By ACA,CS Piyuesh Maheshwari

What is GST?
G Goods
S Services
T Tax
Goods and Service Tax (GST) is a comprehensive tax
levy on manufacture, sale and consumption of goods
and service at a national level.
GST is a tax on goods and services with value addition at
each stage having comprehensive and continuous chain
of set-of benefits from the producers/ service providers
point up to the retailers level where only the final
consumer should bear the tax.
Need for GST
Introduction of a GST to replace the existing multiple tax
structures of Centre and State taxes is not only desirable
but imperative in the emerging economic environment.
Increasingly, services are used or consumed in production
and distribution of goods and vice versa. Separate taxation
of goods and services often requires splitting of transaction
values into value of goods and services for taxation, which
leads to greater complexities, administration and
compliances costs. Integration of various taxes into a GST
system would make it possible to give full credit for inputs
taxes collected. GST, being a destination-based
consumption tax based on VAT principle, would also
greatly help in removing economic distortions and will
help in development of a common national market.
Justification of GST
Despite the success of VAT, there are still certain
shortcomings in the structure of VAT, both at the
Centre and at the State level.
A. Justification at the Central Level
i. At present excise duty paid on the raw material
consumed is being allowed as input credit only.
For other taxes and duties paid for post-
manufacturing expenses, there is no
mechanism for input credit under the Central
Excise Duty Act.
Contd.
i. adfl
ii. Credit for service tax paid is being allowed
manufacturer/ service provider to a limited
extent. In order to give the credit of service
tax paid in respect of services consumed, it is
necessary that there should be a
comprehensive system under which both the
goods and services are covered.
iii. At present, the service tax is levied on
restricted items only. Many other large
number of services could not be taxed. It is to
reduce the effect of cascading of taxes, which
means levying tax on taxes.
Contd
B. Justification at the State Level
i. A major defect under the State VAT is that the State is
charging VAT on the excise duty paid to the Central
Government, which goes against the principle of not
levying tax on taxes.
ii. In the present State level VAT scheme, Cenvat allowed
on the goods remains included in the value of goods
to be taxed which is a cascading effect on account of
Cenvat element.
iii. Many of the States are still continuing with various
types of indirect taxes, such as luxury tax,
entertainment tax, etc.
iv. As tax is being levied on inter-state transfer of goods,
there is no provision for taking input credit on CST
leading to additional burden on the dealers.
Model of GST
The dual GST model proposed by the Empowered
Committee and accepted by the Centre will have dual
system for imposing the tax. GST shall have two
components i.e.
(i) Central GST
(ii) State GST
Central Excise duty, additional excise duty, services tax
and additional duty of customs (equivalent to excise),
state VAT entertainment tax, taxes on lotteries, betting
and gambling and entry tax (not levied by local
bodies)would be subsumed within GST
GST - Salient Features
It would be applicable to all transactions of goods and service.
It to be paid to the accounts of the Centre and the States separately.
The rules for taking and utilization of credit for the Central GST and
the State GST would be aligned.
Cross utilization of ITC between the Central
GST and the State GST would not be allowed except in the case of
inter-State supply of goods.
The Centre and the States would have concurrent jurisdiction for the
entire value chain and for all taxpayers on the basis of thresholds for
goods and services prescribed for the States and the Centre.
The taxpayer would need to submit common format for periodical
returns, to both the Central and to the concerned State GST
authorities.
Each taxpayer would be allotted a PAN-linked taxpayer identification
number with a total of 13/15 digits.
Chargeability of Tax under GST
It will be replacement of ED and other taxes.
There will be two parallel Statutes one at the Centre and other
under the respective State GST Act governing the tax liability
of the same transaction.
All the items of goods and services are proposed to be covered
and exemptions will be granted to few selected items.
After introduction of GST, all the traders will be paying both the
types of taxes i.e. CGST and SGST.

Taxable Event
Following questions arises:
At what point of time, the tax will be levied?
Will TE covers both i.e. supply of goods and rendering of
services?
What will be the nature of TE?
Will it not involve new language and terminology?
What impact the change in TE can have?
GST is proposed to be levied by both the CG and SGs. How will
it be defined under CGST and SGST?
Taxable Person
It will cover all types of person carrying on business activities,
i.e. manufacturer, job-worker, trader, importer, exporter, all
types of service providers, etc.
If a company is having four branches in four different states, all
the four branches will be considered as TP under each
jurisdiction of SGs.
All the dealers/ business entities will have to pay both the types
of taxes on all the transactions.
A dealer must get registered under CGST as it will make him
entitle to claim ITC of CGST thereby attracting buyers under
B2B transactions.
Importers have to register under both CGST and SGST as well.
Subsuming of Existing Taxes
The sub-sumation should result in free flow of tax
credit in intra and inter-State levels so that unrelated
taxes, levies and fees are not be subsumed under GST.


