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1
GST IN INDIA – AN
INTRODUCTION
LEARNING OUTCOMES
After studying this Chapter, you will be able to:
 explain the concept of GST and the need for GST in India.
 discuss the framework of GST as introduced in India and understand
the various benefits to be accrued from implementation of GST.
 explain the constitutional provisions pertaining to levy of various taxes
 appreciate the need for constitutional amendment paving way for GST.
 discuss the significant amendments made by Constitution (101st
Amendment) Act, 2016.
© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

1.2 GOODS AND SERVICES TAX
1. GENESIS OF GST IN INDIA

 It has now been more than a decade since the idea of
national Goods and Services Tax (GST) was mooted by `
Kelkar Task Force in 2004. The Task Force strongly
recommended fully integrated ‘GST’ on national basis.
 Subsequently, the then Union Finance Minister, Shri P. Chidambaram, while
presenting the Central Budget (2007-2008), announced that GST would be
introduced from April 1, 2010. Since then, GST missed several deadlines and
continued to be shrouded by the clouds of uncertainty.
 The talks of ushering in GST, however, gained
momentum in the year 2014 when the NDA
Government tabled the Constitution
(122 Amendment) Bill, 2014 on GST in the
nd
Parliament on 19th December, 2014. The Lok Sabha

passed the Bill on 6th May, 2015 and Rajya Sabha
on 3rd August, 2016. Subsequent to ratification of
the Bill by more than 50% of the States,
Constitution (122nd Amendment) Bill, 2014 received
the assent of the President on 8th September, 2016 and became Constitution
(101st Amendment) Act, 2016, which paved the way for introduction of GST
in India.
 In the following year, on 27th March, 2017, the
Central GST legislations - Central Goods and
Services Tax Bill, 2017, Integrated Goods and
Services Tax Bill, 2017, Union Territory Goods
and Services Tax Bill, 2017 and Goods and
Services Tax (Compensation to States) Bill, 2017
were introduced in Lok Sabha. Lok Sabha
passed these bills on 29th March, 2017 and with
the receipt of the President’s assent on 12th April, 2017, the Bills were
enacted. The enactment of the Central Acts was followed by the enactment
of the State GST laws by various State Legislatures. Telangana, Rajasthan,
Chhattisgarh, Punjab, Goa and Bihar were among the first ones to pass their
respective State GST laws.

GST IN INDIA – AN INTRODUCTION 1.3
 GST is a path breaking indirect tax reform which will create a common
national market. GST has subsumed multiple indirect taxes like excise duty,
service tax, VAT, CST, luxury tax, entertainment
tax, entry tax, etc.
 France was the first country to implement GST
in the year 1954. Within 62 years of its advent,
about 160 countries across the world have
adopted GST because this tax has the capacity
to raise revenue in the most transparent and
neutral manner.
2. CONCEPT OF GST
What is GST?
Before we proceed with the finer nuances of Indian GST, let us first understand
the basic concept of GST.
GST is a value added tax levied on manufacture, sale

and consumption of goods and services.
GST offers comprehensive and continuous chain of tax credits from the
producer's point/service provider's point
upto the retailer's level/consumer’s level
thereby taxing only the value added at each stage of supply chain.
The supplier at each stage is permitted to

avail credit of GST paid on the purchase of
goods and/or services and can set off this
credit against the GST payable on the supply of goods and services to be
made by him. Thus, only the final consumer bears the GST charged by the last
supplier in the supply chain, with set-off benefits at all the previous stages.

Since, only the value added at each stage is

taxed under GST, there is no tax on tax or
cascading of taxes under GST system. GST
does not differentiate between goods and services and thus, the two are
taxed at a single rate.
3. NEED FOR GST IN INDIA

Deficiencies in the A cure for ills of existing
has led to GST
existing value added indirect tax regime
taxation
In the earlier indirect tax regime, a manufacturer of excisable goods

charged excise duty and value added tax (VAT) on intra-State sale of goods.
However, the VAT dealer on his subsequent intra-State sale of goods
charged VAT (as per prevalent VAT rate as applicable in the respective
State) on value comprising of (basic value + excise duty charged by
manufacturer + profit by dealer). Further, in respect of tax on services,
service tax was payable on all ‘services’ other than the Negative list of
services or otherwise exempted.
The earlier indirect tax framework in India suffered from various
shortcomings. Under the earlier indirect tax structure, the various indirect
taxes being levied were not necessarily mutually exclusive.
To illustrate, when the goods were manufactured and sold, both central
excise duty (CENVAT) and State-Level VAT were levied. Though CENVAT
and State-Level VAT were essentially value added taxes, set off of one
against the credit of another was not possible as CENVAT was a central levy
and State-Level VAT was a State levy.
Moreover, CENVAT was applicable only at manufacturing level and not at
distribution levels. The erstwhile sales tax regime in India was a
combination of origin based (Central Sales Tax) and destination based
multipoint system of taxation (State-Level VAT).

