Understanding Basics of GST

The single tax rate for a product or service in any part of the country (except Jammu & Kashmir). The following 17 different indirect taxes will be subsumed under GST:

 Central taxes	 State taxes
 Central Excise Duty; Duties of Excise (Medicinal and Toilet Preparations); Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance); Additional Duties of Excise (Textiles and Textile Products); Additional Duties of Customs (commonly known as CVD); Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD); Service Tax; Cesses and surcharges insofar as they relate to supply of goods or services.	 State VAT; Central Sales Tax; Purchase Tax; Luxury Tax; Entry Tax (All forms); Entertainment Tax (except those levied by the local bodies); Taxes on advertisements; Taxes on lotteries, betting, and gambling; State cesses and surcharges insofar as they relate to supply of goods or services.

Benefits of GST:

• Better compliance for trade and industry sector
• Seamless flow of credit across the value chain.
• Removal of cascading effect.
• Dual GST (Central GST & State GST ) and Integrated GST (IGST)
• Tax rates : 5%, 12%, 18% & 28%
• Destination based tax
• Taxable event – SUPPLY
• Threshold exemption limit : Rs 20 lakhs & Rs 10 lakhs (for special category States & North Eastern States)
• Composition scheme threshold: Rs 50 lakhs
• Pan based registration
• Tax can be deposited by internet banking, NEFT/RTGS, debit card, credit card & Over the Counter (OTC).
• Goods and service tax network (GSTN), the technology backbone of GST. It provides IT infrastructure and services to the Central and State Governments, taxpayers, and other stakeholders for implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)
• GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) is an online compliance platform which will enable the taxpayer to comply with the provisions of the GST law through its web platform.

Important Links for GST

GST ACTS

• Central GST Act
• Integrated GST Act
• Union Territory GST Act
• GST (Compensation to States) Act,2017

GST Rates of Goods

• Chapter wise GST Rate Schedule for Goods decided in the GST Council Meeting held on 18.05.2017
• GST Compensation Cess rates decided in the GST Council Meeting held on 18.05.2017
• Addendum to the GST Rate Schedule for Goods

GST Rates of Services

• GST Rate Schedule for Services
• List of services under Reverse Charge
• Classification Scheme for Services under GST