Module 8 Taxation

Indian Economy - Taxation
Taxation
• A mode of income redistribution.
• Imposed by the government to fulfil its important obligations on the
expenditure front.
METHODS OF TAXATION
There are three methods of taxation prevalent in economies with their
individual merits and demerits
1. Progressive Taxation
• This method has increasing rates of tax for increasing value or
volume on which the tax is being imposed.
• Indian income tax is a typical example of it. The idea here is less tax
on the people who earn less and higher tax on the people who earn
more—classifying income earners into different slabs.
• This method is believed to discourage more earnings by the
individual to support low growth and development unintentionally.
Being poor is rewarded while richness is punished. Tax payers also
start evading tax by showing lower unreal income.
• But from different angles this tax is pro-poor and taxes people
according to their affordability/ sustainability. This is the most
popular taxation method in the world and a populist one, too.
2. Regressive Taxation
• This is just opposite to the progressive method having decreasing
rates of tax for increasing value or volume on which the tax is being
imposed.
• There are not any permanent or specific sectors for such taxes. As a
provision of promotion, some sectors might be imposed with
regressive taxes. As for example, to promote the growth and
development of the small scale industries, India at one time had
regressive excise duty on their productions.
• This method while appreciated for rewarding the higher producers
or income-earners, is criticised for being more taxing on the poor and
low-producers. This is not a popular mode of taxation and not as per
the spirit of the modern democracies.
3. Proportional Taxation
• In such taxation method, there is neither progression nor regression
from the rate of taxes point of view.
• Such taxes have fixed rates for every level of income or production,
they are neutral from the poor or rich point view or from the levels of
production point of view.
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• Usually, this is not used by the economies as an independent method

of taxation. Generally, this mode is used as a complementary method
with either progressive or regressive taxation.
• If not converted into proportional taxes, every progressive tax will go
on increasing and similarly every regressive tax will decrease to zero,
becoming completely futile tax methods. That is why every tax, be it
progressive or regressive in nature, must be converted into
proportional taxes after a certain level.
Four canons of a good tax system given by Adam Smith:

1. Equality: proportionate to income
2. Certainty: deadlines and rates
3. Convenience: tax payer
4. Economy: collection cost
Finance Commission
Fiscal Federalism refers to the division of responsibilities of taxation and
expenditure between the different levels of the government. While the 7th
schedule assigns many responsibilities to the States, their taxation power is
relatively lower than Union’s. So, Finance Commission plays a key role in
transferring union’s revenue resources to the state.
Article 280: President of India forms a Finance Commission (a quasi-judicial

body) every 5th Year or earlier, with 1 chairman and 4 members. Eligible for
re-appointment. Recommendations are not binding on the government but
usually not rejected.
14th FC: YV Recommendation Period: 1st April, 2015 to 31st March, 2020
Reddy
15th FC: NK Originally, it was meant to cover: 1st April, 2020 to 31st
Singh March, 2025
But later, GoI sought two reports:

1) Report 1: for 1/Apr/2020 to 31/March/2021 → submitted
to President in 2019-Nov, and accepted in 2020-Jan
2) Report 2: for 1/Apr/2021 to 2015 . (to be submitted by 30
October 2020)
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15th FC Composition
Chairman NK Singh (Retd. IAS, Ex-Member of Parliament)
Member1 Shaktikant Das (Retd. IAS, RBI Gov)
Member2 Dr. Anoop Singh, Professor
Member3 (Part Time) Dr. Ashok Lahiri, Bandhan Bank
Member4 (Part Time) Prof. Ramesh Chand. member of NITI Aayog & Agri
Economist.
Secretary Arvind Mehta (IAS)
Vertical Tax Devolution

From Union to states -- ‘divisible pool’ of union taxes. (IGST, Cess, Surcharge not
counted.)
FC → 12th (2005-10) 13th (2010- 14th (2015- 15th

15) 20) (2020-21)
Chairman? C.Rangarajan Vijay Kelkar VY Reddy NK Singh
States Share 30.5% 32% 42% 41%*
*1% extra to Union for UTs of J&K & Ladakh’s security & other needs.
Horizontal Devolution
14th FC horizontal distribution formula components

Population: as per Census 1971 -------------------------------------------------
17%
Demographic Change as per Census 2011 (To consider the---------------
10%
migration angle.)
Income-Distance: Based on per capita income of a state--------------------
50%
(GSDP ÷ its population). Accordingly, poorer states get
more weight
Area: more area more weight ------------------------------------------------------
15%
Forest-Cover: more forest cover more weight because of
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Opportunity cost (State can’t allow industries there, else----------------------

8% it could have obtained some taxes)
Based on above formula, Highest to Lowest: UP> Bihar > MP > WB > MH >
Raj> ….. > Mizoram > Goa > Sikkim.
15th FC horizontal distribution formula components Weight%

Income Distance 45%
• State GSDP divided by its Population = per capita GSDP.
• For most states, Haryana’s per capita GSDP is taken as
benchmark. How poorer is your state compared to
Haryana= more ₹₹ you’ll get.**
Area : More area = more ₹₹ 15%
Population (as per Census-2011: More population = more ₹₹ 15%
Demographic Performance: States that have ⬇ Total Fertility 12.5%
Rate (TFR), will get ⬆₹₹
Forest and Ecology More forest= more ₹₹ … by calculating 10%
the share of dense forest of each state in the aggregate dense
forest of all the states.
Tax effort: States who’ve improved their per capita (State) tax 2.5%
collection in the last 3 years = get more ₹₹
Total 100%
** Note: computing income distance: the Highest per capita GSDP: 1) Goa
2) Sikkim 3) Haryana 4) Himachal. But since Goa, Sikkim are very small
states with a unique economic situation, so it’ll distort statistical formula.
15th FC: Horizontal devolution: States’ share in Decreasing order

1) UP (17.931%) 11) Chhattisgarh 21) Himachal
2) Bihar (10.061%) (3.418%) (0.799%)
3) MP (7.886%) 12) Gujarat (3.398%) 22) Meghalaya
4) W. Bengal (7.519%) 13) Jharkhand (0.765%)
5) Maharashtra (3.313%) 23) Manipur (0.718%)
(6.135%) 14) Assam (3.131%) 24) Tripura (0.709%)
6) Rajasthan (5.979%) 15) Telangana 25) Nagaland
7) Odisha (4.629%) (2.133%) (0.573%)
8) Tamil Nadu 16) Kerala (1.943%) 26) Mizoram (0.506%)
(4.189%) 17) Punjab (1.788%) 27) Sikkim (0.388%)
9) Andhra (4.111%) 18) Arunachal (1.76%) 28) Goa(0.386%)
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10) Karnataka 19) Uttarakhand ANY type of UT = 0%

(3.646%) (1.104%) here
20) Haryana (1.082%)
Finance Commissions & the fate of UTs of J&K & Ladakh

Until 10th Finance Commission, the FC would also prescribe the revenue
sharing formula between the Union Government and Union Territories.
But this practice stopped since 11th finance commission i.e. Finance ministry
itself decides how much revenue will be shared with Union Territories based on
its own discretion. Finance Commission no longer prescribed formula in this
regard. But,
• 31st October 2019: The state of Jammu Kashmir was officially split into
the union territories of Jammu Kashmir and union territory of Ladakh.
• Jammu and Kashmir Reorganization Act, 2019 mandates that:
o Whatever amount the former state of J&K was supposed to receive
between 31/10/2019 to 31/3/2020 (as per 14th FC formula) …It
will be distributed between these two new union territories on the
basis of population ratio and other parameters.
o President of India shall require 15th FC to make award for UT of J&K.
However, looking the 15th FC report, no separate share is given in
vertical / horizontal tax devolutions. Simply 1% extra kept with
Union to look after J&K & Ladakh.
Grants from Union to States

Apart from the tax devolution, FC would also suggest Union to give grant to the
states (grant= NOT loan, so need not return with interest).
In decreasing order, 2020-21

1. Local Bodies Grants (90k cr)
2. Post-Devolution Revenue Deficit Grants (74kcr)
3. Disaster Management Grants ( 41kcr)
4. Sector Specific Grants ( ~7700cr)
5. Special Grants ( ~6700kcr)
6. Performance-based incentives
Local Bodies Grants (90k cr)

2020-21 Approx. Amount in ₹cr.
Rural Local Bodies ~60k. Out of this,
- given to all three
tiers in the 1. 50% is Specific = meant only for specific
panchayats, i.e. objectives 1) sanitation 2) water
village, block and 2. 50% is Untied/basic = can be used for any
district. And also, objective depending on location. Except
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for 5th and 6th salary & establishment (building renovation,

Sch. areas electricity bill etc)
From 1/4/2021 they’ll be required to submit

audited accounts online through Panchayati Raj
Institutions Accounting Software (PRIAsoft) to
Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG)
Urban Local ~30k. Out of this,
Bodies (ULB) & • ~9k cr for million plus population cities.
Cantonment boards (Excluding Delh & Srinagar for being in UT).
These grants are mainly to be used for air
quality improvement, water & solid waste
management.
• ~21k for cities with <1million pop: 50%
untied (basic) grants + 50% tied for specific
objectives 1) drinking water 2) solid waste
management.
From 1/4/2021, ULBs required to 1) reform

property tax rates 2) submit audited accounts to
CAG online.
Post-Devolution Revenue Deficit Grants (74kcr)

Suppose 2020-21
Andhra’s own State Budget: Revenue Expenditure - Revenue 41 kcr
Income = Revenue Deficit
Andhra’s share from Union’s taxes based on horizontal 35 kcr
devolution
Andhra’s Post-Devolution Revenue Deficit = 41-35=6
kcr.
So 15th FC will give Andhra extra 6 kcr as Post-Devolution Revenue Deficit
Grant
Only 14 states eligible: Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya,

Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand, Andhra, Kerala, Punjab,
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal.
Disaster Management Grants (41kcr)

Disaster Management Act, 2005 → Ministry of Home Affairs.
15th FC: 2020-21 National Disaster Risk State Disaster
recommendations Management
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Fund (NDRMF) Risk

Management
Fund (SDRMF)
allotted ₹ cr ~12k ~29k**
Internal • 80% for National Disaster Same pattern
distribution Response Fund (NDRF)
(i) Response and Relief
(40%)
(ii) Recovery and
Reconstruction (30%)
(iii) Capacity Building (10%)
• 20% for National Disaster
Mitigation Funds (NDMF)
The cost-sharing pattern between centre and states is (i) 75:25 for all
states, and (ii) 90:10 for north-eastern and Himalayan states.
Sector Specific Grants (~7700cr)

Seven sectors: health, pre primary education, judiciary, rural connectivity,
railways, statistics, housing. 15th FC asked the Union & State Government
to build a preparatory framework, then later it’ll recommend the actual
figure.
At present, 15th FC only recommended health sector a grant of ₹7700+ cr

to combat malnutrition.
Special Grants ( ~6700kcr)

If a state receives less funds in (15th FC’s devolution + post revenue deficit
grants) in 2020 compared to 2019 (when 14th FC Rangarajan’s formula
was in effect), then such State will get Special Grants just to prevent any
‘feeling of injustice / bias’
o Only 3 states eligible: Karnataka, Telangana and Mizoram.
Performance-based incentives
15th FC did not decide the amount yet but asked Union’s
Ministries/Departments to prepare State-wise baseline
indices/score/data by 2020-May/June for following performance
indicators:
a. Implementation of Agriculture Reforms
b. Development of Aspirational Districts (=backward districts identified
by NITI Aayog)
c. Power (Electricity) Sector Reforms
d. Enhancing Trade including Exports
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e. Promotion of Domestic and International Tourism

f. Education, esp. of girls
Other recommendations to Govt

Some States had requested special category status. The FC said that it’s not part
of their mandate/Terms of Reference.
1. Reform the direct taxation system → increase tax collection.