Service tax was also a value added tax and credit across the service tax and
the central excise duty was integrated at the central level.
Despite the introduction of the principle of taxation of value added in India
- at the Central level in the form of CENVAT and at the State level in the
form of State VAT - its application remained piecemeal and fragmented on
account of the following reasons:
Non-inclusion of several Cascading of taxes on account of (i) levy of

local levies in State VAT Non-VATable CST and (ii) inclusion of
such as luxury tax, CENVAT in the value for imposing VAT
entertainment tax, etc.
No CENVAT after Non-integration Double taxation of a

manufacturing stage of VAT & service transaction as both goods
tax and services
A comprehensive tax structure covering both

goods and services viz. Goods and Service Tax
(GST) addresses these problems. Simultaneous
introduction of GST at both Centre and State levels
has integrated taxes on goods and services for the

purpose of set-off relief and ensures that both the cascading effects of
CENVAT and service tax are removed and a continuous chain of set-off from
the original producer’s point/ service provider’s point upto the retailer’s level/
consumer’s level is established.
In the GST regime, the major indirect taxes have been subsumed in the ambit
of GST. The erstwhile concepts of manufacture or sale of goods or rendering
of services are no longer applicable since the tax is now levied on “Supply of
Goods and/or services”.
4. FRAMEWORK OF GST AS INTRODUCED IN

INDIA
I. Dual GST:
India has adopted a Dual GST model in view of the federal structure of
the country. Centre and States will simultaneously levy GST on taxable
supply of goods or services or both which, takes place within a State or
Union Territory. Thus, tax is imposed concurrently by the Centre and
States, i.e. Centre and States simultaneously tax goods and services.
Now, the Centre also has the power to tax intra-State sales & States are
also empowered to tax services. GST extends to whole of India including
the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

II. CGST/SGST/UTGST/IGST
GST is a destination based tax
applicable on all transactions
involving supply of goods and
services for a consideration subject to exceptions thereof. GST in
India comprises of Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) - levied and
collected by Central Government, State Goods and Service Tax
(SGST) - levied and collected by State Governments/Union Territories
with State Legislatures and Union Territory Goods and Service Tax
(UTGST) - levied and collected by Union Territories without State
Legislatures, on intra-State supplies of taxable goods and/or
services.
Inter-State supplies of taxable goods and/or services are subject to
Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST). IGST is approximately the
sum total of CGST and SGST/UTGST and is levied by Centre on all
inter-State supplies.
III. Legislative Framework
There is single legislation – CGST Act, 2017 -
for levying CGST. Similarly, Union
Territories without State legislatures
[Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar
Haveli, Daman and Diu and Chandigarh] are governed by UTGST Act,
2017 for levying UTGST. States and Union territories with their own
legislatures [Delhi and Puducherry] have their own GST legislation for
levying SGST.
Though there are multiple SGST legislations, the basic features of
law, such as chargeability, definition of taxable event and taxable
person, classification and valuation of goods and services, procedure
for collection and levy of tax and the like are uniform in all the SGST
legislations, as far as feasible. This is necessary to preserve the
essence of dual GST.
IV. Classification of goods and services
HSN (Harmonised System of
Nomenclature) code is used for
classifying the goods under the GST.

A new Scheme of Classification of Services has been devised

wherein the services of various descriptions have been classified
under various sections, headings and groups. Each group consists of
various Service Codes (Tariff). Chapters referred are the Chapters of
the First Schedule to the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
V. Registration
Every supplier of goods and/ or services is required
to obtain registration in the State/UT from where he
makes the taxable supply if his aggregate turnover
exceeds ` 20 lakh during a FY.
However, the limit of ` 20 lakh will be reduced to ` 10 lakh if the
person is carrying out business in the Special Category States – [11
Special Category States are specified in Article 279A(4)(g) of the
Constitution] - States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and
Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura,
Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.
VI. Composition Scheme
In GST regime, tax (i.e. CGST and SGST/UTGST for intra-State
supplies and IGST for inter-State
supplies) is payable by every taxable
person and in this regard provisions have been prescribed in the law.
However, for providing relief to small businesses making intra-State
supplies, a simpler method of paying taxes and accounting thereof is
also prescribed, known as Composition Levy.
VII. Exemptions
Apart from providing relief to small-scale
business, the law also contains provisions for
granting exemption from payment of tax on
essential goods and/or services.
VIII. Manner of utilization of ITC
Input Tax Credit (ITC) of CGST and
SGST/UTGST is available throughout the
supply chain, but cross utilization of
credit of CGST and SGST/UTGST is not possible, i.e. CGST credit

cannot be utilized for payment of SGST/UTGST and SGST/UTGST

credit cannot be utilized for payment of CGST.
However, cross utilization is allowed between CGST/SGST/UTGST and
IGST, i.e. credit of IGST can be utilized for the payment of
CGST/SGST/UTGST and vice versa.
IGST CGST SGST or UTGST
IGST SGST or
CGST
UTGST
CGST
SGST or IGST IGST

