Basics of Goods and Services Tax for CS Executive

What this chapter covers

Basics of Goods and Services Tax: topics in the order to study them

1. 1Introduction to GST and Indirect Tax BackgroundStart with why GST exists and what it replaced, so the later rules make sense.
2. 2GST Model and Constitutional FrameworkNext, learn the dual model and who has the power to tax, since every later provision rests on it.
3. 3Power Not to Recover Tax Under General PracticeThis is the most technical provision, with conditions to learn, so study it once the model is clear.
4. 4GST PractitionersSection 48 is short and also leads into who can appear for a taxpayer under section 116.
5. 5GST Compliance RatingFinish with section 149, the shortest provision, which is easy to revise last.

How to prepare Basics of Goods and Services Tax

1. Read the background and model topics once for understanding. Write in your own words why GST is destination-based and dual.
2. Make a one-page chart of CGST, SGST or UTGST, and IGST, with which applies to which kind of supply.
3. Learn sections 11A (CGST) and 6A (IGST) together. They are parallel, differing only in the tax named. Note the two conditions, the Council's recommendation and the notification.
4. Learn section 48 in three parts: the rules are prescribed, the registered person may authorise a practitioner to furnish returns, and responsibility for correctness stays with the registered person.
5. Read section 116 beside section 48 and list who can be an authorised representative and who is disqualified.
6. Learn section 149: the score is assigned by the Government, based on prescribed parameters, updated periodically and placed in the public domain.
7. Practise writing answers in this order: provision, facts, conclusion, naming the Act and section.

Common mistakes in Basics of Goods and Services Tax

• Saying the practitioner is responsible for errors in the return.

  Fix: Remember section 48(3): responsibility for correctness continues to rest with the registered person.

• Mixing up sections 11A and 6A, or naming the wrong tax.

  Fix: Link 11A with central tax in the CGST Act and 6A with integrated tax in the IGST Act, and name the tax correctly in your answer.

• Forgetting the conditions for general practice relief.

  Fix: State the prevalent practice, the liability to tax or higher tax, the Council's recommendation and the Gazette notification.

• Treating background and model topics as too general to prepare.

  Fix: Prepare short, structured points on the dual model and the constitutional framework so you can answer in a clear format.

• Writing that anyone can appear for a taxpayer.

  Fix: Learn the list of authorised representatives and the disqualifications in section 116(3).

• Giving a vague answer with no section citation.

  Fix: Use the provision, facts, conclusion pattern and cite the Act and section.

Last-day revision: Basics of Goods and Services Tax

• ✓GST is a destination-based tax with a dual model: Centre and States both levy on the same supply.
• ✓Section 11A CGST and section 6A IGST are parallel provisions on general practice.
• ✓Under general practice, the Government must be satisfied that a practice was or is generally prevalent on levy, including non-levy.
• ✓The supplies must have been liable to tax, or to a higher tax than was levied under the practice.
• ✓Relief comes by notification in the Official Gazette, on the recommendation of the Council.
• ✓Sections 11A and 6A were inserted with effect from 1 November 2024.
• ✓Section 48: approval, eligibility, duties and removal of practitioners are as prescribed.
• ✓A practitioner may furnish outward supply details under section 37 and returns under section 39, 44 or 45, and other prescribed functions.
• ✓Under section 48(3), responsibility for correctness of returns stays with the registered person.
• ✓Section 116 lets a person appear through an authorised representative, except where personal appearance on oath or affirmation is required.
• ✓A person dismissed from Government service or convicted of a related offence is permanently disqualified from representing under section 116.
• ✓Section 149: every registered person may be assigned a compliance rating score, based on prescribed parameters and placed in the public domain.

Basics of Goods and Services Tax practice questions

• Under the proviso to the IGST provision applying CGST law to integrated tax, at what rate does a deductor deduct tax at source from the paym…
• Vikram Traders, a registered person, has authorised an approved GST practitioner to file its returns. The practitioner makes an error in a r…
• Under India's dual GST model, which of the following correctly describes how tax is levied on an intra-State supply of goods?
• Under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which of the following areas of the Central GST Act is applied to integrated tax muta…
• Under Section 11A of the CGST Act, 2017, a notification is issued for supplies that were short-levied according to a generally prevalent pra…
• Which statement about the GST compliance rating score under the CGST Act, 2017 is correct?
• Which statement about how the GST compliance rating score is determined is correct under section 149 of the CGST Act, 2017?
• Which of the following is a correct statement about GST practitioners under section 48 of the CGST Act, 2017?

Basics of Goods and Services Tax in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

• CS ProfessionalCompliance Rating, Anti-Profiteering, GST Practitioners and Authorised Representative
• CA IntermediateGST in India - An Introduction
• CMA IntermediateIntroduction to GST Law