CS Professional · Goods and Services Tax (GST) and Corporate Tax Planning

Overview of Goods and Services Tax: formula sheet

Full chapter guide

Key formulas

Intra-State supply: GST = CGST + SGST (or UTGST); CGST and SGST/UTGST are usually charged at equal rates on the same value.
Inter-State supply: GST = IGST; Levied by the Centre. The share belonging to the destination State is passed to it.
Constitutional articles: Art. 246A: power to levy GST; Art. 269A: inter-State supply; Art. 279A: GST Council; Inserted by the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016.
Value added approach: Net GST payable = Output tax − Input tax credit; This is how the multi-stage tax avoids cascading.
Appellate body under the CGST Act: National Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling: President + Technical Member (Centre) + Technical Member (State); Constituted under section 101A, inserted w.e.f. 1-1-2020. President holds office for 3 years or until age 70; Technical Members for 5 years or until age 65, whichever is earlier.
Intra-State supply: Tax = CGST + SGST (or UTGST); Both levied on the same value. Rates are notified on the Council's recommendation.
Inter-State supply, import, export: Tax = IGST; Levied under the IGST Act. Place of supply decides the destination.
Taxable event: Supply of goods or services or both; Section 7 of the CGST Act gives its scope. Section 9 is the charging section.
Destination principle: Tax accrues where consumption takes place; Governed by place of supply rules in Chapter V of the IGST Act.
Taxable supply: Taxable supply = supply leviable to tax under the Act; Section 2(108). Exempt and non-taxable supplies are outside this.
Input tax: Input tax = CGST, SGST, UTGST or IGST charged on supply to a registered person; Section 2(62). It does not include tax paid under composition levy.
Section 146: Common Portal: Government notifies the portal on the Council's recommendation; Functions: registration, payment of tax, returns, computation and settlement of integrated tax, electronic way bill, and other prescribed functions.
Section 158A: Consent based sharing: Data shared by the portal only with notified systems, on Council's recommendation, as prescribed, and with consent; Covers registration and return particulars, invoice preparation and outward supply details, and documents generated under section 68, plus other prescribed details.
Section 158A(2): Whose consent: Supplier: for clauses (a), (b), (c). Recipient: for clause (b), and for clause (c) only where the details include the recipient's identity information; Consent is given in the prescribed form and manner.
Section 158A(3): Protection: No action against Government or portal for liability from shared information; no impact on tax liability; The tax on the supply or return stays as it was.
Section 49: Ledgers: Cash ledger, credit ledger, liability register; Section 49(1) cash ledger, 49(2) credit ledger, 49(7) liability register.
Section 49(8): Order of discharge: (a) self-assessed tax and dues of earlier periods; (b) self-assessed tax and dues of the current period; (c) any other amount, including demands under section 73, 74 or 74A; Follow this order when a question asks how dues are paid.
Section 133: Disclosure: Imprisonment up to six months or fine up to ₹25,000, or both; Prosecution needs prior sanction: Government for a Government servant, Commissioner for others.
Source of power (CGST): Section 11A, CGST Act, 2017; Inserted by Act 15 of 2024, section 116, w.e.f. 1-11-2024. Covers central tax.
Matching provision (IGST): Section 6A, IGST Act, 2017; Same power for integrated tax. Inserted by Act 15 of 2024, section 152, w.e.f. 1-11-2024.
Condition (a): A practice was, or is, generally prevalent regarding levy of tax (including non-levy); The practice must be general, not limited to one taxpayer.
Condition (b): Supplies were, or are, liable to (i) tax, where the practice was non-levy, or (ii) a higher amount than what was levied under the practice; The supplies must actually be taxable or taxable at more. The practice does not change the law.
Procedure: Government satisfied + Council recommendation + notification in the Official Gazette; All three are needed before any relief arises.
Extent of relief: Non-levy: whole tax not payable. Short-levy: only the excess over the practice amount not payable; Relief applies to the supplies covered by the notification and levied per the practice.
Source of the rules: Section 48(1): approval, eligibility, duties, obligations and removal = as prescribed; The Act only creates the framework. The detail on eligibility and conduct is in the CGST Rules.
Authorised functions: Outward supplies (s.37) + returns (s.39, s.44, s.45) + other prescribed functions; Section 48(2). Inward supply details under section 38 were omitted from this sub-section from 1 October 2022.
Who authorises: Registered person authorises an approved GSTP; The practitioner acts only for persons who have authorised them. Without the authorisation, the practitioner cannot file for that taxpayer.
Responsibility rule: Responsibility for correctness = registered person, always; Section 48(3), notwithstanding sub-section (2). Filing by a GSTP does not shift liability.
Eligibility categories (in plain words): Indian citizen, sound mind, not insolvent, no serious conviction + one of the prescribed qualifications; Qualifications include retired tax officer, long-standing sales tax practitioner, prescribed degree, or final examination passed of ICAI, ICSI or ICMAI. Check the exact wording in the Rules before the exam.
Section 149(1): assignment of score: Registered person → may be assigned a GST compliance rating score by the Government, based on his record of compliance with the Act; The word is 'may'. It applies to a registered person, and the basis is compliance record.
Section 149(2): parameters: Score determined on such parameters as may be prescribed; The Act does not list the parameters. Do not state a formula or weights.
Section 149(3): updating and publication: Score may be updated at periodic intervals + intimated to the registered person + placed in the public domain in the prescribed manner; Remember three actions: update, intimate, publish.