UTGST
IX. Seamless flow of credit

Since GST is a destination based
consumption tax, revenue of SGST
ordinarily accrues to the consuming States.
The inter-State supplier in the exporting State is allowed to set off
the available credit of IGST, CGST and SGST/UTGST (in that order)
against the IGST payable on inter-State supply made by him.
The buyer in the importing State is allowed to avail the credit of IGST
paid on inter-State purchase made by him. Thus, unlike the earlier
scenario where the credit chain used to break in case of inter-State
sales on account of non-VATable CST, under GST regime there is a
seamless credit flow in case of inter-State supplies too.
The revenue of inter-State sale does not accrue to the exporting
State and the exporting State transfers to the Centre the credit of
SGST/UTGST used in payment of IGST.
The Centre transfers to the importing State the credit of IGST used in
payment of SGST/UTGST. Thus, the inter- State trade of goods and
services (IGST) needed a robust settlement mechanism amongst the
States and the Centre.

A Common Portal was needed which could act as a clearing house

and verify the claims and inform the respective Governments to
transfer the funds. This was possible only with the help of a strong IT
Infrastructure.
X. GST Common Portal
Resultantly, Common GST Electronic Portal – www.gst.gov.in – a
website managed by Goods and Services Network (GSTN) [a
company incorporated under the provisions of section 8 of the
Companies Act, 2013] has been set by the Government to establish a
uniform interface for the tax payer and a common and shared IT
infrastructure between the Centre and States.
The GST portal is accessible over Internet (by taxpayers and their
CAs/Tax Advocates etc.) and Intranet by Tax Officials etc. The portal
is one single common portal for all GST related services.
A common GST system provides
linkage to all State/ UT Commercial
Tax Departments, Central Tax authorities, Taxpayers, Banks and other
stakeholders. The eco-system consists of all stakeholders starting
from taxpayer to tax professional to tax officials to GST portal to
Banks to accounting authorities.
Primarily, GSTN provides three front end services to the taxpayers
namely registration, payment and return through GST Common
Portal.
The functions of the GSTN include:
facilitating registration;
forwarding the returns to Central and State authorities;
computation and settlement of IGST;
matching of tax payment details with banking network;
providing various MIS reports to the Central and the State
Governments based on the taxpayer return information;
providing analysis of taxpayers' profile; and running the
matching engine for matching, reversal and reclaim of input tax
credit.

XI. GSPs/ASPs
GSTN has selected certain IT, ITeS and financial technology
companies, to be called GST Suvidha Providers
(GSPs). GSPs develop applications to be used by
taxpayers for interacting with the GSTN.
They facilitate the tax payers in uploading invoices as well as filing of
returns and act as a single stop shop for GST related services.
They customize products that address the needs of different
segment of users. GSPs may take the help of Application Service
Providers (ASPs) who act as a link between taxpayers and GSPs.

XII. Compensation Cess

A GST Compensation Cess at
specified rate has been imposed
under the Goods and Services Tax
(Compensation to States) Cess Act, 2017 on the specified luxury
items or demerit goods, like pan masala, tobacco, aerated waters,
motor cars etc., computed on value of taxable supply.
Compensation cess is leviable on intra-State supplies and inter-State
supplies.
XIII. GST – A tax on goods and services
GST is levied on all
goods and services,
except alcoholic liquor
for human consumption
and petroleum crude,
diesel, petrol, ATF and
natural gas.
Alcoholic liquor
for human
consumption: is
outside the realm of
GST. The
manufacture/production of alcoholic liquor continues to be
subjected to State excise duty and inter-State/intra-State sale
of the same is subject to VAT/CST respectively.
Petroleum crude, diesel, petrol, ATF and natural gas: As
regards petroleum crude, diesel, petrol, ATF and natural gas are
concerned, they are not presently leviable to GST. GST will be
levied on these products from a date to be notified on the
recommendations of the GST Council.
Till such date, central excise duty continues to be levied on
manufacture/production of petroleum crude, diesel, petrol, ATF
and natural gas and inter-State/intra-State sale of the same is
subject to VAT/CST respectively.
Tobacco: Tobacco is within the purview of GST, i.e. GST is
leviable on tobacco. However, Union Government has also
retained the power to levy excise duties on tobacco and tobacco

products manufactured in India. Resultantly, tobacco is subject

to GST as well as central excise duty.
Further, real estate sector has been kept out of ambit of GST,
i.e. GST will not be levied on sale/purchase of immovable
property.
Central levies to be subsumed
Central Excise Duty & State surcharges and

Additional Excise cesses in so far as they
Duties relate to supply of goods
Service Tax & services
State levies to subsumed

Excise Duty under Entertainment Tax (except
Medicinal & Toilet those levied by local
Preparation Act bodies)
CVD & Special CVD Tax on lottery, betting and
gambling
Central Sales Tax
Entry Tax (All Forms) &
Central surcharges
Purchase Tax
and Cesses in so far
as they relate to VAT/ Sales tax
supply of goods & Luxury Tax
services
Taxes on advertisements
Intra-State Supply
ILLUSTRATION
In case of local supply of goods/ services, the supplier would charge dual GST i.e.,
CGST and SGST at specified rates on the supply.
I. Supply of goods/ services by A to B
Amount (in `)
Value charged for supply of goods/ services 10,000

