Taxation · Accounts and Records

Special Records for Specific Persons under Rule 56 of CGST Rules

Updated 4 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Rule 56 of the CGST Rules adds record duties for specific persons beyond Section 35: manufacturers keep monthly production accounts, service providers keep goods and services usage details, works contractors keep separate contract accounts, agents keep principal-wise records, and godown owners and transporters keep consigner and consignee details. Name the person, list the records, state the particulars.

Understand Special Records for Specific Persons

Section 35 of the CGST Act, 2017 is the general rule. Every registered person must keep books at the principal place of business: production or manufacture, inward and outward supply of goods or services, stock, input tax credit availed, output tax payable and paid, and other prescribed particulars. Rule 56 then says what those records must contain in detail.

The Rule has two layers. The first layer applies to every registered person, for example accounts of advances received and paid, records of imports, exports and reverse charge supplies, and names and addresses of suppliers and of the premises where goods are stored. The second layer applies only to specific persons because their business creates special risks of tax leakage.

The specific persons are: manufacturers (monthly production account showing raw materials used, goods produced, waste and by-products), service providers (quantitative details of goods used, input services used and services supplied), works contractors (separate account for each works contract), agents (records for each principal separately) and owners or operators of godowns or warehouses and transporters (records of consigner, consignee and other details of goods handled).

The idea is traceability. An officer should be able to follow raw material in, goods out, and who owned the goods at each stage. A registered person who has opted for composition levy under Section 10 is excused from keeping the stock account. The other common records, such as the advances account and supplier details, still apply to such a person. Godown owners and transporters must keep their records whether or not they are registered, because Section 35 itself says so.

For the exam, remember Rule 56 as a list: person, then the record, then its particulars. Records may be kept manually or electronically. Under Section 36, they must be retained for 72 months from the due date of furnishing the annual return for the year concerned. Where an appeal, revision or other proceeding is pending, they must be kept for one year after its final disposal, if that is later.

Key rules to remember

Stock account (all registered persons except composition): Closing stock = Opening balance + Receipts − Supplies − Goods used in production or issued − Goods lost, stolen, destroyed, written off, gifted or given as free samples; Covers raw materials, finished goods, scrap and wastage. Goods consumed in manufacture are not a supply, but they reduce the raw material stock and must be shown separately in that account. A person paying tax under Section 10 (composition) is not required to maintain it.
Manufacturer: Monthly production account: raw materials used (quantity) + goods manufactured (quantity) + waste and by-products; The account is monthly and quantitative. Value is not the main requirement.
Service provider: Quantitative details of goods used in services + input services utilised + services supplied; Applies to a registered person supplying services.
Works contractor: Separate account per works contract: (a) names and addresses of persons for whom executed; (b) goods or services received; (c) goods or services used; (d) payments received; (e) names and addresses of suppliers; Description, value and quantity (where applicable) are needed for goods and services received and used.
Agent: Per principal: authorisation received; goods or services received on behalf; goods or services supplied on behalf; accounts furnished to the principal; tax paid on them; Each principal's records must be kept separately.
Godown owner, warehouse operator, transporter: Records of consigner, consignee and other relevant details of goods handled, irrespective of registration; The basis is Section 35 of the CGST Act, with details in Rule 56.
Common records for every registered person: Advances account + import, export and reverse charge records + supplier particulars + addresses of storage premises; Only the stock account is excused for a person paying tax under Section 10. The other common records still apply to a composition dealer.

How to solve Special Records for Specific Persons questions

Use this method for any question that asks which records a person must keep under GST.

1Identify the person in the facts: manufacturer, service provider, works contractor, agent, godown owner, transporter or an ordinary registered person.
2Check the status. Is the person registered or under composition? Godown owners and transporters keep records even if unregistered. Composition dealers are excused from the stock account.
3State the legal base in one line: Section 35 of the CGST Act, 2017 read with Rule 56 of the CGST Rules, 2017.
4List the records specific to that person, using the particulars from the Rule, such as monthly production account for a manufacturer or principal-wise records for an agent.
5Add the common records that apply to every registered person if the question asks for 'all records' or gives facts that call for them: stock account (except composition), advances account, supplier details, storage premises.
6If the question has numbers, prepare the account in a neat statement, for example a stock account with opening balance, receipts, supplies, losses and closing balance.
7Conclude with the compliance point, such as records kept at the principal place of business, in manual or electronic form, and retained for the prescribed period.

Quickest way: Person, record, particulars in three lines

When to use it: Use in MCQs and in short written answers when time is under 5 minutes.

MCQ: link the person to the record. Manufacturer means monthly production account. Works contractor means separate contract account. Agent means principal-wise records. Godown owner or transporter means consigner and consignee records, even if unregistered.
MCQ elimination: reject any option that says a godown owner or transporter keeps records only if registered. Reject any option that makes a composition dealer maintain the stock account.
Written answer format: Provision (Section 35 and Rule 56), Facts (identify the person), Conclusion (list the records with particulars). Use bullet points for each record, as each bullet can earn a step mark.
Numerical stock questions: write Opening + Receipts − Issues − Losses = Closing in one line, then plug in the figures.