Sl.
No
.
Subsumed under CGST Subsumed under SGST
1 Central Excise Duty VAT / Sales tax
2 Additional Excise Duties Entertainment tax (unless it is levied by the local
bodies).
3 Excise Duty-Medicinal and Toiletries Preparation
Act
Luxury tax
4 Service Tax Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling.
5 Additional CVD State Cesses and Surcharges (supply of goods and
services)
6 Special Additional Duty of Customs - 4% (SAD) Entry tax not in lieu of Octroi
7 Surcharges
8 Ceses
Taxes that may or may not be
subsumed
There are few other indirect taxes that may or may not
be subsumed under the GST regime as there is no
consensus among States and Centre & States
Purchase tax
Stamp Duty
Vehicle Tax
Electricity Duty
Other Entry taxes and Octroi


Rate of Tax
There with be a two-rate structure a lower rate for necessary
items and items of basic importance and a standard rate for
goods in general. There will also be a special rate for precious
metals and a list of exempted items.
For CGST relating to goods, the States considered that the
Government of India might also have a two-rate structure, with
conformity in the levels of rate with the SGST. For taxation of
services, there may be a single rate for both CGST and SGST.
It will be total of the rate as applicable under CGST & SGST.
It is understood that the Government is considering pegging the
revenue neutral rate of GST at a rate between 18% to 22%. This
represents the aggregate of CGST and SGST payable on the
transaction. However, it may be noted that at this stage, the
Government is yet to indicate whether the revenue neutral rate
of tax on goods and services would be the same.
What will be out of GST?
Levies on petroleum products
Levies on alcoholic products
Taxes on lottery and betting
Basic customs duty and safeguard duties on import
of goods into India
Entry taxes levied by municipalities or panchayats
Entertainment and Luxury taxes
Electricity duties/ taxes
Stamp duties on immovable properties
Taxes on vehicles
Exemption of Goods and Services
Concept of providing threshold exemption of GST
Scope of composition and compounding scheme
under GST
Items of GS to be exempt
Treatment for goods exempt under one state and
taxable under the other
GST on Export & Import
GST on export would be zero rated

Both CGST and SGST will be levied on import of
goods and services into the country. The incidence
of tax will follow the destination principle and the
tax revenue in case of SGST will accrue to the State
where the imported goods and services are
consumed. Full and complete set-off will be
available on the GST paid on import on goods and
services.
Inter-State Transactions of Goods
& Services
The existing CST will be discontinued. Instead, a
new statute known as IGST will come into place.
It will empower the GC to levy and collect the tax
on the inter-state transfer of the GS.
The scope of IGST Model is that Centre would
levy IGST which would be CGST plus SGST on all
inter-State transactions of taxable goods and
services with appropriate provision for
consignment or stock transfer of goods and
services.
Contd

Inter-State Transactions of Goods
& Services
The inter-State seller will pay IGST on value addition after
adjusting available credit of IGST, CGST, and SGST on his
purchases. The Exporting State will transfer to the Centre
the credit of SGST used in payment of IGST. The
Importing dealer will claim credit of IGST while
discharging his output tax liability in his own State. The
Centre will transfer to the importing State the credit of
IGST used in payment of SGST. The relevant information
will also be submitted to the Central Agency which will
act as a clearing house mechanism, verify the claims and
inform the respective governments to transfer the funds.
Advantages of IGST Mode
a) Maintenance of uninterrupted ITC chain on inter-State
transactions.
b) No upfront payment of tax or substantial blockage of funds for the
inter-State seller or buyer.
c) No refund claim in exporting State, as ITC is used up while paying
the tax.
d) Self monitoring mode
e) Level of computerization is limited to inter-State dealers and
Central and State Governments
should be able to computerize their processes expeditiously.
f ) As all inter-State dealers will be e-registered and correspondence
with them will be by e-mail, the compliance level will improve
substantially.
g) Model can take Business to Business as well as Business to
Consumer transactions into account.
Registration under GST
Under GST registration, it is likely to be linked
with the existing PAN.
The new business identification number was
likely to be the 10-digit alphanumeric PAN, in
addition to two digits for state code and one or
two check numbers for disallowing fake
numbers. The total number of digits in the new
number was likely to be 13-14.
GST Invoice
In an invoice based VAT system, the issue of invoices in
the proper form is an essential part of the procedure for
imposing and enforcing the VAT.
An invoice is also required by the tax authorities to audit
the collection of VAT.
What is required is
The law should require a supplier making a taxable
supply to another taxable person to provide a VAT
invoice with that supply or the payment for it.
The VAT invoice should be standardised across all
states so as to contain a minimum of information
about the supply being invoiced.
Periodicity of GST Payment
Since the amount of VAT collected by a dealer is related
to his turnover, the dealer is likely to accumulate a huge
VAT liability within a very short period. Hence, it is
necessary to minimize the risk of payment defaults by
dealers, in particular fly-by-night operators.
Given that the collection under VAT will serve as the
dominant source of revenue for state government, it is
imperative to provide for a collection mechanism which
would ensure a period flow of revenue to the exchequer
subject to a minimum compliance burden on taxpayers
and risk of revenue loss. Therefore, VAT period should
be a calendar month.