2. Reform GST’s operational challenges, slabs and rates.
3. Review the outcomes of all Government schemes. Merge/abolish non-
essential schemes → reduce Expenditure.
4. We need a law on “ Legal Fiscal Framework"). It’ll prescribe the budgeting,
accounting, internal control and audit standards to be followed at all levels
of government.
5. Govt should follow FRBM Act in letter and spirit.
Conclusion
• Sustainable Development Goal#10 (SDG): reduce inequality within the
country.
• SDG-Goal#16 requires nations to build effective, accountable and inclusive
institutions at all levels.
• In this regard, 15th FC has tried to provide a framework for 1) equitable
distribution of revenue 2) incentives tied with performance.
• It’ll greatly help to improve India’s human development and economic
growth.
Recommendations on fiscal roadmap

1. Fiscal deficit and debt levels:
• The Commission noted that recommending a credible fiscal and debt
trajectory roadmap remains problematic due to uncertainty around
the economy.
• It recommended that both central and state governments should
focus on debt consolidation and comply with the fiscal deficit and
debt levels as per their respective Fiscal Responsibility and Budget
Management (FRBM) Acts.
2. Off-budget borrowings:
• The Commission observed that financing capital expenditure through
off-budget borrowings detracts from compliance with the FRBM Act.
• It recommended that both the central and state governments should
make full disclosure of extra-budgetary borrowings.
• The outstanding extra-budgetary liabilities should be clearly
identified and eliminated in a time-bound manner.
3. Statutory framework for public financial management:
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• The Commission recommended forming an expert group to draft

legislation to provide for a statutory framework for sound public
financial management system.
• It observed that an overarching legal fiscal framework is required
which will provide for budgeting, accounting, and audit standards to
be followed at all levels of government.
4. Tax capacity:
• In 2018-19, the tax revenue of state governments and central
government together stood at around 17.5% of GDP.
• The Commission noted that tax revenue is far below the estimated
tax capacity of the country.
• Further, India’s tax capacity has largely remained unchanged since
the early 1990s.
• In contrast, tax revenue has been rising in other emerging markets.
• The Commission recommended:
▪ broadening the tax base
▪ streamlining tax rates
▪ increasing capacity and expertise of tax administration in all
tiers of the government.
5. GST implementation:
• The Commission highlighted some challenges with the
implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST). These include
i. large shortfall in collections as compared to original forecast
ii. high volatility in collections
iii. accumulation of large integrated GST credit
iv. glitches in invoice and input tax matching
v. delay in refunds.
• The Commission observed that the continuing dependence of states
on compensation from the central government (21 states out of 29
states in 2018-19) for making up for the shortfall in revenue is a
concern. It suggested that the structural implications of GST for low
consumption states need to be considered.
6. Financing of security-related expenditure:

• The ToR of the Commission required it to examine whether a
separate funding mechanism for defence and internal security should
be set up and if so, how it can be operationalised.
• In this regard, the Commission intends to constitute an expert group
comprising representatives of the Ministries of Defence, Home
Affairs, and Finance.
• The Commission noted that the Ministry of Defence proposed
following measures for this purpose:
i. setting up of a non-lapsable fund
ii. levy of a cess
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iii. monetisation of surplus land and other assets

iv. tax-free defence bonds
v. utilising proceeds of disinvestment of defence public sector
undertakings.
• The expert group is expected to examine these proposals or
alternative funding mechanisms.
Criticisms:
• The population parameter used by the Commission has been criticised by
the governments of the southern states.
• The previous FC used both the 1971 and the 2011 populations to calculate
the states’ shares, giving greater weight to the 1971 population (17.5%) as
compared to the 2011 population (10%).
• The use of 2011 population figures has resulted in states with larger
populations like UP and Bihar getting larger shares, while smaller states
with lower fertility rates have lost out.
• The combined population of the Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan and Jharkhand is 47.8 crore.
• This is over 39.48% of India’s total population, and is spread over 32.4%
of the country’s area, as per the 2011 Census.
• On the other hand, the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka
and undivided Andhra Pradesh are home to only 20.75% of the population
living in 19.34% of the area, with a 13.89% share of the taxes.
• This means that the terms decided by the Commission are loaded against
the more progressive (and prosperous) southern states.
Finance Planning Commission NITI Aayog
Commission (FC) (PC)
Constitutional body Created by executive
resolution, so neither
constitutional non-
statutory. Both headed by
PM as the chairman.
1951: 1st FC setup - 1951: PC set up and over - 2015: Formed.
under the years designed 12 Five - Three Year Action
KC Neogy Year plans (12th FYP: 2012- Agenda (2017-20).
2017) - Seven Year Strategy
Document.
- 2014: Dissolved by Modi - Fifteen Year Vision
Government. Document(2017-32).
- Taxes’ Vertical 1. How much money should It is not in its scope of
Devolution and union give to each state for work to decide how
implementation of Union’s much money should be
centrally sponsored given to each state. That
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Horizontal schemes (CSS)? component is decided

distribution among 2. How much money should by the Finance Ministry.
states. union government give to
- + any other matters the five year plans of the - NITI’s primary
referred by the state governments? objective is to serve as
President in TOR the think tank of the
- Each Finance To answer these Qs, PC Government of India,
Commission arrived would use Gadgil formula
at its own (designed in 8TH FYP)- - Helps in policy design.
methodology. based on population, per
capita income, special - Helps in monitoring
E.g. 14th FC: 42% problems etc. of a state. schemes’ through its
vertical, and 5 factor dashboard e.g. ‘School
formula for horizontal Education Quality
distribution. Index’, ‘SDG India
Index’, ‘Digital
Transformation
Index’
Special Category States

1952: The National Development Council (NDC) was set up, consisting of PM,
CMs and other representatives to approve the five year plans prepared by the
Planning Commission. But became obsolete with establishment of NITI Aayog.
1969: 5th Finance Commission recommended giving extra funds and tax-relief
to certain disadvantaged states. Over the years, NDC added more states into the
Special Category List based on
1. Hilly and difficult terrain
2. Low population density and / or sizeable share of tribal population
3. Strategic location along borders with neighbouring countries
4. Economic and infrastructural backwardness and
5. Non-viable nature of state finances.
Examples: 8 North Eastern states and 3 Himalayan States (JK, Uttarakhand, HP).
Benefits of Special Category States?

• Industrialists will be given benefits in Union-taxes for setting up factories
in these states.
• In Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS: ), Union will bear higher burden
(90:10).
• FC & PC would assign more weightage in their formulas to give them more
funds.
• 14th FC: Previous Finance Commissions would assign extra weightage &
funds to Special Category states, but 14th FC stopped this practice. So, at
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present, Special Category states don’t get additional revenue/grants in

FC’s formula.
• Although, Union upon its own discretion continues to give them certain
benefits in CSS
• But, whenever elections are near, W.Bengal, Bihar and Andhra CMs would
demand Sp.Cat. status & blame Union for ‘injustice’.
• 15th FC: Some States have requested special category status. But it’s not
part of our mandate/Terms of Reference
Criticism of Categorisation
Economic survey 2016-17: Despite receiving lot of funds, they have not made
any tangible progress in improving public administration or removing poverty
(=” Aid Curse”). Similar problem with the States having abundant mineral
resources (“Resource Curse”)
Economic Survey 2017-18: Noted that compared to Brazil, Germany and other
countries with federal polity, India’s State Governments and Local Bodies are
collecting less amount of tax for two reasons :
• Constitution has not given them sufficient taxation powers.
• Even where constitution gave them powers like collection of Agricultural
Income Tax, Land Revenue, Property Tax: The States/Local Bodies are shy
of collecting taxes due to electoral politics.
Result? Poor quality of Public Schools, Public Transport, Police, Drinking Water
and Sanitation.
Special Category States → Hill Union Territory Status for J&K?

While Finance commissions no longer give extra weightage to ‘Special Category
States’ in horizontal tax distribution formula, but Union provides them
additional funding for their welfare schemes from Union’s own pocket.
Category → Welfare schemes Cost sharing

A "Special Category States" Depending on the scheme,
• North-Eastern States, and union may contribute 80-
• TWO Himalayan Hilly States: 90% of the scheme cost,
Himachal Pradesh and rest will be borne by the
Uttarakhand# State.
B • Other States: who are not in Union may bear lower
above category (UP, Bihar, burden than Special
etc.) Category states e.g. 50:50,
• Union territory (UT) with 60:40 etc.
legislature: Delhi,
Puducherry, Jammu &
Kashmir.
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C UT without legislature Ladakh, 100% funded by Union

Andaman Nicobar etc.
Before removal of Article 370, the State of J&K was previously in Special
category.
But as a UT with legislature, J&K will get lower assistance from Union in the
welfare schemes. So, 2019-Aug: Central Government considering creating a new
category ‘Hilly Union Territory so J&K may continue to received 90:10 funding.
Direct Taxes
Impact of a tax is on person from whom government collects money in first
instance.
While Incidence of a tax is on person who finally bears burden of a tax.
Direct Tax
The tax which has incidence and impact both at the same point is the direct
tax—the person who is hit, the same person bleeds. As for example income tax,
interest tax, etc.
These are the taxes, paid directly to the government by the taxpayer. Under
the direct tax system, the incidence and impact of taxation fall on the same
entity, which cannot be transferred to another person.
It is termed as a progressive tax because the proportion of tax liability rises as

an individual or entity's income increases.
Examples- Income tax, corporate Tax, Dividend Distribution Tax, Capital Gain
Tax, Security Transaction Tax.
The system of Direct taxation is governed by the Central Board of Direct

Taxes (CBDT). It is a part of the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of
Finance.
Significance of Direct tax collection

High Tax buoyancy: It is an important metric to know the expected level of
government borrowings from the debt market. Higher tax buoyancy would
mean the government would borrow less — keeping interest rates lower —
while giving room for corporates also to borrow at lower rates thus reducing
crowding out effect in the economy.
Fiscal Health: High rate of direct tax collection increases spending capacity of
government on social sectors such as education and health, without
compromising the fiscal prudence in the economy.
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Maintaining Inflationary Trends: High rate of direct tax collection helps in

maintaining the optimum interest rate in the economy, which in turn assists in
maintaining the inflationary pressure.
Lower Indirect tax: Higher direct tax collections could lower the tax burden on
the poor by creating fiscal space for a reduction in GST rates.
Why the fiscal deepening of the Indian state is important now?

1. Neither faster economic growth nor foreign aid will suffice to end extreme
poverty by 2030
2. Most of the poorest people in the world live in countries such as India that
are classified as middle-income countries based on average incomes
3. These countries are unlikely to get enough foreign aid but they do not
have the deep fiscal resources to help their poor either directly through
redistribution or indirectly through the provision of public goods that will
raise their ability to earn extra income
4. Countries such as India are thus trapped between the very poor countries
that get a lot of foreign aid and the wealthy ones with very strong tax
collections
Types of Direct Taxes

Direct Taxes Union Govt. * Means Abolished State Govt.
On income ▪ Corporation Tax, Minimum ▪ Agriculture Income tax
Alternate Tax (MAT) ▪ Professional Tax
▪ Income Tax (Constitutional ceiling
▪ Capital Gains Tax (CGT) of max ₹2500 per year)
▪ *Dividend Distribution Tax
(DDT)
On assets, ▪ Securities Transaction Tax ▪ Land Revenue
transactions (STT) & Commodities ▪ Stamp/Registration
Transaction Tax (CTT) duty
▪ *Wealth Tax ▪ Property tax in urban
▪ *Banking Cash Transaction areas
Tax
▪ *Estate Duty
On ▪ *Hotel Receipt Tax, *Gift Tax Road Tax
expenditure ▪ *Fringe Benefit Tax i.e. When
the
employer give benefits to
employee
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apart from salary e.g.

subscription to gymkhana or
golf-club.
Merits of Direct Taxes Demerits

1. Progressive: richer the person 1. Narrow base because large staff
higher the tax: income inequality will be required if we try to
reduced collect Income taxes even from
2. Promotes civic consciousness since poor people.
citizen directly feels the ‘pinch of 2. Externalities not counted:
tax’ Academic Books Company vs
3. To increase savings & investment: Film star promoting cigars [30%
Income tax deduction/exemptions Tax on both].
on NPS/ LIC etc. 3. Hardship not counted: Working
4. Elasticity: As public’s income level Carpenter [5%] vs sleeping
increases then tax revenue rises landlord [5%]
5. Certainty (when and how to pay IT 4. High level of direct tax= laziness,
6. Can decrease volatility in less foreign investment
International currency exchange 5. Prone to litigation & loopholes,
rates by imposing Tobin Tax tax evasion, avoidance.
Union tax, Cess and Surcharge
Any Computed on taxable income, profit, transaction. Goes to

Union Tax Consolidated Fund of India → Later divided between Union and
states as per the Finance Commission formula. (except if IGST:
divided on GST Council’s formula)
Surcharge ▪ Computed on Tax amount. So, it is a ‘tax on tax’. This will also
go to CFI. It is not shared with States using Finance
Commission Formula.
▪ Usually, surcharge doesn’t have any clear objective in ‘prefix’,
so it may be used for any purpose.
▪ Exception is 10% Social Welfare Surcharge on the customs

duty on imported goods. Money specifically used for social
welfare schemes of the Union.
Cess ▪ Computed on [(Tax) + (Surcharge, if any)]
▪ Clear objective is mentioned. E.g. Krishi Kalyan Cess, Swachh
Bharat cess, Road & infrastructure, Health & Education, GST
compensation cess etc.
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▪ By default, cess goes to CFI→ from there, to a specific fund in