Add: CGST @ 9% 900
Add: SGST @ 9% 900
Total price charged by A from B for local supply of goods/ 11,800

services
The CGST & SGST charged on B for supply of goods/services will be remitted
by A to the appropriate account of the Central and State Government
respectively.
A is the first stage supplier of goods/services and hence, does not have credit
of CGST, SGST or IGST.
II. Supply of goods/services by B to C – Value addition @ 20%
B will avail credit of CGST and SGST paid by him on the purchase of goods/
services and will utilise such credit for being set off against the CGST and
SGST payable on the supply of goods/services made by him to C.
Amount
(in `)
Value charged for supply of goods/ services (` 10,000 x 120%) 12,000
Add: CGST @ 9% 1080
Add: SGST @ 9% 1080
Total price charged by B from C for local supply of goods/ 14160

services
Computation of CGST, SGST payable by B to Government
Amount (in `)
CGST payable 1080
Less: Credit of CGST 900
CGST payable to Central Government 180

SGST payable 1080
Less: Credit of SGST 900
SGST payable to State Government 180
Note: Rates of CGST and SGST have been assumed to be 9% each for the sake
of simplicity.
Statement of revenue earned by Central and State Government
Transaction Revenue to Revenue to State

Central Government (`)
Government (`)
Supply of goods/services by A to B 900 900
Supply of goods/services by B to C 180 180
Total 1080 1080
Inter-State Supply
ILLUSTRATION
In case of inter-State supply of goods/ services, the supplier would charge IGST at
specified rates on the supply.
I. Supply of goods/services by X of State 1 to A of State 1
Amount (in `)
Value charged for supply of goods/services 10,000
Add: CGST @ 9% 900
Add: SGST @ 9% 900
Total price charged by X from A for intra-State supply of 11,800

goods/services
X is the first stage supplier of goods/services and hence, does not have any
credit of CGST, SGST or IGST.

II. Supply of goods/services by A of State 1 to B of State 2 – Value addition

@ 20%
Amount (in `)
Value charged for supply of goods/services (` 10,000 x 12,000

120%)
Add: IGST @ 18% 2,160
Total price charged by A from B for inter-State supply of 14,160

goods/services
Computation of IGST payable to Government
Amount (in `)
IGST payable 2,160
Less: Credit of CGST 900
Less: Credit of SGST 900
IGST payable to Central Government 360
The IGST charged on B of State 2 for supply of goods/services will be

remitted by A of State 1 to the appropriate account of the Central
Government. State 1 (Exporting State) will transfer SGST credit of ` 900
utilised in the payment of IGST to the Central Government.
III. Supply of goods/services by B of State 2 to C of State 2 – Value addition
@ 20%
B will avail credit of IGST paid by him on the purchase of goods/services and
will utilise such credit for being set off against the CGST and SGST payable on
the local supply of goods/services made by him to C.
Amount (in `)
Value charged for supply of goods/ services 14,400

(` 12,000 x 120%)

Add: CGST @ 9% 1,296
Add: SGST @ 9% 1,296
Total price charged by B from C for local supply of 16,992

goods/services
Computation of CGST, SGST payable to Government
Amount (in `)
CGST payable 1,296
Less: Credit of IGST 1,296
CGST payable to Central Government Nil
SGST payable 1,296
Less: Credit of IGST (` 2,160 - ` 1,296) 864
SGST payable to State Government 432
Central Government will transfer IGST credit of ` 864 utilised in the payment
of SGST to State 2 (Importing State).
Note: Rates of CGST, SGST and IGST have been assumed to be 9%, 9% and 18%
respectively for the sake of simplicity.
Statement of revenue earned by Central and State Governments
Transaction Revenue to Revenue to Revenue to

Central Government Government
Government of State 1 of State 2
(`) (`) (`)
Supply of goods/services by X to 900 900

A
Supply of goods/services by A to 360

Transfer by State 1 to Centre 900 (900)
Supply of goods/services by B to 432

C
Transfer by Centre to State 2 (864) 864
Total 1,296 Nil 1,296
5. BENEFITS OF GST
GST is a win-win situation for the entire
country. It brings benefits to all the
stakeholders of industry, Government and the
consumer. It will lower the cost of goods and
services, give a boost to the economy and
make the products and services globally
competitive.
The significant benefits of GST are discussed
hereunder:
Creation of unified national market:
GST aims to make India a common
market with common tax rates and
procedures and remove the economic
barriers thus paving the way for an
integrated economy at the national level.
Mitigation of ill effects of cascading: By subsuming most of the Central
and State taxes into a single tax and by allowing a set-off of prior-stage taxes
for the transactions across the entire value chain, it would mitigate the ill
effects of cascading, improve competitiveness and improve liquidity of the
businesses.
Elimination of multiple taxes and double taxation: GST has subsumed
majority of existing indirect tax levies both at Central and State level into one
tax i.e., GST which is leviable uniformly on goods and services. This will make

doing business easier and will also tackle the highly disputed issues relating
to double taxation of a transaction as both goods and services.
Boost to ‘Make in India' initiative: GST will give a major boost to the
‘Make in India' initiative of the Government of India by making goods and
services produced in India competitive in the national as well as international
market.
Buoyancy to the Government Revenue: GST is expected to bring buoyancy
to the Government Revenue by widening the tax base and improving the
taxpayer compliance.
6. CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS
India has a three-tier federal structure, comprising the Union Government, the
State Governments and the Local Government. The power to levy taxes and
duties is distributed among the three tiers of Governments, in accordance with
the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India. It consists of a Preamble,
25 parts containing 448 Articles and 12 Schedules.