Quick revision

GST is levied on supply of goods or services or both, and the Acts are split into CGST, IGST, SGST and UTGST.
Section 11A (CGST) and section 6A (IGST) were inserted by Act 15 of 2024 with effect from 1 November 2024.
Section 11A applies where a practice was or is generally prevalent on levy of central tax, including non-levy.
Relief under section 11A needs the Government's satisfaction, a Council recommendation and a notification in the Official Gazette.
Section 6A is the same power for integrated tax.
Section 48: a registered person may authorise an approved GST practitioner to furnish outward supplies details and returns.
Under section 48(3), responsibility for correctness of particulars stays with the registered person.
Section 116: a person may appear by an authorised representative, except when required to appear personally for examination on oath or affirmation.
Authorised representatives include a relative or regular employee, an advocate, a CA, CMA or CS holding a certificate of practice, certain retired officers and an authorised GST practitioner.
A retired commercial tax officer cannot appear for one year from retirement or resignation.
Section 149: every registered person may be assigned a compliance rating score based on prescribed parameters, updated periodically and placed in the public domain as prescribed.
Section 79 lists the modes of recovery of unpaid tax, such as deduction from money owed, detention and sale of goods, and recovery as arrears of land revenue.

Common mistakes

Saying GST replaced all indirect taxes. Fix: Say it subsumed many Central and State taxes. Customs duty continues, and some goods such as alcohol for human consumption remain outside GST.
Writing that the GST Council makes binding law. Fix: Say it makes recommendations. The law comes from Parliament and State Legislatures.
Saying GST is levied on manufacture or sale. Fix: Write that the taxable event is supply, and cite section 7 for its scope.
Treating the producing State as the one that gets the tax. Fix: State that GST is destination-based, and that the place of supply decides the destination.
Treating GSTN and the common portal as the same thing. Fix: Say that the portal is the platform notified under Section 146, and GSTN is the company that provides the service, described in Section 150(1)(n).
Stating ownership percentages of GSTN as law. Fix: The Act supplied does not state them. Mention only that GSTN is a company registered under the Companies Act, 2013.
Treating section 11A as a right any taxpayer can claim after a short-levy. Fix: Write that it is a discretionary power of the Government exercised only by notification on the Council's recommendation.
Confusing it with section 128, the power to waive penalty or late fee. Fix: Remember that section 11A concerns the tax itself. Section 128 concerns penalties under sections 122, 123 and 125 and late fee under section 47.
Writing that the practitioner alone is liable for errors in a return they filed. Fix: Quote section 48(3): the responsibility for correctness continues to rest with the registered person. Any claim against the practitioner is a private matter.
Saying a GST practitioner can act for any taxpayer once enrolled. Fix: Enrolment makes a person an approved practitioner. Each registered person must still authorise them before they can act for that person.

Exam tips

Expect short notes and 'explain with reasons' questions. Give structure: background, constitutional basis, model, Council.
Quote article numbers 246A, 269A and 279A correctly. Examiners reward precision.
Use a small numerical illustration for CGST, SGST and IGST. It makes the dual model clear.
When the CGST Act is cited, give the section only if sure. Section 101A deals with the National Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling.
Link the topic to later chapters, such as supply, levy and input tax credit, to show depth.
Begin every answer with the taxable event: supply, and quote section 7 and the section 2 definitions.
List all five Acts when asked about structure, with one line on each.
Use short case facts with named States, and always state intra-State or inter-State before naming the tax.