Public Accounts e.g. Central Road Safety Fund, Prarambhik
Shiksha Kosh etc.
▪ Cess is not shared with States using Finance Commission
Formula.
▪ GST Compensation Cess is shared with States, as per GST
council formula.
(Although some of the cess money will invisibly go to states as

a part of scheme implementation e.g. Pradhan Mantri Fasal
Bima Premium share, etc.)
Budget 2020
New slabs for Income Tax in Budget-2020
IF you give up exemptions and deductions such as
• Salaried employees’ standard deduction, HRA, Leave Travel
Concession (LTA)
• Section 80C deduction (e.g. investments made in LIC/NPS etc upto
₹1.5 lakh per year) Etc.
• Then you can opt to pay with new (reduced) income tax slabs viz.
TAXABLE Income (per (new slab, if you give (old slabs, if u

annum) up deduction & don’t give up)
exemptions)
Upto ₹2.5 lakh Nil / 0% Nil / 0%
>₹2.5 lakh-₹5 lakh 5% (But 12500 rebate 5% (But 12500
(meaning from 2,50,001 to so in reality ₹0) rebate so in
5,00,000) reality ₹0)
>₹5 lakh to ₹7.5 lakh 10 20%
>₹7.5 lakh to ₹10 lakh 15 20%
>₹10 lakh to ₹12.5 lakh 20 30%
>₹12.5 lakh to ₹15 lakh 25 30%
>₹15 lakh 30 30%
Surcharge & cess applicable? Yes Yes
E.g. An employee with annual ₹1.95 lakh** ₹2.73 lakh
salary ₹15lakhs will pay total
INCOME TAX
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**It is left to individual’s discretion whether he wants to stay in old / new

system.
But if all people opted for the new slabs then Govt will hypothetically get
₹40,000 crore less (compared to old system). Technically, it’s called
“Revenue forgone”
• But, Lower Income tax paid = ⬆disposable income with people→

shopping spree → ⬆demand → production, economic growth etc.
• And shopping spree = ⬆Indirect tax collection e.g Mobiles = 18% GST.
Currently the Income Tax Act is riddled with various exemptions and
deductions.
Ordinary people can’t understand and have to consult Chartered
Accountants (CA) & investment advisors before filing taxes. Now process
is easier.
• In the old slabs, IT Act provided 100+ types of exemption /deduction.
Budget-2020 removed 70 of them, & promised to ⬇the no of
exemptions /deductions in future.
• 10% surcharge is applicable on income tax if income exceeds 50 lacs but

upto 1 crore
• 15% surcharge is applicable on income tax if income exceeds 1 crore
• 4% Health & Education Cess is applicable on the income tax and applicable
surcharge.
• Tax rates and slabs are same for Male and Female as per above table
• Individuals having total income below 5 lakhs, are eligible for full tax
rebate under section 87A
Presumptive tax
Salaried employees can easily compute their taxable income from their annual
salary, & pay income tax. Companies hire full time Chartered Accountants to
compute their taxable income and pay Corporation tax.
• But self-employed freelancers / professionals such as lawyers, doctors,
fashion designers etc. face difficulty in keeping such account books. So, for
them Income Tax Act has Presumptive Taxation System i.e. their
‘income/profit’ is computed as “x%” of their gross receipts, and on that
amount they’ve to pay income tax (depending on slabs) + applicable cess
and surcharges.
• To encourage less-cash-economy, Budget-2017 had given benefits in this
presumptive taxation calculation formula, if the entrepreneur received
payments in cashless format -NEFT, RTGS, Cheque, Card etc.
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Advance tax
New financial year starts from 1st April 2019 and ends on 31st March 2020.
• If everyone paid all of their direct taxes on 31st March 2020, then govt.
will face money-shortage for the whole year till 31st March midnight
comes.
• So, Advance Tax mechanism requires people to pay their Income tax and
Corporation tax in advance-instalments on quarterly basis, if their annual
tax liability is ₹10,000 or more
TDS
Suppose a college pays ₹10,000 to a freelance visiting faculty or a
bank/NBFC/postoffice pays ₹10,000 as interest to a depositor, then how to
ensure that payment recipient (visiting faculty) reports his income to the tax
authorities, otherwise he could avoid paying taxes!!
• So, Income Tax Act requires such organizations (college) to deduct a

portion of the payment at source and deposit it to IT-dept. along with PAN
card number of the recipient.
• Then, payment-recipient (visiting faculty) will be forced to file his tax
return, to unlock his TDS amount.
• On one side, TDS helps fighting tax evasion but on the other side, TDS also
creates hardship for lower middle-class persons, because part of their
payment is cut in advance. So, in each budget, Govt will finetune the
norms
Tax Refund
A person is eligible to receive income tax refund from IT-dept IF he has paid
more tax to the govt than his actual tax liability.
e.g. If college deducted 10% TDS from freelance visiting faculty payment, but
what if he was in 0% or 5% Income Tax slab? Then, Income Tax Department
will refund his money with interest.
Similarly, GST refund can be claimed by an entrepreneur from GSTN web-

portal.
Corporate Income Tax

It’s levied on Company’s profit, under the Income-tax Act, 1961. (Technically
levied on “NET Income”)
Corporation Tax Rates before 2019-Sept

25% If Indian company's turnover is upto ₹400 cr.** 99.3% companies
fall here.
18 | P a g e
30% If Indian company’s turnover is higher than ₹400 cr.** 0.7%

companies fall here.
40% foreign company’s profit from India
- Additionally “x%” surcharge amount on above Corporation Tax amount,
depending on the company's turnover.
- Additionally 4% Health and Education cess on above [Corporation Tax +
Surcharge] amount. (Before Budget-2018, there was only 3% Education Cess).
- **Before Full Budget-2019 limit was 250 cr, but Nirmala S. raised to 400 cr so
majority of Indian companies have to pay less tax → more funds left to Company
for investing in business expansion → jobs → growth.
Full Budget-2019:
Additional tax benefits to companies producing solar power, electric batteries,
computer server, laptop etc. in any part of India.
• Companies operating from GIFT-city-IFSC given 100% exemption from
Corporation Tax for 10 years. (previously this ‘tax holiday’ was for 5
years).
Corporation Tax Cut in 2019-Sep

Since Indian corporate sector was facing a slowdown, Nirmala.S announced tax-
cuts:
Corporation Tax Before After

Existing Indian companies 25-30% 22 % tax
depending on + flat10% surcharge on
turnover + 0-12% (tax) +4% cess (on tax +
surcharge surcharge)
depending on = 25.17%
profit + 4% health
edu cess
New INDIAN MFG company -- 15 % + surcharge &
registered from 1/10/2019. cess as given above
(but they must start = 17.01%
manufacturing by 31/3/2023
Budget-2020: new INDIAN

electricity cos also eligible in
this
Foreign Company’s profit 40%+ surcharge + no change
from India cess
19 | P a g e
Zero profit companies 18.5% MAT 15% MAT
Corporation Tax Cut on Cooperative Societies

Corporation Tax on Before Budget-2020
Cooperative Societies 30% + surcharge + 22% + 10% surcharge + 4%
cess Cess.
Corporation Tax on Startups

Startup is a company not older than 10 years and not having turnover more
than 100 cr. Govt helps them through Startup India Scheme.
Budget-2020 →
• Startup can claim 100% deduction on its profits, for 3 years out of the first
10 years of incorporation. (as such they get tax benefits under Startup
India scheme, but new budget fine tuned those technical definitions
further.)
• Start-ups generally use Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) to attract
talented employees. But ESOP was subjected to various direct taxes →
New budget gave some technical reliefs to them.
Budget-2020:
• Tax holiday for developers of affordable housing extended till 31/3/2021.
(meaning 0% corporation tax / capital gains tax on their profit)
• If a Sovereign Wealth Fund invests in Indian infrastructure projects → Tax
holiday for them. E.g. Abu Dhabi Investment Authority
EQUALISATION LEVY / GOOGLE TAX

If a foreign company makes profit in India, they have to pay 40% Corporation
Tax. If an Indian businessman purchases digital advertisement slots in google-
adsense / facebook => foreign e-ad companies are making profit. But earlier,
they did not pay tax on that profit, claiming their business activity (of displaying
digital-ads) is done outside India on global servers.
• So, Budget-2016 imposed 6% tax on such income of foreign technology

companies.
• Officially called “Equalisation Levy”, unofficially nicknamed “Google Tax”.
It’s not part of “Income Tax” or “Corporation Tax” under the Income Tax
Act 1961, but a separate levy altogether imposed by the Finance Bill 2016.
• Foreign Company can’t escape it saying we’re protected under the Double
Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) in our home country.
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Related terms:
1. Significant Economic Presence (SEP): If a foreign company is making
money from Indians through digital ads / streaming services (e.g. NETFLIX
videos from overseas servers) then the company has ‘SEP’ in India,
therefore, Indian govt has powers to tax it. Budget-2020 made some
technical changes into it.
2. OECD has used a phrase ‘Tax challenges of digitisation’ to denote above

type of problems where digital services type MNC companies are avoiding
taxes.
3. France has implemented tax on large technology companies called GAFA

Tax (Google Apple Facebook Amazon) from 1st Jan 2019
Minimum Alternative Tax

Some industrialists use tax-deduction-exemptions-depreciations and
accounting tricks to become “Zero tax Companies” & escape paying Corporation
Tax. So,
• Budget-1996 (Chidambaram) introduced 18.5% MAT on book profit using

a different type of formula.
• Budget 2018: IF such company is in GIFT city IFSC, then for them MAT
only 9%.
• 2019-Sept: Nirmala.S reduced it from 18.5 →15% for companies
MAT is applicable to all corporate entities, whether public or private. Once a

company pays the MAT, it can carry the payment forward and set-off (adjust)
against regular tax payable during the subsequent five-year period subject to
certain conditions.
Book profits:
Profit as per the profit and loss account submitted to shareholders in its Annual
General Meeting by a company, subject to certain adjustments
AMT (Alternative Minimum Tax):

Concept similar to MAT but for Non-Corporate assesses e.g. Individual or Hindu
Undivided Family (HUF) or Cooperative Society who are earning more than ₹5
lakh but not paying direct tax.
• Both MAT and AMT subjected to surcharge + cess.
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Dividend Distribution Tax

It is a tax levied on dividends that a company pays to its shareholders out of its
profits.
Is Dividend Distribution Tax fair?

Market participants, especially brokers, have been calling for long to scrap the
DDT. The tax makes markets unattractive as it leads to significant taxation of
corporate earnings, they argue.
1997: FM Chidambaram started to levy DDT on a shareholder’s dividend

income. In reality, company (=source) will cut that much ₹ ₹ portion from
shareholders’ dividend,
& directly deposit that ₹ ₹ to the govt, as DDT.
• Shareholder did not have to pay Income tax on it.
• DDT Rate: 15% + cess + surcharge = 20.56% on dividend paid.
Full-Budget-2019: Companies in GIFT-city-IFSC given some exemptions from

DDT
Budget-2020: DDT on dividends declared by MFs abolished .But, dividend will

be taxable in the hands of shareholder (i.e. he’ll pay income tax on it). Benefits?
• Previously even lower middle-class shareholder’s ~ 20% dividend was cut
in the name of DDT.
• But now he may have to pay barely 0-5% income tax on income from
dividend. Thus, Shareholders get to keep more ₹₹ for spending→ shopping
spree → demand, production, economic growth.
• Foreign investors will be attracted to invest in Indian companies’ shares.
Basically, Dividend Distribution Tax shifted to individuals instead of companies

(Earlier Tax deduction at source)
CGT
This is a tax that is payable whenever you receive a sizable amount of money. It
could be from an investment or from the sale of a property.
Capital gains are not applicable when an asset is inherited because there is no
sale, only a transfer. However, if this asset is sold by the person who inherits it,
capital gains tax will be applicable. The Income Tax Act has specifically
exempted assets received as gifts by way of an inheritance or will.
In practice, the buyer will deduct that much ₹ ₹ portion from the payment to
seller, and deposit to the government. However, some people form shell
companies abroad & do transactions from there to avoid paying taxes to India.
22 | P a g e
Short-Term Capital Asset:

