The full form of GST is Goods and Services Tax. It was first introduced in the Budget Speech presented on 28th February 2006. It laid the foundation for a complete reform of India’s indirect tax system. Finally implemented on 1st July 2017 as the Goods and Services Tax Act, the indirect taxation system thus went through a chain of amendments since its inception.
With this tax reform, GST replaced multiple indirect taxes that were levied on different goods and services. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is the regulatory body governing all changes and amendments regarding this tax.
GST definition is easy to decode. It is a destination-based, multi-stage, comprehensive tax levied at each stage of value addition. Having replaced multiple indirect taxes in the country, it has successfully helped the Indian Government achieve its ‘One Nation One Tax’ agenda.
The tax is levied on goods and services sold within India’s domestic boundary for consumption. Implemented by a majority of nations worldwide with respective customisations, the tax has been successful in simplifying the indirect taxation structure of India.
GST is levied on the final market price of goods and services manufactured internally, thereby reflecting the maximum retail price. Customers are required to pay this tax on a purchase of goods or services as an inclusion in their final price. Collected by the seller, it is then required to be paid to the government, thus implying the indirect incidence.
The GST rates on different goods and services are uniformly applied across the country. Goods and services have, however, been categorised under different slab rates for tax payment. While luxury and comfort goods are categorised under higher slabs, necessities have been included in lower and nil slab rates. The main aim of this classification is to ensure the uniform distribution of wealth among residents of India.
Back in 2000, the then Prime Minister of India introduced the concept of Goods and Services Tax. He also formed a committee to draft new indirect tax law.
It, however, took 17 more years for its implementation. Meanwhile, the bill went through multiple introductions, amendments and rescheduling.
Good service tax was introduced as a comprehensive indirect tax structure. With this introduction, the government aimed to consolidate all indirect taxes levied under one umbrella.
Thus, except for customs duty that is levied on the import of goods, Goods and Services Tax replaced multiple indirect taxes. This introduction helped overcome the limitations of its previous indirect tax structure regarding implementation and inefficiency in the collection process.
Following is the list of indirect taxes that were subsumed by Goods and Service Tax-
The key objectives of GST are-
GST took the place of many indirect taxes that existed before. It was introduced with a core motive and policy called the 'One Nation, One Tax’. It was introduced as so to provide set tax rates for a service/product that every state would follow. It even simplified administering taxes and compliances.
To create a centralised and unified tax system on goods and services, GST was introduced in India. Under its laws, the majority of indirect taxes were subsumed into one to simplify administration.
Prior to the introduction of GST, the tax evasion rate was very high. In order to curb evasion and create a centralised tax surveillance system, GST was introduced in India. It has effectively contributed to reducing the number of tax defaulters.
GST can be divided into four sections based on the kind of transaction it involves. Before a business can determine its GST liability, assessing the following table about the Components of GST is essential.
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Components of Goods and Services Tax |
What does it mean? |
|
State Goods and Services Tax (SGST) |
SGST refers to the tax payable on the sale of services and products within a state. It replaces previous taxes, including Value Added Tax, Entry Tax, State Sales Tax, Entertainment Tax, surcharges and cesses. |
|
Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) |
The tax levied on the supply of intra-state products is CGST. The Central Government charges this tax. CGST replaced many taxes levied by the Centre, including Service Tax, Central Excise Duty, CST, SAD, Customs Duty, etc. |
|
Union Territory Goods and Services Tax (UTGST) |
Taxes applicable to the sale of products and services in Union Territories, such as Andaman and Nicobar, Daman and Diu, Chandigarh, Dadra, etc. |
|
Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) |
The sale of inter-state products and services leads to taxation. This is IGST. Basically, when businesses transfer services and products from one state to another, they need to pay this form of GST. |
Collection of tax is thus undertaken in the following way for intra-state and inter-state transactions.
|
GST Levy and Revenue Share |
Intra-State Sale |
Inter-State Sale |
|
Goods and Services Tax |
SGST+CGST |
IGST |
|
Share of Revenue |
Revenue collected to be shared between state and central government equally. |
Revenue collected by the central government. It will then be shared as per the goods’ destination. |
Example
Here’s an example to help you understand the levy, collection and share of revenue between the state and the central government.