Latest updates on GST
Parliament panel might propose optional GST for states
The panel, to consider its draft report on the Constitution (115
th

Amendment) Bill on the GST, feel states should be given enough
fiscal space if the success of Value Added Tax (VAT) is to be
replicated.
To address concerns of the states on revenue loss, the panel might
recommend an automatic compensation mechanism, wherein a
fund is created under the proposed GST Council. It also wants a
study to evaluate the impact of GST on the revenue of states. It
could suggest a floor rate with a narrow band, decision by voting
and not consensus in the GST Council, omitting the provision on
setting up a Dispute Settlement Authority, subsuming entry tax in
GST and giving powers to states to levy tax in the event of a natural
calamity, among other things.
Contd..
Latest updates on GST
The report of the standing committee could be adopted in its
next meeting and the finance ministry, after incorporating the
panels views, would approach the cabinet to present the Bill in
Parliament with the changes.
Emerging Issues
What preparations are required at the level of CG and SG for
implementing GST?
Whether the Government machinery is in place for such a mammoth
change?
Whether the tax-payers are ready for such a change?
What impact it can have on the revenue of the government?
How can the burden of tax, in general, fall under the GST?
In what respect, it will affect the manufacturers, traders and ultimate
consumers?
How will GST benefit the small entrepreneurs and small traders?
Which type of administrative work will be involved in complying
with the GST requirements?
Input Tax Credit under GST
Example:
Ram, a dealer purchased 20000 Litres of inputs on which SGST and CGST
paid at the rate of 7% & 5%. Input tax credit available for SGST & CGST is Rs.
10500/- & Rs. 7500 respectively.
He manufactured 18000 Litres of finished products from the inputs. 2000 Ltrs
was normal loss in the process. The Final product was sold at a uniform price
of Rs. 10/Ltr as follows:
Goods sold within the state - 8000 Ltrs.
Finished products sold in inter-state sale - 6500 Ltrs.
Goods sent on stock transfer to consignment agents outside the State
3500 Ltrs.
SGST and CGST rate on the finished product of dealer is 7% and 5%.
Calculate liability of SGST & CGST. Find Input Tax Credit available to dealer
and tax required to be paid in cash.

Solution: Output Tax Calculation:

Description Qty Sold
(Ltrs)
Value of Goods
Sold (Rs)
CGST @ 5% SGST @ 7% IGST @ 12%
Sale within State 8000 80000 4000 5600 Nil
Goods sent on Stock Transfer
outside the State
3500 35000 Nil Nil 4200
Goods Sold Inter-State 6500 65000 Nil Nil 7800
Total 18000 180000 4000 5600 12000
Particulars CGST SGST IGST
Output Tax 4000 5600 12000
Less : Input Tax
Credit

CGST Rs. 7500 (4000) Nil (3500)
SGST Rs. 10500 Nil (5600) (4900)
Net Tax Payable Nil Nil 3600
Tax Payable Calculation:
Conclusion
The taxation of goods and services in India has, hitherto, been
characterized as a cascading and distortionary tax on production
resulting in mis-allocation of resources and lower productivity and
economic growth. It also inhibits voluntary compliance. It is well
recognized that this problem can be effectively addressed by shifting
the tax burden from production and trade to final consumption. A
well designed destination-based value added tax on all goods and
services is the most elegant method of eliminating distortions and
taxing consumption. Under this structure, all different stages of
production and distribution can be interpreted as a mere tax pass-
through, and the tax essentially sticks on final consumption within
the taxing jurisdiction.
A flawless GST in the context of the federal structure which would
optimize efficiency, equity and effectiveness. The flawless GST is
designed as a consumption type destination VAT based on invoice-
credit method.