If the shares and securities are held by the taxpayer for a period not more than
36 months preceding the date of its transfer will be treated as a short-term
capital asset.
Long- Term Capital Asset:
If the taxpayer holds the shares and securities for a period exceeding 36 months
before the transfer will be treated as a long-term capital asset.
Equity shares which are listed in a recognised stock exchange, units of equity
oriented mutual funds, listed debentures and Government securities, units of
UTI and Zero Coupon Bonds’ period of holding will be considered for 12 months
instead of 36 months.
Transfer is giving up your right on an asset it includes sale, exchange,
compulsory acquisition under any law and relinquishment.
The interesting thing about this tax is that the gain doesn’t always have to be in
the form of money. It could also be an exchange in kind in which case the value
of the exchange will be considered for taxation.
A new 10% tax on Long-Term Capital Gains (LTCG) on sale of listed securities
exceeding Rs.1 lakh (without indexation) has been proposed in the Union
Budget 2018. However, LTCG made till 31 January 2018 will not be taxed.
Capital Gains include any property held by the assessed except the
following:
• Stock in trade.
• Consumable stores or raw materials held for the purpose of business or
profession.
• Personal effects that are movable except jewellery, archaeological
collections, drawings, paintings, sculptures or any art work held for
personal use.
• Agricultural land. The land must not be located within 8kms from a
municipality, Municipal Corporation, notified area committee, town
committee or a cantonment board with a minimum population of 10,000.
• Gold Bonds, National Defence Gold Bonds and Special Bearer Bonds.
• Gold Deposit bonds under Gold Deposit Scheme.
The acquisition price is indexed by a factor called the Cost Inflation Index
(CII).
CII is the CII for year in which the asset is transferred divided by the year in
which the asset was acquired. The CII is then multiplied with the purchase price
to arrive at the indexed acquisition cost. The cost inflation index for the year
2016-2017 is 1125. Base year 2001-02
23 | P a g e
Budget-2018:
Earlier Listed companies Shares, Mutual Funds Units etc. were exempt from
LCGT. But, since large amount of money is invested here and owners make good
profits by selling them so government decided to apply the Long Term Capital
Gains Tax system on them @10%.
Interim-Budget-2019:
IF person sells his house on profit, then he has to pay CGT. However, if he uses
the profit to invest in two more residential houses in India, then no need to pay
CGT. He can use this scheme only once in his lifetime. (Before Budget-2019, it
was for only 1 new residential house.)
Full-Budget-2019
If Startup entrepreneurs unable to secure capital from investors → they
sometimes have to sell their house arrange money for starting business. So,
Government had exempted their house-selling-profit from CGT. This scheme
extended it till 31/3/2021.
• Companies operating from GIFT-city-IFSC given some exemptions from

CGT
Fringe Benefit Tax:

Fringe Benefit Tax, or FBT, was a tax which applied to almost every fringe
benefit an employer provided to their employees. In this tax, a number of
aspects were covered. Some of them include:
1. Employer’s expense on travel, employee welfare, accommodation, and
entertainment.
2. Any regular commute or commute related expense provided by an
employer.
3. Employer’s contribution to a certified retirement fund.
FBT was started under the Indian government’s stewardship from April 1,
2005. However, the tax was later scrapped in 2009.
Banking Cash Transaction Tax:

Banking Cash Transaction Tax is yet another form of tax that has been
abandoned by the Indian government. This form of taxation was operation
from 2005-2009 until the then FM Pranab Mukherjee nullified the tax. This
tax suggested that every bank transaction (debit or credit) would be taxed at a
rate of 0.1%.
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Securities Transaction Tax

This too is a source of income but it has its own tax which is known as
the Securities Transaction Tax . How this tax is levied is by adding the tax to
the price of the share. This means that every time you buy or sell shares, you
pay this tax. All securities traded on the Indian stock exchange have this tax
attached to them.
• It's rate (0.001%-2%) varies as per the nature of the securities.
COMMODITIES TRANSACTION TAX (CTT)

Only for non-agricultural commodity futures.
Commodities Transaction Tax (CTT) is a tax similar to Securities Transaction

Tax (STT), levied in India, on transactions done on the domestic commodity
derivatives exchanges. Globally, commodity derivatives are also considered as
financial contracts. Hence CTT can also be considered as a type of ‘financial
transaction tax’.
• Rate ~0.01%.
Perquisite Tax:
Perquisites are all the perks or privileges that employers may extend to
employees. These privileges may include a house provided by the company or
a car for your use, given to you by the company.
These perks are not just limited to big compensation like cars and houses,
they can even include things like compensation for fuel or phone bills. How
this tax is levied is by figuring out how that perk has been acquired by the
company or used by the employee.
In the case of cars, it may be so that a car provided by the company and used
for both personal and official purposes is eligible for tax whereas a car used
only for official purposes is not.
Wealth Tax Act:

It was abolished in the budget announced in 2015. It has since been replaced
with a surcharge of 12% on individuals that earn more than Rs. 1 crore per
annum. It is also applicable to companies that have a revenue of over Rs. 10
crores per annum.
25 | P a g e
Gift Tax Act:

The Gift Tax Act came into existence in 1958 and stated that if an individual
received gifts, monetary or valuables, as gifts, a tax was to be to be paid on
such gifts. The tax on such gifts was maintained at 30% but it was abolished in
1998. Initially if a gift was given, and it was something like property,
jewellery, shares etc. it was taxable.
According to the new rules gifts given by family members like brothers, sister,
parents, spouse, aunts and uncles are not taxable. Even gifts given to you by
the local authorities is exempt from this tax. How the tax works now is that if
someone, other than the exempt entities, gifts you anything that exceeds a
value of Rs. 50,000 then the entire gift amount is taxable.
Professional Tax:
Professional Tax, or employment tax, is another form of tax levied only by state
governments in India. According to professional tax norms, individuals earning
income or practicing a profession such as a doctor, lawyer, chartered
accountant, or company secretary etc. are required to pay this tax. However, not
all states levy professional tax and the rate differs across all the states that levy
the tax.
Property Tax - Municipal Tax:

Also known as Property Tax or Real Estate Tax, this is one of the taxes levied by
local municipal bodies of every city. These taxes are levied in order to provide
and maintain the for basic civic services. All owners of residential or
commercial properties are subject to Municipal Tax.
Tobin Tax / Robinhood Tax

• 1970s: Nobel recipient American economist James Tobin proposed a small
tax every time currency is converted into another currency (e.g. $ to ₹).
• Such tax will discourage short term speculative investment and flight of
capital from one country to another = stabilizing the global economy and
currency exchange rates.
• In India, foreign currency conversions are subjected to (previously Service

Tax) & now GST.
26 | P a g e
DIRECT TAX CODE (DTC) TASK FORCE (2017-2019)

2017: Finance Ministry setup this taskforce under CBDT member Arvind Modi.
Later, he retired so another CBDT member Akilesh Ranjan was made
Chairman.
Chief Economic Advisor Krishnamurthy Subramanian was also a member of this

taskforce →2019-Aug report submitted to the Finance Ministry.
While Government is yet to release this report in public domain, but according
to journalists, it contains following suggestions:
1. Replace the Income Tax Act 1961 with a simpler Direct Tax Code
2. Reduce the corporate tax further.
3. Tax rates for domestic and foreign companies should be same. This will
encourage ease of doing business in India.
4. Give additional tax relief for the startup companies.
5. Increase the number of tax slabs from present three (5%,20%,30%) to
four (10%, 20%, 30% and lastly 35% for super-rich earning ₹ 2 crore />).
6. Abolish Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT). [which is actually done in
Budget-2020]
7. Setup Litigation Management Unit to look after the tax related court cases
in an efficient manner.
Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs)

CBDT inked the 300th Advance Pricing Agreement in 2020. APA Programme
is currently in its seventh year. BAPA entered into with the United Kingdom
What are APAs?

An APA is an agreement between a taxpayer and the tax authority determining
the Transfer Pricing methodology for pricing the tax payer’s international
transactions for future years.
An APA provides certainty with respect to the tax outcome of the tax payer’s
international transactions.
Statutory basis: The Finance Act, 2012, inserted sections 92CC and 92 CD in
the ITA to provide the legal basis for APA in India.
An APA can be one of the three types – unilateral, bilateral and multilateral:
1. Unilateral APA is an APA that involves only the taxpayer and the tax
authority of the country where the taxpayer is located.
2. Bilateral APA (BAPA) is an APA that involves the tax payer, associated
enterprise (AE) of the taxpayer in the foreign country, tax authority of the
country where the taxpayer is located and the foreign tax authority.
27 | P a g e
3. Multilateral APA (MAPA) is an APA that involves the taxpayer, two or

more AEs of the tax payer in different foreign countries, tax authority of
the country where the taxpayer is located and the tax authorities of AEs.
Significance:
The progress of the APA scheme strengthens the government’s resolve of
fostering a non-adversarial tax regime. The Indian APA programme has been
appreciated nationally and internationally for being able to address complex
transfer pricing issues in a fair and transparent manner.
Indirect Taxes
By definition, indirect taxes are those taxes that are levied on goods or services.
They differ from direct taxes because they are not levied on a person who pays
them directly to the government, they are instead levied on products and are
collected by an intermediary, the person selling the product.
Types
Ad- Valorem tax Specific Tax per unit
Taxes based on the value of Tax based on quantity of items. E.g. ₹
something. 260 Excise duty on production of every
1000 cigarettes of 65- 70mm length.
E.g. 35% Customs Duty on import of Here we’re taxing them irrespective of
orange juice. So, if juice priced at their manufacturing price or selling
₹100 imported, then ₹35 as tax. price.
Easier to administer. Difficult to administer, leads to
inspector-raj & litigation. But, if slight
increase in this tax, then greater
burden passed on to the consumer so it
helps reducing harmful consumption.
Merits & Demerits

Merits Demerits
➔ Convenient to collect because ➔ Regressive in nature, both poor and

the traders act as honorary rich taxed equally for the same item
(=unpaid) tax collectors. Wider base then poor people end up paying more
because everyone covered e.g. 18% portion of their income in indirect
GST on Biscuit. taxes.
➔ Elastic: small increase brings

large revenue, because everyone is
28 | P a g e
affected. Although they’re ➔ This tax is hidden in the price.

“relatively” less elastic than Direct Customers do not always feel the pinch
taxes. of paying indirect tax so it promotes
less civic consciousness than direct
➔ Can lessen harmful consumption taxes.
by imposing higher taxes on cigar,
alcohol, soft drinks & fast food. ➔ Indirect taxes increase→ product
becomes expensive → demand
decrease so uncertainty involved in
how much ₹ ₹ will Government actually
earn?
➔ High level of corruption, evasion,

cascading effect if input credit is not
given e.g. erstwhile sales tax system.
Pigovian Tax
An externality is a positive or negative consequence of an economic activity
experienced by unrelated third parties. E.g. Cement company (related parties:
labourers & consumers benefit); whereas unrelated third parties (local
community, flora and fauna) are harmed by cement company’s air-pollution.
• English economist Arthur C. Pigou proposed taxing the companies that
create such negative externalities: e.g. polluting industries, cigarettes
(passive smoking), alcohol (social disharmony).
• We have high level of indirect taxes on petroleum, tobacco and alcoholic
products.
• We had “Clean environment Cess” on Rs 400 per tonne of coal (but
abolished in GST)
Cascading Effect and VAT

If a government levies 10% indirect tax every time an item is sold, then buyer
will have to pay tax on tax. This ‘cascading effect’ of indirect taxes raises
the price of final product.
Suppose, Price 10% Tax on price Total

Retailer bought from ₹100 ₹10 ₹110
wholesaler
Retailer sold to customer ₹120 ₹12 ₹132
with ₹10 profit
• Breakdown the ₹132 paid by the final customer: 132=100+10+10+11+1

29 | P a g e
• 132= 100 (price of original product)+10 (tax paid by retailer to

wholesaler)+10 (as retailer’s profit margin)+11 (tax paid by customer to
buy from retailer) + 1**.
• 1** this one rupee is 10% of 10(tax paid by retailer to wholesaler). So, it’s
“TAX on TAX paid at previous stage” / cascading effect of tax on the end-
customer.
Then, both buyer and seller will prefer to do transaction without bills, to
entirely avoid tax liability and its cascading effect → Govt.’s revenue collection
goes down, Fiscal deficit increases and also the black money
• The problem is addressed by giving an incentive to the seller by giving an

incentive called ITC (input tax credit) for the tax already paid
• To claim such input tax credit, the sellers will have to show the bills/
invoices for each stage, thus inducing self-policing and reducing black
money
VALUE ADDED TAX

The value added tax (VAT) is a method of tax collection. A tax collected at every
stage of value addition, i.e., either by production or distribution is known as
value added tax.
• From production to the level of sale, there are many points where value is
added in all goods.
• VAT method of tax collection is different from the non-VAT method in the
sense that it is imposed and collected at different points of value addition
chain, i.e., multi-point tax collection.
• That is why there is no chance of imposing tax upon tax which takes place
in the non-VAT method —single point tax collection. This is why VAT does
not have a ‘cascading effect’ on the prices of goods -it does not increase
inflation—and is therefore highly suitable for an economy like India where
due to high level of poverty large number of people lack the market level
purchasing capacity. It is a pro-poor tax system without being anti-rich
because rich people do not suffer either.
Need of VAT In India