25 Parts
(containing
Preamble 448
articles)
12
Schedules
Constitution of India
Power to levy and collect taxes whether, direct or indirect emerges from the
Constitution of India. In case any tax law, be it an act, rule, notification or order is
not in conformity with the Constitution, it is called ultra vires the Constitution and
is illegal and void.
Thus, a study of the basic provisions of the Constitution is essential for
understanding the genesis of the various taxes being imposed in India. The
significant provisions of the Constitution relating to taxation are:
I. Article 265: Article 265 of the Constitution of India prohibits arbitrary
collection of tax. It states that “no tax shall be levied or collected except
by authority of law”. The term “authority of law” means that tax proposed
to be levied must be within the legislative competence of the Legislature
imposing the tax.
II. Article 245: Part XI of the Constitution deals with relationship between the
Union and States. The power for enacting the laws is conferred on the
Parliament and on the Legislature of a State by Article 245 of the
Constitution. The said Article provides as under:
Subject to the provisions of this Constitution, Parliament may make laws

for the whole or any part of the territory of India, and the legislature of a
State may make laws for the whole or any part of the State.
No law made by the Parliament shall be deemed to be invalid on the

ground that it would have extra-territorial operation.

III. Article 246: It gives the respective authority to Union and State
Governments for levying tax. Whereas Parliament may make laws for the
whole of India or any part of the territory of India, the State Legislature may
make laws for whole or part of the State.
IV. Seventh Schedule to Article 246: It contains three lists which enumerate
the matters under which the Union and the State Governments have the
authority to make laws.
LIST – I LIST – II LIST – III

CONCURREN
UNION LIST STATE LIST
T LIST
It contains
the matters in It contains the It contains the
respect of matters in matters in
which the respect of respect of
Parliament which the which both
(Central State the Central
Government) Government & State
has the has the Governments
exclusive exclusive right have power
right to make to make laws . to make laws.
laws.
Entries 82 to 91 of List I enumerate the subjects where the Central

Government has power to levy taxes. Entries 45 to 63 of List II enumerate the
subjects where the State Governments have the power to levy taxes.
Parliament has a further power to make any law for any part of India not
comprised in a State even if such matter is included in the State List.
Income tax is levied by virtue of Entry 82 - Taxes on income other than
agricultural income and customs duty vide Entry 83 - Duties of customs
including export duties of the Union List.
Power to levy Goods and Services Tax (GST) has been conferred by Article
246A of the Constitution which was introduced by the Constitution (101st
Amendment) Act, 2016. Before discussing the significant provisions of the
Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016, let us first understand why there
arose a need for such constitutional amendment.

Need for constitutional amendment

The Constitutional provisions hitherto had delineated separate powers for the
Centre and the States to impose various taxes. Whereas the Centre levied
excise duty on all goods produced or manufactured in India, the States levied
Value Added Tax once the goods entered the stream of trade upon
completion of manufacture.
In the case of inter-State sales, the Centre had the power to levy a tax (the
Central Sales Tax), but the tax was collected and retained entirely by the
States. Services were exclusively taxed by the Centre together with applicable
cesses, if any. Besides, there were State specific levies like entry tax, Octroi,
luxury tax, entertainment tax, lottery and betting tax, local taxes levied by
Panchayats etc.
With respect to goods imported from outside the country into India, Centre
levied basic customs duty and additional duties of customs together with
applicable cesses, if any.
Introduction of the GST required
amendment in the Constitution so
as to enable integration of the
central excise duty including
additional duties of customs, State
VAT and certain State specific taxes
and service tax levied by the
Centre into a comprehensive
Goods and Services Tax and to
empower both Centre and the
States to levy and collect it.
Consequently, Constitution (101st Amendment Act), 2016 (hereinafter referred
to as CAA) was passed. It has 20 sections. Newly inserted Article 279A
empowering President to constitute GST Council was notified on 12.09.2016.
Remaining provisions were notified with effect from 16.09.2016.
CAA also provides for compensation to States for loss of revenue on account
of introduction of goods and services tax. Parliament shall, by law, on the
recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council, provide for
compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of
implementation of the goods and services tax for a period of five years.