Common mistakes in Special Records for Specific Persons

Saying a transporter or godown owner needs to keep records only if registered.
Most GST duties depend on registration, so students assume the same here.
Fix: Remember that Section 35 requires these records irrespective of registration. Link 'godown, warehouse, transporter' with 'registered or not'.
Requiring a composition dealer to maintain the stock account.
Students recall the Rule as applying to everyone.
Fix: Note the carve-out for persons paying tax under Section 10 for the stock account. The advances account and supplier details still apply.
Writing 'production account' for a manufacturer without saying it is monthly and quantitative.
Students remember the name but not the particulars.
Fix: Write: monthly account of raw materials used and goods manufactured, including waste and by-products, in quantity.
Keeping a single combined account for all principals in an agent's answer, or a single account for all works contracts.
Students focus on the type of record and miss the word 'separate'.
Fix: Use the words 'for each principal separately' and 'separate account for each works contract'.
Leaving out scrap, wastage, and goods lost, stolen, destroyed or given as gifts or free samples from the stock account.
Students think only of purchases and sales.
Fix: Include all items that reduce stock. Recall the line: opening, receipt, supply, losses, closing.
Confusing Rule 56 with the invoice rules or with the period of retention.
Accounts and records, invoicing and retention are studied close together.
Fix: Rule 56 is about what particulars to keep. Section 35 is the base provision and Section 36 deals with the retention period.

Worked examples

Example 1

Shree Metals Ltd is a registered manufacturer (not under composition). Name the records it must maintain under Rule 56 specific to a manufacturer, and state the stock account particulars.

Show the solution

Provision: Section 35 of the CGST Act, 2017 and Rule 56 of the CGST Rules, 2017.
Facts: Shree Metals is a registered manufacturer and is not paying tax under Section 10, so the stock account applies.
Manufacturer record: a monthly production account showing quantitative details of raw materials used in manufacture, and quantitative details of goods manufactured including waste and by-products.
Stock account: particulars of opening balance, receipts, supplies, goods lost, stolen, destroyed, written off or disposed of by way of gift or free sample, and the closing balance, covering raw materials, finished goods, scrap and wastage.
Other common records: an account of advances received, paid and adjusted, records of imports, exports and reverse charge supplies (if any), details of suppliers, and addresses of the premises where goods are stored.

Answer: Shree Metals must keep a monthly quantitative production account (raw materials used, goods produced, waste and by-products) and a stock account of raw materials, finished goods, scrap and wastage. Because it is not under composition, the stock account applies to it. It must also keep the other common records under Rule 56: the advances account, supplier details and storage addresses.

Example 2

Raw material stock of a registered manufacturer in a month: opening 1,000 kg; purchases 4,000 kg; used in production 4,200 kg; 50 kg destroyed in a fire. Find closing stock of raw material. Also state who among a registered works contractor and an unregistered transporter must maintain special records under Rule 56.

Show the solution

Closing stock = Opening + Receipts − Used − Lost or destroyed.
Closing stock = 1,000 + 4,000 − 4,200 − 50.
Total available = 5,000 kg. Less used = 4,200 kg, leaving 800 kg. Less destroyed 50 kg leaves 750 kg.
The 50 kg destroyed must be shown separately in the stock account as goods lost or destroyed.
Works contractor: registered, so must keep a separate account for each works contract. It shows names and addresses of persons for whom the contract is executed, goods and services received and used, payments received, and names and addresses of suppliers.
Transporter: records of consigner, consignee and other relevant details of goods handled must be kept irrespective of registration.

Answer: Closing raw material stock is 750 kg. The works contractor must keep a separate account per contract, and the unregistered transporter must also keep consigner and consignee records, because the duty applies whether or not registered.

Exam tips

Questions are often fact-based: a person is described and you must list the records. Start by naming the person's category so the examiner can see the link.
For MCQs, the favourite traps are 'registration required for godown owner or transporter' and 'composition dealer must keep stock account'. Both are wrong.
Give each record its own bullet with its particulars. Do not write one long paragraph.
Cite Section 35 and Rule 56 together. Do not quote sub-rule numbers unless you are certain of them.
Practise one short stock account numerical. It is easy marks when asked.

Practice questions from Accounts and Records

Special Records for Specific Persons: frequently asked questions

What does Rule 56 of the CGST Rules cover?

It prescribes the detailed records a registered person must keep in addition to Section 35 of the CGST Act, 2017. It covers common records such as stock and advances, and extra records for manufacturers, service providers, works contractors, agents, godown owners and transporters.

Must an unregistered godown owner or transporter maintain records?

Yes. Section 35 requires every owner or operator of a godown or warehouse and every transporter to maintain records of consigner, consignee and other relevant details of goods, irrespective of whether registered or not.

Does a composition dealer need to maintain the stock account?

No. A person paying tax under Section 10 is excused from maintaining the stock account under Rule 56. Other records, such as the advances account and supplier details, still apply.

What should an agent record under GST?

An agent must keep records for each principal separately. These cover authorisation received, goods or services received and supplied on behalf of the principal, accounts furnished to the principal, and tax paid on those goods or services.