1. Reduce the cascading effect and improve the purchasing capacity and
living standard of the poor people.
2. At the central level, there has been uniformity of taxes for the economy.
But there is no ‘uniformity’ at the state level taxes (i.e., state excise, sales
tax, entertainment tax, etc.). This is detrimental to the development of a
single market for Indian economy as a whole. India basically had many
markets but no Indian market as such. To bring in uniformity at the state-
level taxes, VAT was a necessary step in India.
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3. It becomes almost impossible to go for large scale tax evasion. To prove

one’s level of value addition, the purchase invoice/receipt is a must which
ultimately makes it cross-check the level of production and sale in the
economy.
CenVAT
This tax is collected by the government from the manufacturer of the goods. It
can also be collected from those entities that receive manufactured goods and
employ people to transport the goods from the manufacturer to themselves.
The Central Excise Rule set by the central government suggest that every
person that produces or manufactures any 'excisable goods', or who stores such
goods in a warehouse, will have to pay the duty applicable on such goods.
Under this rule no excisable goods, on which any duty is payable, will be
allowed to move without payment of duty from any place, where they are
produced or manufactured.
1944 Union Central Excise Act to levy Excise duty on goods

produced/ manufactured in India. Abolished on most
items after GST.
1986 Union • Modified Value Added Tax system (MODVAT) based on
LK Jha Committee recommendations.
• Entrepreneur gets Input credit for Excise duty he
already paid in previous stage E.g. Ratan Tata getting
input credit for rubber, tires and steel he bought to
make Nano car.
• Limitation: he’ll NOT get input credit for the States’
Indirect taxes like Sale Tax/ VAT.
Based on Chelliah Committee and Kelkar Committee reports, the central

government started collecting its excise duty on the VAT method and the tax
was given a new name—the CENVAT.
2004 Union • Central Value Added Tax system (CENVAT)
Entrepreneur gets Input credit for Excise Duty and
Service Tax he already paid in previous stage.
• But he’d NOT get input credit for the state taxes like
Sale Tax/ VAT.
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Sales tax
Sales tax is a tax that is levied on the sale of a product. This product can be
something that was produced in India or imported
• Can even cover services rendered.
• This tax is levied on the seller of the product who then transfers it onto the
person who buys said product with the sales tax added to the price of the
product.
1956 Central Sales Tax Act to levy tax on inter-state commerce. In

practice, CST was given to the source/exporting state from where
goods went to the destination/importing state. Abolished after GST.
2005 ▪ Previously, State governments levied Sales Tax on sale of goods
however these rates varied from state to state, no input credit &
therefore problem of cascading effects & tax evasion.
▪ From 2005 onwards, State governments begin replacing Sales Tax
system with State VAT (VAT). Uttar Pradesh was the last state to
implement it from 2008.
▪ In VAT regime, a dealer gets input credit for the VAT he already
paid in the previous stage
▪ But he’d not get input credit for Union’s Indirect Taxes like
Customs Duty, Excise Duty or Service tax.
▪ He’ll not even get input credit for various other indirect taxes of
the state like Luxury Tax, Entertainment Tax, etc. which were not
subsumed in VAT. So cascading continued.
Service tax
1994 Union ▪ FM Manmohan Singh introduces 5% Service tax on
telephone bills, non-life insurance and tax brokers.
▪ Over the years, more services were subjected to Service
Tax, except those in “Negative List” (E.g. postal service,
etc.).
▪ Successive govts. Also increased tax amount and added
Swachh Bharat Cess & Krishi Kalyan Cess on it.
▪ Ultimately, Service Tax+Cess = total 15%. Abolished
after GST.
Like sales tax is added to the price of goods sold in India, so is service tax added
to services provided in India. It is not applicable on goods but on companies
that provide services.
32 | P a g e
If the establishment is an individual service provider then the service tax is paid
only once the customer pays the bills however, for companies the service tax is
payable the moment the invoice is raised, irrespective of the customer paying
the bill.
An important thing to remember is that since the service at a restaurant is a
combination of the food, the waiter and the premises themselves, it is difficult
to pin point what qualifies for service tax. To remove any ambiguity, in this
regard, it has been announced that the service tax in restaurants will be levied
only on 40% of the total bill.
Custom duty & Octroi:

1962 Union Customs Act to levy Customs Duty on import and
exports
Budget 2018: Raised customs duty on a range of

imported products—from fruit juice, perfumes, TVs,
mobile phones etc. to
encourage Make in India programme. It also introduced
10% Social Welfare Surcharge on imported goods.
Budget 2019:
▪ Increased custom duty on gold & other precious
metals to control current account deficit
▪ Increased custom duty on imported items like
Cashew & other food items, PVC, tiles, autoparts,
CCTV camera, video recorders, electronics,
imported books etc. to encourage #MAKE-IN-
INDIA
▪ Increased custom duty on import of raw material /
intermediate goods required for Make in India e.g.
parts of electric-vehicles, chemicals etc.
Budget-2020
▪ Increased Custom duty On imported footwear,
furniture, Wallfans, food grinder, oven, tricycle,
scooter, earphones, etc to protect Indian
companies
▪ Decreased Custom duty Imported raw material /
inputs used in manufacturing vehicles, mobiles,
sports accessories, newspaper etc. in India #MAKE-
IN-INDIA
▪ 0% Customs Duty on import of defense
equipment that are not being manufactured in
India.
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▪ Introduced Health Cess on the customs duty on

imported medical devices. This Cess money will be
used for building (Ayushman Bharat scheme)
hospitals (to treat PM-JAY ₹5lakh health insurance
poor patients) in Aspirational Districts (=backward
districts identified by NITI Aayog.)
When you purchase anything that needs to be imported from another country, a
charge is applied on it and that is the customs duty. It applies to all the products
that come in via land, sea or air. Even if you bring in products bought in another
country to India, a customs duty can be levied on it.
Just as customs duty ensures that goods for other countries are taxed, octroi is
meant to ensure that goods crossing state borders within India are taxed
appropriately. It is levied by the state government and functions in much the
same way as customs duty does.
Entertainment Tax:
It is levied by the government on feature films, television series, exhibitions,
amusement, and recreational parlours. This tax is collected taking into account
a business entity’s gross collection collected from earnings based on
commercial shows, film festival earnings, and audience participation.
Stamp Duty, Registration Fees, Transfer Tax:

Stamp duty, registration fees, and transfer taxes are collect as a supplement of
property tax. For instance, when an individual purchases a property, they also
have to pay for the cost of stamps (stamp duty), registration fees (fee charged
by local registrar to legalize a property transaction), and transfer tax (tax paid
to transfer the ownership of a commodity.
Toll Tax & Road Tax:

Toll tax is a tax you often pay to use any form of infrastructure developed by the
government, example roads and bridges. The tax amount levied is rather
negligible which is used for maintenance and basic upkeep of a particular
project.
Entry Tax:
Entry tax is a tax levied in select states across the country like Uttarakhand,
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, and Delhi. Under this, all items entering the
state ordered via e-commerce establishments are taxed. The rate for this tax
varies between 5.5% to 10%.
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Cess and Surcharge

Education Cess/Surcharge:
Education cess is a tax in India primarily introduced to help cover the cost of
government-sponsored educational programs. This tax is collected
independently of other taxes and is applicable to all Indian citizens,
corporations, and other people living in the country.
As per Union Budget 2018, 4% Health and Education Cess to be levied on the
tax payable. This increase from 3% to 4% education cess will enable the
government to collect Rs.11,000 crore.
Swachh Bharat Cess:
This is a cess imposed by the government of India and was started from 15
November 2015. This tax is applicable on all taxable services and the cess
currently stands at 0.5%.
Swachh Bharat cess is levied over and above the 14% service tax that is
prevalent in the present times. One thing worth noting here is that this cess is
not applicable on services that are fully exempt of service tax or those services
covered under the negative list of services.
Krishi Kalyan Cess:

This is yet another cess brought about by the government of India since the
June of 2016. It is basically introduced in order to extend welfare to all the
farmers and to the improvement of agricultural facilities in the country. Like
Swachh Bharat cess, this tax is also applicable on all taxable services with an
effective rate of 0.5% and is charged over and above the service tax and Swachh
Bharat cess.
Infrastructure Cess :
Infrastructure cess is another tax brought into effect from the 1st of June 2016.
Under this tax, a cess of 1% is applicable on petrol/LPG/CNG-driven motor
vehicles which are 4 meters or less in length and 1200cc or less in engine
capacity. In case the diesel motor vehicles which don’t exceed the 4 metre
length and have engines with capacities less than 1500cc, a tax of 2.5% is to be
paid. For big sedans and SUVs, the cess stands at 4% of the overall cost of the
vehicle.
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GST Timeline
2004 Vijay Kelkar Task Force on Fiscal Responsibility and Budget
Managem (FRBM) recommends GST.
2006 In Budget speech, P.Chidambaram announces the launch of GST
from 2010
2011 UPA government introduces 115th Amendment Bill 2011 to
implement GST. But it lapsed with the dissolution of 15th Lok
Sabha.
2014-16 Modi govt. introduces 122nd Constitutional Amendment Bill
2014 in 16th Lok Sabha.
Since GST aimed to change federal financial relations, the

amendment should be under Art.368:
▪ Parliament - Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha each: 50% majority
of the total membership, and 2/3rd majority of all members
present and voting.
▪ Vidhan Sabha: approval by majority of state assemblies (i.e.
15 Vidhan-sabhas of India at that time)
Ultimately, it passed & became - 101st Constitutional

Amendment Act, 2016
2017 From 1st July, 2017: Goods and Services Tax (GST) became
effective. Here, supplier gets input tax credit for (most of the)
indirect taxes of Union & States that he paid in the previous
stage.
GST: 101ST CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT ACT, 2016

The Act amended the following articles in the constitution:
246-A ▪ States given power to tax goods and services. (previously, they
couldn’t tax services.)
▪ But only UNION will have the power to tax inter-state supply of
goods and services in the form of “IGST”
268-A Previously, this article empowered Union to levy Service Tax. But,
since tax on services has been brought under GST, this article was
deleted.
269-A IGST (on inter-state trade) will be distributed between Union and
states, as per the formula by the GST council
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270 CGST (replaces Excise Duty & Service Tax)..this CGST will be
distributed between union and states as per the formula by the
Finance Commission
279(1) President of India to appoint a constitutional body, “GST Council”
headed by Finance Minister.
366 Alcoholic liquor for human consumption is kept out of GST. (i.e.
State govt continue to levy State Excise on its production and State
VAT on its sale.)
GST council
Union representatives (2) States’ representatives (31)
1. Finance Minister as the 1. Each state government (including UT with
Chairman legislature: J&K, Delhi & Puducherry)
can nominate 1minister to GST council- it
2. Union Minister of State for may be their minister of finance or Dy.CM
finance or revenue. or any other minister as per their wish.
2. One of them will be selected as the Vice

Chairman of GST council.
Voting power: 1/3 rd Voting power: 2/3rd
If all members don’t no unanimously agree over a proposal, it’ll be put for
voting. Then minimum of 3/4th votes required to pass the proposal. Council
Meetings to proceed only with quorum of 50% of total membership.
GST Council: Functions
a. List of indirect taxes, cess, surcharge of the union and states to be

subsumed under GST-regime.
b. Decide the date from when Crude oil, Petrol, Diesel, Aviation Turbine Fuel
and Natural Gas will be put under GST regime. (Until then excise VAT on
these five hydrocarbon fuel products, will be unilaterally decided by Union
and individual States).
c. Decide Standard rates for GST (i.e. CGST, SGST and UTGST). IGST = {CGST
+ (SGST or UTGST depending on destination)}
d. Decide Special rates for GST, during natural disaster / calamity if

required. E.g. 2019- Jan, GST-Council also allowed Kerala to levy a 1%
37 | P a g e
calamity cess on intra-state trade for next two years, for the
rehabilitation of 2018’s flood-victims.
e. Integrated GST (IGST) system during interstate commerce, and its tax-
sharing.
f. Norms related to GST registration of businessmen. Since 2019-Jan the

GST council doubled this limit to ₹40L for ordinary states & ₹20L for
special Category states(Turnover limits were separate J&K).
g. Protecting the interests of the special category states i.e. 8 North