Significant provisions of Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016
Key changes in brief

 Concurrent powers on Parliament and State Legislatures to make laws
governing taxes on goods and services.
 Levy of integrated goods and services tax on inter-State transactions of
goods and services to be levied and collected by the Central Government
and apportioned between the Union and the States in the manner
provided by Parliament by Law as per the recommendation of the GST
Council.
 Principles for determining the place of supply and when a supply takes
place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce shall be formulated
by the Parliament, by law.
 GST will be levied on all supply of goods and services except alcoholic
liquor for human consumption.
 On the following products GST shall not be levied, till a date to be notified
on the recommendations of the GST Council:
 Petroleum Crude
 High Speed Diesel
 Motor Spirit (commonly known as Petrol)
 Natural Gas
 Aviation Turbine Fuel
 The Union Government shall retain the power to levy duties of excise on
the aforesaid products besides tobacco and tobacco products
manufactured or produced in India.
 Article 279A of the Constitution empowers the President to constitute a
joint forum of the Centre and States namely, Goods & Services Tax Council
(GST Council).
 The provisions relating to GST Council came into force on 12th September,
2016. President constituted the GST Council on 15th September, 2016.
 The Union Finance Minister is the Chairman of this Council and Ministers
in charge of Finance/Taxation or any other Minister nominated by each of
the States & UTs with Legislatures are its members. Besides, the Union
Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance is also its member. The
function of the Council is to make recommendations to the Union and the
States on important issues like tax rates, exemptions, threshold limits,
dispute resolution etc.

 The concept of ‘declared goods of special importance’ under the

Constitution is done away with. Presently, certain restrictions are placed on
the powers of States in regard to tax on such goods.
 Transitional provisions to take care of any inconsistency with respect to
any law relating to tax on goods or services or both, in force in any State.
Such tax to continue to be in force until amended or repealed or until
expiration of one year from commencement of GST, whichever is earlier
Key changes in detail

Significant amendments made by Constitution Amendment Act are discussed
below in detail:
V. Article 246A: Power to make laws with respect to Goods and Services
Tax:
Newly inserted Article 246A

(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in Articles 246 and 254,
Parliament, and, subject to clause (2), the Legislature of every State,
have power to make laws with respect to goods and services tax
imposed by the Union or by such State.
(2) Parliament has exclusive power to make laws with respect to
goods and services tax where the supply of goods, or of services,
or both takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.
Explanation—The provisions of this article, shall, in respect of goods and
services tax referred to in clause (5) of article 279A, take effect from the
date recommended by the Goods and Services Tax Council.
This article grants power to Centre and State

Governments to make laws with respect to GST
imposed by Centre or such State.
Centre has the exclusive power to make laws with respect to GST in case
of inter-State supply of goods and/or services.
However, in respect to the following goods, the aforesaid provisions shall
apply from the date recommended by the GST Council:

motor
high spirit aviation
petroleum natural
speed ((commonly turbine
crude gas
diesel known as fuel
petrol)
The provisions of Article 246A are notwithstanding anything contained in

Articles 246 and 254. Article 254 deals with the supremacy of the laws
made by Parliament.
VI. Article 248 amended: Residuary powers of legislation amended
Article 248 grants the residuary powers to
Parliament to make laws with respect to any
matter not enumerated in the Concurrent List or
State List. Such power shall include the power of
making any law imposing a tax not mentioned in either of those Lists.
This article has been amended. Now, this power has been subjected to
Article 246A, namely the power to make laws with respect to goods and
service tax to be imposed by the Centre and States.
VII. Power of Parliament to legislate with respect to a matter in the State
List, in the national interest/in case of emergency, extended to GST
provided under Article 246A
Article 249 grants the Parliament the power to
make laws with respect to a matter in the State list
in national interest in a case where the Council of
States has declared by resolution supported by
not less than two-thirds of the members present and voting on any
matter enumerated in the State List.
Similarly, Article 250 grants the Parliament the
power to make laws with respect to any of the
matters enumerated in the State List if a
proclamation of Emergency is in operation.
Articles 249 and 250 have been amended to grant power to Parliament to
make laws with respect to the Goods and Services Tax provided under

Article 246A also alongwith the matters in the State list, in the national
interest/in case of emergency.
VIII.Article 268: Duties levied by the Centre but collected and
appropriated by the States
Article 268 pertains to the duties levied by the
Centre but collected and appropriated by the
States. It stipulates that such stamp duties and
such duties of excise on medicinal and toilet
preparations as are mentioned in the Union List shall be levied by the
Government of India but shall be collected in the case where such duties
are leviable within any Union territory, by the Government of India, and
in other cases, by the States within which such duties are respectively
leviable.
The CAA omits “and such duties of excise on medicinal and toilet
preparations” from Article 268.
Duties of excise on medicinal and toilet preparations have been
subsumed into the goods and service tax to be levied by the Centre and
States.
IX. Article 268A: Article 268A empowering Union to levy service tax
omitted
Service tax was levied in 1994 under the
residual Entry 97 of the Union list. Article
268A was inserted by the Constitution (88th)
Amendment Act, 2003 to usher in service tax
under a separate entry 92C in the Union List. However, it was not
notified ever since. This article has been omitted by the CAA.
VI. Article 269A: Levy and collection of GST on inter-State supply
Newly inserted article 269A.

