, the final payout occurs from the pocket of the
HSN Codes Under
consumer of goods or service. There are differential rates prescribed by Central
GST In India
Board of Indirect Tax & Customs (CBIC). There is also a GST council set up to
GST Rates: List of
make and implement the by laws. Here are some of the key changes which GST Goods and Service
Tax Rates
has brought to the old taxes system :
How to login to
Abolishing Cascading effect i.e. tax on tax. Government GST
Portal India?
Removing the differentiation between goods and service, the only
SAC (Services
concept is supply Accounting Codes)
Under GST
Bringing harmony to the overall economy by concepts like E waybill
SAC Codes & GST
TDS and TCS introduced in the indirect taxes Rates on Services
What is the date from which GST came into GST Refund: Rules,
Provisions & Claim
force in India? Process
With a lot of constitutional amendments and years of delay the Goods and GST Invoice: GST
Rules & Bill Format
Service tax finally was made applicable in India from 1st July 2017. Although the Guide
foundation was laid way back in 2004 when the idea was initiated by the Kelkar GST Exemption:
Task Force. Since then, after a lot of discussions, approvals and debates, GST Goods & Services
Exempt Under GST
successfully rolled out in the year 2017 as one of the biggest taxation reforms
GST Composition
witnessed by the Indian economy after the eve of Independence.
Scheme: Eligibility,
Advantages &
Disadvantages
paved its way to resolving major inherent flaws in the Indian indirect taxation E-Way Bill: Rules &
Generation Process
system. Such as-
GST State Codes
and Jurisdiction List
the consumer. GST has addressed this flaw efficiently. What is Debit Note,
Credit Note and
Revised Invoice?
rate of taxes. With the concept of supply introduced by GST, all such paradoxes GST Helpline
GST Payment
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CENVAT and VAT both were Value-added taxes still imposed separately
Name
Easy compliances:
Trying to do 1000 things at a time leads to mismanagement and ineffectiveness. Email
The same goes for our old indirect tax structure. So many taxes with different
constitutional bodies was not an easy task to do. GST has made compliance Mobile
Economies to scale:
The savings of resources like time, cost and efforts will enable both a taxpayer
and the nodal officers to improvise and effectively use the available assets. The
Taxpayers can now invest the same in business expansion and the government
in better implementation.
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Service Tax
Entry Tax
Purchase Tax
Luxury Tax
Tax on Advertisement
State Surcharges and Cess about the supply of goods and services
A big applicative tax reform brought by GST is that it extends to India, including
the State of Jammu and Kashmir, unlike the Service Tax Act 1994.
What is SGST?
The full form of SGST is State Goods and Services Tax. It is a tax levied by the
State Government on the supplies of goods and services within the same state,
i.e., intrastate. The tax liability under SGST will be first set off against SGST or
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UTGST, and then the balance can be set off against IGST input tax credit only.
The tax amount collected under SGST is used by the State Government of the
state where the transaction occurred. The State Goods and Services Tax rate
shall equal the rate of CGST on a particular product or service.
What is CGST?
The full form of CGST is Central Goods and Services Tax. It is a tax levied by
the Central Government on the supplies of both goods and services within the
same state i.e. intrastate. The tax liability under CGST will be first set off against
CGST, and the balance can be set off against IGST input tax credit only. The tax
amount collected under CGST shall be transferred to the Central Government.
On a particular product or service, the rate of Central Goods and Services Tax
shall be equal to the rate of SGST.
What is UTGST?
The full form of UTGST is Union Territory Goods and Services Tax. It is a tax
levied by the Government of Union Territory on the supplies of goods and
services within the union territories, i.e., intrastate. The tax liability under UTGST
will be first set off against UTGST, and the balance can be set off against IGST
input tax credit only. The concept of this tax is the same as SGST, the only
difference is that instead of SGST, this tax is applicable in the union territories of
India. The tax amount collected under UTGST shall be transferred to the
Government of Union Territory. The rate of Union Territory Goods and Services
Tax shall be equal to the rate of CGST on a particular product or service.
What is IGST?