Eastern states and Himalayan states (Himachal and Uttarakhand.
h. Compensation to the states for their revenue loss in switching from VAT to
GST regime (through Cess mechanism)
i. Dispute settlement between Union vs state(s), state(s) vs state(s).
Constitutional Amendment→ set up GST council → GST council’s meeting→

laws passed by Parliament and Vidhan Sabhas, to implement the GST
related mechanisms.
1. Parliament has passed:

a. Central Goods & Services Tax Act (CGST)
b. Integrated Goods & Services Tax Act (IGST)
c. Union Territory Goods & Services Tax Act (UTGST): Finance Act
2020 → amends UTGST Act to update list of UTs:
i. (new) Ladakh without legislature.
ii. (merged) 1) Dadra and Nagar Haveli + 2) Daman and Diu =
treated as single UT (because Govt merged them in 2019)
d. Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Amendment Act
e. Parliament originally passed them 2017, later amended in 2018 as
per the recommendations of the GST Council
2. State Legislatures have passed State Goods and Services Tax Acts. (SGST)
3. Jammu & Kashmir passed SGST Act on 8th July, 2017→ then GST system
became effective there as well. JAMMU AND KASHMIR REORGANISATION
ACT, 2019 has not abolished this SGST act. Present status is:
o SGST applicable on J&K (UT with Legislature)
o UTGST on Ladakh (UT without Leg)
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GST INPUT TAX CREDIT

GST is a ‘destination based’ indirect tax on consumption of goods & services. It
is applicable on supply of goods or services as against the previous indirect
taxes that worked on the concept of manufacture, sale, exchange, transfer etc.
When Goods / Services (produced &) supplied

In same the State (or UT with out In another State (or UT w/o Leg)
legislature) = Intra-state supply = Inter-state supply
1. Union levies CGST 1. Union levies IGST =CGST + (SGST or
UTGST depending on destination).
2. State / UT without legislature 2. From this IGST→ CGST goes to

levies → SGST / UTGST Union, and the other portion goes to
the Destination State/UT without
legislature.
Suppose in Jan-2019: a Gujarat based Calendar printing company is doing

following
Bought (Input) in 2019- Price ₹ CGST SGST IGST, if

January (Guj) inter
state supply
Printer from Mumbai @18% GST 1 lakh N/A N/A 18k
Ink from a factory in Guj @18% 10k 900 900 N/A
GST
Paper from Himachal @12% GST 20k N/A N/A 2400
Total 1.30 lac 900 900 20,400
Sold (Output) in 2019- Price CGST SGST IGST, if

January Guj) inter-state
supply
500 Calendars within Gujarat 50k 3000 3000 N/A
500 Calendars to Rajasthan 50k N/A N/A 6000
Total 100k 3000 3000 6000
So, how much tax will the Calendar company have to deposit online at the
GSTN webportal?
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GST liability in 2019-January CGST SGST (Guj) IGST

GST Taxes collected on Output (from 3000 3000 6000
wholesalers, retailers or customers)
MINUS GST Taxes paid on Input (in -900 -900 -20,400
previous
stage for raw material, intermediate
goods)
=Company must deposit how much tax 2100 2100 -14400**
@GSTN web-portal?
** this is the input tax credit (ITC) company can use for offsetting its tax-liability
in future.
Suppose in Feb-2019, company did not purchase any inputs and sold 1,500
calendars in TamilNadu @₹100 each = ₹ 1,50,000 + 18,000 (IGST) it must have
collected from the Wholesalers/ retailers/ end-customers of Tamilnadu.
But in Feb-2019, Company need not deposit ₹18000 @GSTN webportal,

because already it has ₹14400 IGST credit so Company only needs to deposit
18000 MINUS 14400= ₹3600.
Cross-utilization of ITC :
▪ IGST credit can be used for payment of all GST taxes.
▪ CGST credit can be used only for paying CGST or IGST.
▪ SGST credit can be used only for paying SGST or IGST.
If the goods or services are sold in union territory without legislature, then
instead of SGST, they (practically the Union Govt) will levy UTGST.
CENTRE’S INDIRECT TAXES SUBSUMED IN CGST
Indirect Tax of Union Whether replaced by CGST?

For import-export: Basic • No, Customs Duty is NOT replaced with
Customs Duty, cess / GST. It’s separate from GST-regime.
surcharge on it. • So, imported goods are subjected to Custom
Duty + IGST.
• Previously, imported goods were subject to
Customs Duty + education cess
• But Budget 2018 replaced it with Customs
Duty + 10% Social Welfare Surcharge
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• Budget-2020: 5% Health CESS on imported

Equipment for building hospitals.
On imports: Special They’re not ‘replaced’ with CGST, but simply
Additional Customs Duty abolished.
(SAD), Countervailing Duty
(CVD)
Central Sales Tax (CST) CST was the Union tax levied on sale of items in
inter state trade, and it was assigned to the
‘Origin state’. It’s replaced with IGST (= CGST +
SGST)
On providing services: Yes, completely replaced by CGST. These
Service tax and Krishi previous
Kalyan Cess and Swatchh cess / surcharge are deleted.
bharat Cess
On manufacturing / • Yes, completely replaced by CGST (except 5
production of goods: Excise hydrocarbon fuels: petrol, diesel etc.)
duty and various • Excise on manufacturing medicinal &
Cess / surcharges on it. toiletry preparations containing alcohol
(e.g. Cough syrups, deodorants and
perfumes) also replaced by CGST.
• Alcoholic Liquor for human consumption-
falls in States’ purview so Union Excise /
CGST not applicable on it.
Excise duty on Tobacco • It’s replaced with 14% CGST. Further,
products Union also levies + GST Compensation
Cess + National Calamity Contingency
Duty** (NCCD) on them
• **because 101st Constitutional Amendment
allows Union to tax tobacco products
separately.
• NCCD money goes to Public Account →
National Disaster Response Fund set up
under Disaster Management Act, 2005.
• Budget-2020: ⬆National Calamity
Contingent
Duty on Cigarettes and other tobacco
products
Excise duty on • Once GST council decides the date they’ll be
production/refining of brought under GST-regime.
Crude oil, Petrol (Motor • Until then refineries / oil-drilling
companies have to pay excise duty +
41 | P a g e
Spirit), Diesel, Aviation cess/surcharges to Union for production /

Turbine Fuel and manufacturing of these items. (and petrol
natural gas pump owner, etc will have to pay VAT to
states on their sale.)
• Presently, Petrol & Diesel are also subjected
to Union’s Road and Infrastructure Cess
which goes into Public Account→ Central
Road & Infrastructure Fund setup under
Central Road Fund Act 2000 (The word
“Infrastructure” was added by Budget-
2018).
• Full-Budget-2019 ⬆the excise and road
infrastructure cess on petrol and diesel.
STATES’ INDIRECT TAXES SUBSUMED IN SGST
Indirect Tax of State Govt. → whether replaced by SGST?

On sale of goods: State Value Yes, By default VAT is replaced by SGST
Added Tax (VAT) (In some states
called “Commercial tax”)
State VAT on selling of Petroleum Once GST council decides the date,
products these’ll be brought under GST-regime.
Until then, petrol pump owners, LPG gas
distributors etc. will have to collect VAT
(+ any cess / surcharges) from the
customers and deposit to the state
government.
State Excise on production of No, they're completely kept out of GST.
liquor for human consumption [unlike above petro items where GST
council will implement it after “x” date].
State VAT on sale of liquor for ▪ Since inception of our Constitution,
human consumption. the power to tax liquor was with
States, & it constituted a major
source of revenue for them
▪ So, States were unwilling to hand it
over in GST regime.
▪ Had Modi govt tried to bring liquor
in GST-regime, then majority of the
Vidhan-Sabhas may not have passed
this Constitutional Amendment Bill.
Electricity Duty No, it’s not replaced by SGST
42 | P a g e
Road Tax on vehicles. No, it’s not replaced by SGST. Its status as
direct/indirect tax is vague because in
some states/ vehicle categories: buyer
himself deposits while in some cases,
seller required to collect &
deposit.
Purchase tax on vehicle, boats, and Yes replaced by SGST
animals
Advertisement tax on hoarding, Yes replaced by SGST
banners etc.
Luxury tax at Hotels, Spas, Resorts Yes replaced by SGST
etc.
Entry tax/Octroi for entry of goods Yes replaced by SGST
in an area
Taxes on Lottery, horse race Yes replaced by SGST. Since they’re
betting, gambling etc. ‘sinful/demerit goods’, they’re subjected
to highest slab : 28%
Entertainment Tax on Cinema, Yes, replaced by SGST unless levied by a
Live Performance shows etc.- local body. e.g. Kerala local bodies 10%
on movie tickets.
GST Revenue Collection Figures

GST registered suppliers have to deposit the GST at the GSTN portal on monthly
basis ( except those who opted for the GST composition scheme). In monthly
collection of GST, there are ups and downs based on seasonality.
Year/Month 2017 monthly 2018 monthly 2019 monthly avg

avg. avg. (Financial year yet to
finish)
GST 89700 cr 98114 cr In some months crossed 1
collection lakh crore but zigzag
Year → 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21

(actual) (revised) (Est)
• Excise Duty (petrol, diesel etc.) 2,30 2.48 Lcr 2.67 Lcr
& their road infra cess Lcr
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• National Calamity Contingent

Duty on Tobacco products
Customs Duty, Social Welfare 1.17 1.25 Lcr 1.38 Lcr
Surcharge, Health Cess Lcr
A) CGST 4.5 Lcr 5.14 Lcr 5.80 Lcr
B) IGST 29k cr Not mentioned
C) GST compensation Cess 95k cr 98k cr 1.10 Lcr
GST collected by Union=A+B+C 5.80 6.12 Lcr 6.90 Lcr
Lcr
Upto Budget Corporation> GST> IT > Excise> Customs > STT

Estimate-
2019
Revised Est GST> Corporation > IT > Excise> Customs > STT
2019
Budget-2020
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GST RATES ON SERVICES:
What is the difference between NiL rated vs Exempted?
<0% or NiL GST or Exempt on following services: List is not exhaustive>
1. Services provided by union government, state government, local bodies,

constitutional bodies, department of post (except premium services like
speed post), Railways (except premium services like first class AC ticket)
2. Services by Reserve Bank of India and other financial regulators.
3. Services by Banks/NBFCs in connection with Government sponsored
banking, insurance and pension schemes. (Refer to financial inclusion
handout)
4. Group insurance schemes for paramilitary forces
5. ESIC, EPFO services to the subscribers
6. Religious, charitable activities, cooperative societies, Public libraries,
Public toilets, Crematorium, Burial grounds.
7. Hotel room rent less than ₹ 1000 per day, Rent on residential
accommodation
8. Aviation Services in North-eastern States
9. Transport services to milk, newspaper, defence equipment, relief material
during natural disasters etc.
10. Doctors, para-medics, Ambulance, Blood bank.
11. Agriculture warehouse, cold storage, renting of Agro machinery,
Contractor who is supplying farm labourers, APMC (Agricultural produce
market committee)
12. Agriculture pre-processing of food e.g. ripening, waxing, retail packing,
labelling of fruits and vegetables which do not change or alter the essential
characteristics of the said fruits or vegetables.
13. Veterinary doctor, Animal husbandry related services except racehorses
14. Educational services by Educational Institutes (like schools colleges
universities Vocational institutes. NOT COACHING Institutes)
15. Private training partners in government skill development schemes
16. Sports training and events by recognised sports body
17. Sports, Art, Culture etc. clubs with member-fees less than “X” rupees.
18. Circus, dance, drama or ballet, award function, concert, pageant, musical
performance or any sporting event where admission fees is less than “X”
rupees.
19. Admission to a museum, national park, wildlife sanctuary, tiger reserve,
zoo, ASI recognized Heritage sites.
20. Any service EXPORTED outside India (technically called “ZERO RATED
Export”)
In the Pre-GST era, many of above services were in the “NEGATIVE LIST” i.e.
they were exempt from Service Tax. If a given service is not in the above list,
then it will be subjected to GST
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GST RATES ON GOODS
<0% or NiL GST or Exempt on following Goods: List is not exhaustive>
1. Fresh milk, Pasteurized Milk