Levy and collection of goods and services tax in course of inter-State
trade or commerce
(1) Goods and services tax on supplies in the course of inter-State trade
or commerce shall be levied and collected by the Government of
India and such tax shall be apportioned between the Union and the

States in the manner as may be provided by Parliament by law on

the recommendations of the Goods and Services Tax Council.
Explanation — For the purposes of this clause, supply of goods, or of
services, or both in the course of import into the territory of India shall
be deemed to be supply of goods, or of services, or both in the course of
inter-State trade or commerce.
(2) The amount apportioned to a State under clause (1) shall not form
part of the Consolidated Fund of India.
(3) Where an amount collected as tax levied under clause (1) has been
used for payment of the tax levied by a State under article 246A,
such amount shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of India.
(4) Where an amount collected as tax levied by a State under article
246A has been used for payment of the tax levied under clause (1),
such amount shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund of the
State.
(5) Parliament may, by law, formulate the principles for determining the
place of supply, and when a supply of goods, or of services, or both
takes place in the course of inter-State trade or commerce.
Article 269A stipulates that GST on supplies in the course of inter-State

trade or commerce shall be levied and collected by the Government of
India and such tax shall be apportioned
between the Union and the States in the
manner as may be provided by Parliament
by law on the recommendations of the
Goods and Services Tax Council.
Further, import of goods or services or both into India will also be
deemed to be supply of goods and/ or services in the course of Inter-
State trade or Commerce. This will give power to Central Government to
levy IGST on the import transactions which were earlier subject to
Countervailing duties under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
Where an amount collected as IGST has been used for payment of SGST
or vice versa, such amount shall not form part of the Consolidated Fund
of India. This is to facilitate transfer of funds between the Centre and the
States.

Parliament is empowered to formulate the principles regarding place of

supply and when supply of goods, or of services, or both occurs in inter-
State trade or commerce.
VII. Article 270: Distribution of the goods and services tax (GST) between
the Centre and the States
Article 270 is amended to provide for
distribution of the goods and services tax
between the Centre and the States, by order
of the President after considering
recommendations of the Finance Commission.
This applies for those tax amounts apportioned or payable to the Central
Government for taxes levied by it under articles 246A(1) and (2) and
Clause (1) of 269A.
VIII.Article 271 amended
Article 271 empowers Parliament to increase any
of the duties, or taxes referred to in articles 269
or 270. It further provides that such surcharge is
not shareable and remains with the Centre. Now
this article is amended to exclude GST from its
purview.
IX. Definitions of ‘Goods and Services Tax’, ‘Services’ and ‘State’
incorporated under Article 366
The terms Goods and Services Tax, services and State have been
defined under respective clauses of Article 366 as follows:
Goods and services tax means any tax on

supply of goods, or services or both
except taxes on the supply of the alcoholic
liquor for human consumption.
Consequently, GST can be levied on supply of all goods and services
except alcoholic liquor for human consumption.
Services means anything other than

goods.

State, with reference to articles 246A,

268, 269, 269A and article 279A, includes
a Union territory with Legislature.
Definition of “goods”: The term goods has already been defined under
clause (12) of Article 366 in an inclusive manner to provide that “goods
includes all materials, commodities, and articles”.
X. Article 286: Article 286 imposing restrictions as to imposition of tax
on the sale or purchase of goods amended
Article 286 which restrains the States from framing laws for imposition of
any tax on the sale or purchase of goods
where such sale or purchase takes place
outside the State or in course of the import
of the goods into, or export of the goods out of, the territory of India.
This article has been amended to incorporate the changes arising out of
GST by substituting the words “sale or purchase” with “supply” and words
“goods” with “goods or services or both”.
Consequently, States have no right to impose GST on inter-State supply
of goods or services or both. It will be levied by Union Government
under Article 269A as mentioned earlier.
Further, clause (3) of Article 286 which stipulates that any law of a State
shall, in so far as it imposes, or authorises the imposition, of a tax on the
sale or purchase of goods declared by Parliament by law to be of special
importance in inter-State trade or commerce, be subjected to such
restrictions and conditions in regard to the system of levy, rates and
other incidents of the tax, as Parliament may, by law, specify, has been
omitted.
XI. GST Council: Article 279A
Article 279A of the Constitution empowers
the President to constitute a joint forum of
the Centre and States namely, Goods & GST COUNCIL
Services Tax Council (GST Council).
The provisions relating to GST Council came
into force on 12th September, 2016. President constituted the GST
Council on 15th September, 2016.