The full form of IGST is Integrated Goods and Services Tax. It is a tax levied by
the Central Government on the supplies of both goods and services between the
states i.e. interstate as well as on imports. The tax liability under IGST will be
first set off against IGST and the balance can be first set off against CGST and
then against SGST/ UTGST input tax credit only. Integrated Goods and Services
Tax shall be collected by the Central Government and then distributed to various
States.
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GST has dual modal where both central and state governments
concurrently levy taxes. Because matters like import/export or supply of
goods and services to another state was a subject of dispute. The
decision will directly affect revenue interests of both states, hence, the
government came out with a way out via IGST. Also, harmony has been
kept in IGST rate. It is approximately aggregate of CGST and SGST. For
eg, if CGST is 9% and SGST is 9%, then the rate of IGST for the same
transaction would be 18% (approx).
Chargeability
Taxable Events
Taxable Persons
Classification
Valuation
Note: Union territories such as Delhi and Puducherry have their own legislature
hence are governed under SGST and not under UTGST.
Money
Securities
The definition of goods has been given under section 2(52) of CGST Act 2017
Goods,
Securities,
Money
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Petroleum Products
Alcoholic liquor
Talking about services there is a notified list given by the government to which
GST does not apply
4. Duties performed by
Members of Parliament, State Legislature, Panchayats,
Municipalities, Local Authorities etc (MPs, MLAs, etc)
3%
18%- Aluminium foil, CCTV, Set Top Box, Swimming Pools, Kajal stick,
Printer (without multifunctions), Toothpaste, soap, hair oil,, and industrial
goods, etc
28%- The highest tax rates for goods under GST applies on products like
Luxury bikes, cars, cigarette, aerated drinks, air conditioner, refrigerator,
etc
Also, the cess has also been implemented for some categories. For Services, the
prescribed GST Tax Rates are-
5%- Applicable on services like rented cabs, railways, goods transport
services, advertisements in print media, specified job work, etc
12%- Popular Services covered under this category are business class
air travel, accommodation with tariff ranging between Rs 1,000 to Rs
2,500 or non-air-conditioned restaurants
18%- This is the most widely applicable rate for services. It applies to
Outdoor catering, Specified construction services + on all others for
which a rate has not been prescribed specifically. I.e., it is a general rate
for taxation of services under GST
28%- The highest tax rate applies to luxuries like luxurious hotels, go-
karting, race clubs, entertainment entries like amusement parks,
gambling, etc.
The rates have kept changing since the introduction of GST and are supposed
to evolve more over time. More harmonization in rates can be witnessed in the
next financial year, but the dream of One Rate is yet far to be fetched. To check
the tax rate of your goods/services, click here..
Notified E-commerce
operator
TDS deductor
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Cigarettes
Tobacco
Coal
Aerator water
Compensation Cess or GST Cess has been introduced for 5 years from the date
of GST implementation in India. It is collected from all taxpayers dealing with
notified goods (except composition dealers) at a certain % of the transaction
value of goods and, later on, distributed amongst the compensated states.
Compensation Cess is like all other GST taxes and its input tax credit is also
available. But, can be adjusted only against Compensation cess and no inter-
head set-offs are allowed.
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BG Bank Guarantee
FI Financial Institution
JV Joint Venture
PC Principal Commissioner
Rs. Rupees
Q - What are the benefits available to small tax payers under the GST
regime?
Composition scheme is available for small taxpayers which is simple & easy wherein there is less
compliance, limited tax liability and requirement to furnish quarterly returns.
Q - How are the disputes going to be resolved under the GST regime?
This problem is to be resolved with the help of Advance ruling and introduction of new schemes like
Sabka Vishwas (Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, 2019).
CA Abhishek Soni
Abhishek Soni is a Chartered Accountant by profession & entrepreneur by passion. He is the co-founder & CEO of Tax2Win.in.
Tax2win is amongst the top 25 emerging startups of Asia and authorized ERI by the Income Tax Department. In the past, he
worked in EY and comes with wide industry experience from telecom, retail to manufacturing to entertainment where he has
handled various national and international assignments.
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