2. Live animals (except race horses), poultry, pigs, shrimps, fishes, insects
etc. and their “UNBRANDED” eggs, meat, honey, rawsilk etc. fresh
products.
3. Fresh flowers, leaves, fruits vegetables, unroasted coffee beans & tea
leaves, Salt.
4. Unbranded grain crops/ cash crops like wheat, maze, rice, oat, barley,
coconut, etc & their unbranded flour; seeds for sowing.
5. Bread (**except when served in Restaurant/ pizza)
6. Prasadam supplied by religious places.
7. Deities made of stone, marble or wood; Puja Samagri like Rudraksha,
Panchamrit
8. Rakhi, Kumkum, Bindi, Sindur, Plastic / glass bangles without precious
metal.
9. Fresh unpacked - water, coconut water, Non-alcoholic Toddy, Neera
10. Human blood, contraceptives, sanitary napkins, tampoons, hearing aid
11. Electricity, Firewood
12. Judicial / Non-judicial stamp papers, Court fee stamps, ordinary post cards
etc.
13. Printed Books, Maps, Cheque Books; Newspapers, journals and periodicals
irrespective of whether they containing advertisement or not.
14. Khadi sold by Khadi and Village Industries Commission(KVIC) certified
outlets
15. Gandhi topi, Charkha, national flag, Earthen pot, clay idols
16. Agricultural hand tools like spade, axes, sickle.
17. When a constitutional / public authority auctions the gifts received by
him.
18. Spacecraft, satellites and their launch vehicles.
19. Import of specified defense goods not manufactured in India
20. Free sample or gift given. E.g. “Offer: Toothpaste pe toothbrush FREE” then
only Toothpaste subjected to GST. No gst on that free-toothbrush.
21. Any Goods EXPORTED outside India (technically called “ZERO RATED
Export”)
If a given goods is not in the above 0% list (and not kept out the GST-regime like
Petrol, Diesel etc), then it will be subjected to GST:
Alcohol for human exempt
consumption
Crude oil, Petrol (Motor Spirit), exempt
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Diesel, Aviation Turbine Fuel and

Natural Gas
As of 2018-December, there are only 28 items left in the 28% slab. Govt's idea
to bring 99% of items in 18% or lower slab.
COMPOSITION SCHEME
GST (Regular) scheme GST Composition Scheme
If an industrialist or seller is Such monthly compliance is very
registered with GST, he must collect tedious for small entrepreneurs / small
the taxes at above varying rates, and merchants so they may opt for GST
deposit them on the monthly basis Composition scheme wherein instead
at GSTN web portal. of above (5-12-18-28%) rates they’ll
have to collect only flat rate GST of 1%
on goods, 5% on restaurants, 6% on all
services.
Good: He will get input tax credit, Bad: He’ll not get Input Tax Credit.
Bad: He’ll have to deposit tax & Good: He’ll not have to deposit
forms on monthly basis @GSTN tax/forms on monthly basis to GSTN
web-portal webportal. He’ll have to do it on
Quarterly basis (3-3-3-3 months)
Compulsory if turnover is above “x” Optional scheme, NOT compulsory.
lakhs / crores. NOT every supplier is eligible. Only if
turnover is below 1.5 crores, and doing
“z” type of businesses, then you’ll be
eligible.
The GST composition scheme turnover

limit for north eastern states and hill
states such as Sikkim and Himachal
Pradesh is kept lower
1.12 crore taxpayers registered here Hardly 17 lakh taxpayers registered
here
Reverse Charge Mechanism

Normally, a seller must collect the GST tax from buyer & deposit to the govt.
However, in selected cases when seller is not registered with GST number,
while buyer is registered with GST number, then buyer will have to deposit the
tax to government.
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E-way Bill
It is an electronic way bill required for the movement of goods. An e-Way Bill
can be generated on the e-Way Bill Portal. A registered person cannot proceed
with the transportation of goods worth Rs.50,000 or more (single
invoice/bill/delivery challan) if an e-Way Bill is not generated.
An e-Way Bill can be generated through SMS, Android smartphone app, and
Site-to-Site Integration (through API). On generation of the bill, a unique e-way
bill number (EBN) is alloted. The supplier, transporter, and receiver of the
consignment will have access to the EBN.
When do you have to generate an e-Way Bill?

An e-Way Bill has to be generated whenever there is a movement of goods
valued at Rs.50,000 or more, in a vehicle/conveyance. The net worth of the
consignment can either be individual invoice value or an aggregate of all the
invoices for different goods in the vehicle/conveyance. An e-Way Bill has to be
generated for -
The term ‘supply’ can stand for one of the following:
1. Sale: Goods sold and payment made
2. Transfer: Branch transfers
3. Barter/Exchange: Payment made through goods instead of
money
An e-Way Bill has to be generated for all of the above-mentioned types of
movements.
Exception: There are some specified goods for which the generation of an e-
Way Bill is compulsory even if the value of the consignment does not exceed
Rs.50,000. This will be applicable in the below-mentioned cases:
• Interstate movement of goods by the Principal to the Job-worker by
Principal/registered Job-worker.
• When goods are moved from one state to another by a Principal to the Job-
worker (registered or by Principal)
• A dealer who is exempted from GST Registration moving handicraft goods
from one state to another.
Who has to generate an e-Way Bill?

The following entities have to generate an e-Way Bill for transporting a
consignment:
• GST Registered Person:
o When a registered person initiates the movement of a consignment,
either as a consignee (or buyer) or consignor (or seller) through any
means of transportation, then an e-Way Bill has to be generated
either by the registered person or the recipient.
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oWhen a registered person initiates the movement of a consignment

and hands it over to the transporter for road transportation without
generating the e-Way Bill, the transporter has to generate the bill.
• GST Unregistered Person:
o If an unregistered person initiates the transportation of a consignment
through any means of transportation, then either of the unregistered
person or the transporter has to generate the e-Way Bill.
o In case a consignment is being transported by an unregistered person
to a registered person and the former knows the latter at the
inception of the movement of goods, then the registered person is
considered to be the one who has initiated the movement of the
goods. In such cases, the responsibility of generating the e-Way Bill
lies on either the registered person or the transporter.
Exemptions on e-Way Bill generation:

There are certain cases where the generation of e-Way Bill is not compulsory.
They are as follows:
• A non-motor vehicle is used as the mode of transport
• The transportation of goods to or from Bhutan or Nepal
• If goods are transported from air cargo complex,airport, customs port, or
land customs station to Container Freight Station (CFS) or Inland
Container Depot (ICD) for clearance by Customs
• Transportation of goods under customs seal or under Customs supervision
• Transportation of goods under Customs Bond from one custom station to
another or from ICD to Customs port
• Transportation of empty cargo containers
• Movement of goods due to defence formation under Ministry of defence as
a consignor or consignee
• When the Central Government, State Governments, or a local authority is
the consignor who is transporting goods by rail
• Goods transported by a consignor from place of business to a weighbridge
(or vice versa) at a distance of 20 kms, along with a delivery challan
• Transportation of certain specified goods- Includes the list of exempt
supply of goods.
• Goods that are exempted from e-Way Bill requirements in the respective
State or Union territory GST Rules.
Note: If the distance between the consigner or consignee and the transporter is
within 50 Kms and transport is within the same state, it is not required to fill up
the Part B of e-Way Bill.
Validity of e-Way Bills

The validity of an e-Way Bill is dependent on the distance covered by the goods
in the consignment. The validity time is calculated from the date and moment
the e-Way Bill is generated.
49 | P a g e
Type of conveyance Distance covered Validity of e-

Way Bill
For Over dimensional cargo Less than 20 Kms 1 day
For every additional 20 Additional 1

Kms or part thereof day
For cargoes other than Over Less than 100 Kms 1 day
dimensional cargoes
For every additional 100 Additional 1

Kms or part thereof day
The validity of e-Way Bills can be extended as well, provided the generator of
the bill does that either within 4 hours after the expiry or 4 hours before the
expiry of the bill’s validity.
E-way bill is a self-declaration (that our truck is carrying “x” type of goods worth
“y” value) reduces the scope of bribery, delay, red-tape, harassment at the check
post, thereby ensuring a hassle-free rapid movement for transporters
throughout the country. E-way bill system became effective from 2018.
GST council announced the E-invoice (=bill generation) from January-2020 on

pilot basis, then E-way bill will not have to be generated separately. This will
provide relief to businessman, will improve the tax-surveillance and fight
against false ITC-credit claims through fake invoices. E-invoice shall be
compulsory from 1/April/2020
Compensation to States
GST is a destination based indirect tax on consumption of goods and
services.
For the Union govt, largest source of tax collection were corporate tax and
personal income tax. Both are direct taxes and therefore kept out of the GST
regime.
50 | P a g e
For the state governments, VAT was largest source of tax income, but it is to be
subsumed under GST, along with other indirect taxes, cess and surcharges
levied by the states. Therefore, states were afraid their revenue income will ⬇.
Secondly, GST is a destination-based tax, therefore industrialized states are not

happy with it. Consider a Nano car manufactured in Tata's Plant in Gujarat and
sold in Uttar Pradesh. (Destination) UP gets SGST, While (Source) Gujarat gets
nothing. Although reverse is also true- UP's bicycle sold in Gujarat, then Gujarat
will earn SGST and UP will get nothing. But the industrialized states such as
Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Haryana feared they’d get less SGST revenue
in absolute terms compared to erstwhile VAT regime.
Notable States that witnessed Notable States that witnessed

revenue increase in SGST revenue decline in SGST (compared
(compared to VAT) to VAT)
Andhra Pradesh and some NE states - Punjab, Himachal, Chattisgarh,
- Mizoram, Manipur, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, J&K, Odisha, Goa, Bihar,
Nagaland Gujarat and Delhi and others.
Compensation to States: HOW?

• Parliament enacted GST Compensation to States Act 2017
• Under its provisions, GST council recommended Union Govt to impose
“GST Compensation Cess” on specified luxury & demerit goods, like
o pan masala (60%), tobacco products (cess varies as per product),
o aerated water & Caffeinated Beverages (12%), coal / lignite (₹400
per tonne),
o motor vehicles-aircraft-yacht (3-22% depending on type of vehicle).
o Passenger vehicles originally 15% cess, but due to slowdown in
automobile sector, GST council reduced it to 1-3% depending on type
of vehicle.
• The cess thus collected is used for compensating States for their revenue
losses during the first five years since inception of GST.
• The formula uses 2015-16 as base year to measure states’ revenue, &
assumes 14% annual growth in VAT system. (Then relatively, how much
less ₹₹ did state receive in SGST? = compensation will be given
accordingly.)
Liquor Taxes are outside GST-purview so Bihar / Gujarat / Nagaland /

Lakshadweep / Parts of Manipur can’t ask more ₹ for compensation from this
fund for having liquor prohibition
Year → 2018-19(actual) 2019-20 (revised) 2020-21 (Est)
51 | P a g e
GST 95k cr 98k cr 1.10 LCr

Compensation
Cess
Controversy? Union is supposed to release compensation cess to states on

monthly basis, but since 2019-August onwards payment pending. 2019-Dec:
only partial compensation released.
FM Nirmala. S says, “Sales are ⬇, so we have not collected enough Cess to release
the cess.” Non-BJP states first complained to GST council, but it did not help
much. So now those State Govts even thinking of moving to Supreme Court,
which hints that cooperative federalism is in danger.
National Anti Profiteering Authority

GST provides input credit for most of the indirect taxes of the Union and State
Government.
When Entrepreneur’s cost of production goes down, then he should also reduce
the prices for consumers, yet many companies had not reduced their prices e.g.
Dominos Pizza, Nestle, Hindustan Unilever toothpaste & detergents etc.
To curb their profiteering, Union govt has set up NAA under Central Goods
and Services Tax Act, 2017.
• Depending on the case, NAA can order the culprit company to
o reduce prices
o Refund money with interest to consumers
o deposit money to Consumer Welfare Funds at union & state level
o Impose penalty upto 10% of profiteered amount
o Cancel registration.
Further appeal→ High Court.