The GST Council shall consist of the following members, namely:—

(a) the Union Finance Minister is the Chairperson;
(b) the Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance is the
Member;
(c) the Minister in charge of Finance or Taxation or any other Minister
nominated by each State Government are the Members.
The Members of the GST Council referred to clause (c) above shall, as
soon as may be, choose one amongst themselves to be the Vice-
Chairperson of the Council for such period as they may decide.
The GST Council shall make recommendations to the Union and the
States on—
(a) the taxes, cesses and surcharges levied by the Union, the States and
the local bodies which may be subsumed in the goods and services
tax;
(b) the goods and services that may be subjected to, or exempted from
the goods and services tax;
(c) model Goods and Services Tax Laws, principles of levy,
apportionment of Goods and Services Tax levied on supplies in the
course of inter-State trade or commerce under article 269A and the
principles that govern the place of supply;
(d) the threshold limit of turnover below which goods and services may
be exempted from goods and services tax;
(e) the rates including floor rates with bands of goods and services tax;
(f) any special rate or rates for a specified period, to raise additional
resources during any natural calamity or disaster;
(g) special provision with respect to the States of Arunachal Pradesh,
Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand [Such
States are referred as Special Category States]; and
(h) any other matter relating to the goods and services tax, as the
Council may decide.

The GST Council shall recommend the date on which the goods and
services tax be levied on petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit
(commonly known as petrol), natural gas and aviation turbine fuel.
While discharging the functions conferred by this article, the GST Council
shall be guided by the need for a harmonised structure of goods and
services tax and for the development of a harmonised national market
for goods and services.
One-half of the total number of Members of the GST Council shall
constitute the quorum at its meetings.
The GST Council shall determine the procedure in the performance of its
functions.
Every decision of the GST Council shall be taken
at a meeting, by a majority of not less than
three-fourths of the weighted votes of the GST COUNCIL
members present and voting, in accordance with

the following principles, namely:
(a) the vote of the Central Government shall
have a weightage of one-third of the total
votes cast, and
(b) the votes of all the State Governments taken together shall have a
weightage of two-thirds of the total votes cast, in that meeting.
No act or proceedings of the Goods and Services Tax Council shall be
invalid merely by reason of—
(a) any vacancy in, or any defect in, the constitution of the Council; or
(b) any defect in the appointment of a person as a Member of the
Council; or
(c) any procedural irregularity of the Council not affecting the merits of
the case.
The Goods and Services Tax Council shall establish a mechanism to
adjudicate any dispute —
(a) between the Government of India and one or more States; or
(b) between the Government of India and any State or States on one
side and one or more other States on the other side; or

(c) between two or more States, arising out of the recommendations of

the Council or implementation thereof.
XII. Article 368 amended
Article 368 has been amended to include Article
279A also within its purview. Consequently, at
least two-thirds of the majority in each House of
the Parliament and ratification by at least half of
the States is specifically required to make any amendment in Article 279A
relating to GST Council.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

1. Write a short note on various Lists provided under Seventh Schedule to the
Constitution of India.
2. Discuss how GST resolved the double taxation dichotomy under previous
indirect tax laws.
3. Enumerate the deficiencies of the existing indirect taxes which led to the need
for ushering into GST regime.
4. Discuss the dual GST model introduced in India.
5. List the Central and State levies which will be subsumed in GST in India.
ANSWERS/HINTS
1. Refer Para 6.
2. Refer Para 3.
3. Refer Para 3.
4. Refer Para 4.
5. Refer Para 4.

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1

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

1. GENESIS OF GST IN INDIA

Parliament on 19th December, 2014. The Lok Sabha

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

GST is a value added tax levied on manufacture, sale

The supplier at each stage is permitted to

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Since, only the value added at each stage is

3. NEED FOR GST IN INDIA

In the earlier indirect tax regime, a manufacturer of excisable goods

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Non-inclusion of several Cascading of taxes on account of (i) levy of

No CENVAT after Non-integration Double taxation of a

A comprehensive tax structure covering both

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

4. FRAMEWORK OF GST AS INTRODUCED IN

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

A new Scheme of Classification of Services has been devised

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

cannot be utilized for payment of SGST/UTGST and SGST/UTGST

IGST CGST SGST or UTGST

SGST or IGST IGST

IX. Seamless flow of credit

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

A Common Portal was needed which could act as a clearing house

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

XII. Compensation Cess

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

products manufactured in India. Resultantly, tobacco is subject

Central Excise Duty & State surcharges and

State levies to subsumed

Value charged for supply of goods/ services 10,000

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

Add: CGST @ 9% 900

Add: SGST @ 9% 900

Total price charged by A from B for local supply of goods/ 11,800

Value charged for supply of goods/ services (` 10,000 x 120%) 12,000

Add: CGST @ 9% 1080

Add: SGST @ 9% 1080

Total price charged by B from C for local supply of goods/ 14160

Computation of CGST, SGST payable by B to Government

CGST payable 1080

Less: Credit of CGST 900

CGST payable to Central Government 180

© The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India

SGST payable 1080

Less: Credit of SGST 900

SGST payable to State Government 180

Transaction Revenue to Revenue to State

Supply of goods/services by A to B 900 900

Supply of goods/services by B to C 180 180

Total 1080 1080

Value charged for supply of goods/services 10,000

Add: CGST @ 9% 900

Add: SGST @ 9% 900

Total price charged by X from A for intra-State supply of 11,800