A seller in Maharashtra sells goods worth Rs. 1 lakh to a buyer in the same state. The tax rate applicable to the goods is 12%, comprising 6% of CGST and 6% of SGST. The total GST of Rs. 12,000 collected will be shared between the centre and the state at Rs. 6,000 each as the sale is made intra-state.
The same seller sold goods worth Rs. 50,000 from Maharashtra to Karnataka. The tax rate applicable to these goods was 18%. The seller will thus charge IGST of Rs. 9,000 from the buyer due to it being an inter-state sale. The tax collected will be submitted to the central government.
Once submitted, the tax will be shared by the central government and state government based on the supply of goods made. For ease of tax collection, the government has made the entire system for the payment of GST online.
Unlike a federal structure where the government collects taxes and distributes them to the states, a dual tax structure allows both the centre and the state to levy and collect taxes.
Goods and Services Tax in India carries this same dual structure, thus having two components, state as well as a central levy. The structure is applicable to all transactions related to goods and services.
The comprehensive nature of the Goods and Services tax levy takes into account every stage of manufacture whereby value-added to an item is taxable. Plus, a change of destination also attracts GST.
The various stages of GST application are discussed below -
From production/manufacture to consumption, an item is passed from one link of the supply chain to another until it is finally purchased for consumption. An indirect tax is hence, levied at every stage, to be borne ultimately by a consumer.
The different steps of production of a finalised good and its corresponding sale in the market comprise the following in general.
GST charged at each link of this chain makes it a multi-stage tax.
A destination-based levy means the item is to be taxed at a place where it is consumed and not at its origin. This means that the location where an item is consumed will rightfully collect the tax.
In this context, it is essential to differentiate the concept of ‘supply’ from ‘place of supply’. The decision regarding whether a sale is intrastate or interstate will be taken accordingly.
The concept of GST on value addition implies every addition made to an item to make it saleable to the end-user is taxable under this regime. Understand it with the help of an example.
The manufacturing unit of Britannia Industries Limited in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, manufactures a variety of biscuits. During the manufacturing process, it goes through the following stages, with value added at each stage.
Thus, for each monetary value added to these stages, making the product saleable, GST is levied, thus making it a tax on value addition.
The composition scheme under GST eases the process of indirect tax payment for small taxpayers. As per the CBIC, companies with an annual turnover within Rs. 1 Crore can opt for the scheme to pay their taxes. For North-Eastern states, the turnover limit is Rs. 75 Lakh. Registration under the scheme is, however, voluntary.
The rates applicable under the composition scheme include the following.
|
Business Type |
Rate of CGST |
Rate of SGST |
Total GST Rate |
|
Goods traders and manufacturers |
0.5% |
0.5% |
1% |
|
Restaurants that do not serve alcohol |
2.5% |
2.5% |
5% |
You must, however, also meet a set of conditions to avail of the scheme. A taxpayer needs to file GST CMP-02 when opting for the scheme. They can do so at the GST online portal.
An Input Tax credit means that when a business person or a trader is paying tax on output, he/she can reduce the tax already paid on input (purchase).
For example, in the case of a manufacturer selling the final product, the output tax stands at Rs. 450. However, he already paid Rs. 300 as input tax while purchasing the product. He can thus receive an ITC of Rs. 300 on the final product and needs to pay only the difference of Rs. 150, i.e., Rs. 450 – Rs. 300 to the government as Goods and Service Tax.
ITC can be claimed only by businesses registered under the Goods and Services Tax Act. Also, all respective suppliers must be registered under the act for you to be eligible to avail of ITC.
Hence, go for Goods & Service Tax registration if you are eligible and not yet registered. Also, file a Goods and Services Tax Return and pay your taxes within the due date to avoid any inconvenience.