This Authority shall cease to exist after two years from its inception (2017),
unless GST council renews it. 2019-Jun: GST council extended it for another 2
years, which means all crooked companies have not yet stopped profiteering
The Authority shall consist of-

(a) a Chairman
(b) 4 Technical Members (Commissioners of State/Central tax)
The Authority will determine the method and procedure for determining
whether the reduction in rate or the benefit of input tax credit has been passed
on by the seller to the buyer by reducing the prices.
52 | P a g e
Authority for Advance Ruling

Diabetic foods supplements are subjected to 12% GST whereas pasteurized
milk is subject to 0% GST.
If Amul plans to launch ‘Amul Camel Milk' with bottle label: "Camel milk is easy
to digest, high in an insulin-like protein, hence beneficial for diabetic person."
• So, whether Amul’s product be subjected to 0% GST or 12% GST?
• An entrepreneur would like to such have clarification from Tax
authorities before starting the production, lest he gets tangled in raids
and litigations afterwards.
• So, CGST Act, 2017 provides for a statutory body called Authority for
Advance Ruling (AAR), where entrepreneur can seek such advance
clarification.
• Higher appeal? Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling (AAAR
• Benefit? reduces litigation & harassment afterwards → Ease of doing
business → attract Foreign Direct Investment.
GSTN Network (Not for Profit Company)

2013: Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) “Not for Profit” Private ltd.
company was set up under the Companies Act.
Original Partners Ownership from

2013-18
Union govt 24.5%
All states of India (incl. Delhi & Puducherry) 24.5%
Non-Government Financial Institutions such as HDFC 51%
Bank (20%), ICICI Bank (10%), NSE (10%), LIC
Housing Finance (10%)
2018-May: GST Council approved acquisition of entire 51% equity held by non-
Governmental institutions & distribute it equally between Centre and the State
Governments.
This company runs the GSTN online portal, where the suppliers register
themselves, pay their GST, claim input tax credits, generate e-way bills etc.
[Infosys ltd. helped develop the webportal.]
• GSTN Network ltd. also provides the IT infrastructure and software
services to GST officials for monitoring the tax compliance, issuing notices,
data mining etc.
53 | P a g e
• In future, such data could also be shared with the RBI’s CBS, so the lenders
can have a 360 degree profile / complete picture of the borrower’s
business.
GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs): These are selected private IT/Fintech

companies that develop apps / software to help the taxpayers interact with
GSTN portal.
HSN and SAC Codes

Service Accounting Code (SAC) are used for classifying services for GST rates.
e.g. coaching services = SAC Code 999293 = 18% GST
Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) developed by the World

Customs Organization (WCO)
• is used for classifying goods for GST rates. e.g. Jarda scented tobacco = HAC
code 24039930 = 28% GST.
• Benefit? HSN-SAC coding helps in computerised accounting, billing,
digitization, surveillance & big data analytics by Tax authorities.
PAN VS GSTIN
Difference PAN GSTIN
Full form Permanent Account Number Goods and Services Tax
issued by the Income Tax Identification Number issued
Department by the Central Board of Indirect
Taxes & Customs (CBIC)
Format 10 digit alphanumeric 2 digit state code+ 10 digits
number (=containing both PAN number + 3 characters =
alphabets and numbers) total 15 characters
(=containing both alphabets
and numbers)
Who has to Every income tax assessee - IF Individuals / firms
get it? individual, HUF, firm, registered under the Pre-GST
company, trust (internal law (i.e., Excise, VAT, Service
different not imp.) Tax etc.)
OR
- IF your biz. turnover is above

a threshold limit of “x” lakhs for
ordinary states or “y” lakhs in
Sp.cat. States.
54 | P a g e
OR
- Merchants who sell through e-

commerce aggregators like
Amazon.
Do all Every PAN card holder is not Every GSTIN holder is required
taxpayers REQUIRED to have GSTIN. to have PAN card number.
have it? (e.g. (Because its format is like that,
a salaried employee) observe “format” row above).
How many ▪ Only 1 PAN number ▪ If firm operates from more
numbers / allowed per individual. than one state, then a
cards can ▪ Only 1 PAN number separate GST registration is
one have? allowed per company. required for each state.
▪ Subsidiary firms will have ▪ If a firm has multiple
to get separate PAN subsidiaries, they have to get
numbers. GST number for each
Objective Prevent evasion of direct Prevent evasion of GST, and
taxes. help the entrepreneurs claim
their input credits.
PAN number is required for various activities like opening of bank account,
opening of demat accounts (for trading in securities), obtaining registration for
GST, VAT-Excise registration (for Petrol-Liquor dealers) etc. So, PAN is slowly
becoming a Common Business Identification Number (CBIN) or simply Business
Identification Number (BIN)- because if a Department knows your PAN number
they can dig all information about you, know whether you’re eligible to fill up a
particular tender or contract or a scheme application form or not?
PAN/GSTIN vs UID (=Aadhar Card)

PAN and GSTIN UID (=Aadhar Card)
Issued by the direct and indirect tax Issued by a Statutory body- Unique
authorities that function under Identification Authority of India
Ministry of Finance. (UIDAI) that functions under
Ministry of Electronics and
Information Technology (MeitY).
These Tax authorities derive powers Aadhaar Targeted Delivery of
from: Financial and Other Subsidies,
▪ Income Tax Act 1961 Benefits and Services) Act, 2016
▪ Goods & Service Tax Acts in
2017.
55 | P a g e
Primary objective of these id-numbers Primary objective is to eliminate

is to reduce tax evasion by tracking the bogus
transactions. beneficiaries in government schemes
&
reduce subsidy leakage. Auxiliary
benefits: Identifying dead bodies,
tracking criminals, mobile number
ownership, tax evasion etc.
Their format contains both numbers Unique Identification number (UID)
and alphabets. or
Aadhaar is a 12 digit number. No
alphabets.
Issued for individual humans, Only for living resident HUMANS of
HUF/firms/companies/trusts**. India. Not given for companies.
Resident is defined as person who
lived in India for 182 days/> in last
12 months.
Full-Budget-2019: we’ll consider

giving
immediate Aadhar card to NRIs with
Indian Passport so they don’t have to
wait till ~180 days. It’ll help them get
through KYC bank/share market
transaction.
One HUMAN → one PAN number only. same
No age limit. Minors can also join.
▪ ~₹110 Fees to get PAN card. No fees to get Aadhar
▪ No fees to get GSTIN
Compulsory to enroll , if your Voluntary to enroll.
income or turnover is beyond “x”
rupees**.
They contain Demographic info:
▪ Name - Name, Date of Birth, Gender,
▪ Photograph & Date of Birth (in Address.
case of “Human”) - Mobile & Email (optional)
▪ Address.
Biometric info:
- Ten Fingerprints, Two Iris Scans,
and
Facial Photograph.
56 | P a g e
** Full-Budget-2019: More than 120 crore Indians Aadhaar card but all don’t
have PAN card. Earlier, it was compulsory to give PAN card number when filling
income tax. But if you don’t have PAN Card you can simply quote your Aadhaar
number to file Income Tax returns.
Later IT-department clarified that whoever quotes Aadhar number because he

doesn’t have PAN card → we’ll issue him PAN card on suo-moto basis later on.
Budget-2020 added technical reforms in this process.
GST: BENEFITS
• GST covers both goods and services, with standard rates, minimal number
of cess/surcharges.
• GST online portal and e-way bill system reduces the interface between tax-
officials and the assesses, thereby reducing the scope of harassment,
bribery and Inspector Raj. (=Ease of doing business).
• GST provides input credits to suppliers thereby incentivizing them to sell
with invoice at every stage. Thus, GST will expand our tax base and
improve tax collection, and deter tax evasion.
• GST Input credit system reduces the cascading effect of taxes, ↓ cost of
manufacturing & selling, while its anti profiteering authority ensures that
such benefits are passed on to the customers in the form of reduced MRP.
• Federal nations such as Canada and Australia shifted from VAT to GST
regime. It helped boosting their revenue, GDP and exports
• Thus, GST will help to create a unified common national market for
India, & catalyse “Make in India”.
• Make markets efficient
• Yield higher tax collections - Tax Buoyancy
• Lead to lower prices.
• With higher tax collection, the government would be able to deliver better
services.
• Tax simplicity
• Lesser Tax evasions - Better regulation
Before GST After GST

A car company would aim for “in- GST provides input credits in more
house production” of all necessary efficient and comprehensive manner
intermediate goods and accessories therefore, instead of trying to become
(e.g. tires, windshield, car-stereo Jack of all trades, company will
player) because if they buy those raw pursue Ancillarisation,
/ intermediate goods from outside, Subcontracting and Outsourcing to
they’ll have to pay variety of taxes / procure from MSME industry and
freelance professionals.= More jobs.
57 | P a g e
cess / surcharges on which Input

credit may not be available.
State government charged VAT on sale SGST/UTGST rates are uniform
of goods, but VAT rates were not throughout India, so there is no scope
uniform throughout India. A laptop of rate arbitrage. Whether you buy a
bag might attract 12%VAT in one laptop from Chennai or Mumbai the
state and 18%VAT in another. GST% tax rate will be same.
This provided scope for ‘rate

arbitrage’ i.e. buying from another
state for profiteering, even if same
item available in home state. Then
State government will have to deploy
more officials at the check posts,
leading to bribery, harassment,
inspector-raj.
Suppose, a mobile is manufactured at Both CGST and SGST are computed
₹10,000/- & is subject to 9% Excise on the same base (₹10,000),
duty and 9% VAT. Then therefore tax burden on final
▪ 9% Union Excise duty = 900. consumer is less in GST regime, than
(calculated on base of 10,000) in Excise-VAT regime. Thus, GST will
▪ 9% State-VAT = 981 (calculated reduce overall impact of tax on end-
on base of 10,900 after including customer, so his purchasing power
excise duty). will improve, leading to more
demand, more sales, more business
expansion and GDP growth & jobs.
Zero Rated Exports

When company buys raw material or intermediate goods it will have to pay GST
but if final product is exported outside India (or sent to Special Economic
Zone/SEZ in India), it'll be subjected to 0% IGST.
• So, whatever GST the company had paid on the inputs, all of that will
become its “Input Tax Credit” (and company can use this ITC to pay for the
taxes on the purchase of raw material and intermediate goods in the next
time), thus reducing its cost of production.
• This will improve price competitiveness of Indian products in foreign
markets.
• Australia and other GST countries also follow similar “zero rated export”
regime.
58 | P a g e
Challenges and Problems

• High Rates and Multiple Slabs
o If Union and States abolished existing indirect taxes (Excise, Custom
and VAT), then their revenue income will obviously decline.
Therefore, GST rate needed be high enough to sustain any fall in
revenue collection. Such ‘ideal’ rate of GST, is called Revenue Neutral
Rate (RNR). In, Singapore GST only 7%, Australia GST only 10%.
o Whereas in India we’ve FOUR SLABS: 5-12-18-28% slabs. Many daily
necessities are in 18% GST slab. Indirect taxes regressive in nature &
harm purchasing power of poor.
• Petrol, diesel, electricity: not subjected to GST regime yet, So,

businessman cannot claim GST-input credit on them. Even when crude oil
prices are lower in the international market, the Union and State
governments do not Lower their Union excise and state VAT on the
petroleum fuels, which further aggravates the inflation and business cost.
• Frequent changes harming long term business planning

o Frequent changes in GST rates makes it difficult for the companies to
plan long term business strategies.
o E.g. In 2019-Sept, GST on Caffeinated beverages ⬆ from 18% → 28%.
This will ⬇ the sales. If any soft-drinks company had invested in
expansion of plant-production capacity, it would suffer.
o 15th Finance Commission Chairman NK Singh criticized frequent
changes in GST rates.
• Fall in collection
For GST system to sustain, every month minimum ₹1 lakh crore must be
collected, but this is not happening every month, Due to →
o Protectionism by USA, EU and China → Indian exports reduced →
manufacturing and service sector production declined → GST ⬇
o Automobiles, consumer durables (TV, fridge etc), real estate ⬇ due to
variety of factors.
o Unscrupulous traders setup phony shell companies and generate
fake invoices to claim input tax credit through Circular Trading.
o As a result, States are complaining that GST compensation cess
amount is not released in a timely fashion by the Union Government.
→ State funded welfare schemes suffer.
• Inconvenience to Small Traders

o In GSTN webportal, the traders have to deposit the GST on monthly
basis, upload various forms & invoice details, generate e-way bills.
o While government has tried to keep these online forms/ mechanisms
as simple as possible, but since many small traders are not proficient
with computer, excel / accounting software, internet, digital
59 | P a g e
payments, GST-compliance creates inconvenience to them, and forces

them to hire full time accountants, raising their cost of operations.
▪ (Counter: Even in erstwhile VAT system they had to upload
similar things so, it’s not entirely new or alien system imposed
upon them. Besides, they can opt for the GST composition
scheme where they have to upload things on quarterly basis
instead of monthly basis. GSTN portal also provides free
accounting software to small traders so they don’t have to
spend ₹ in buying proprietary software like Tally)
o GSTN server crashes often so traders can’t upload things on time, and
then they’ve to pay penalty for crossing monthly deadlines.
▪ (Counter: GST Council has reduced the late-fees, GSTN portal
has been given technical upgrades to reduce the
glitches/outages.)
o Malaysia scrapped GST in 2018 due to popular uproar against it, So it
will not be successful in India either!
60 | P a g e

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Indian Economy - Taxation

• Usually, this is not used by the economies as an independent method

Four canons of a good tax system given by Adam Smith:

Article 280: President of India forms a Finance Commission (a quasi-judicial

But later, GoI sought two reports:

Vertical Tax Devolution

FC → 12th (2005-10) 13th (2010- 14th (2015- 15th

14th FC horizontal distribution formula components

Opportunity cost (State can’t allow industries there, else----------------------

15th FC horizontal distribution formula components Weight%

15th FC: Horizontal devolution: States’ share in Decreasing order

10) Karnataka 19) Uttarakhand ANY type of UT = 0%

Finance Commissions & the fate of UTs of J&K & Ladakh

Grants from Union to States

In decreasing order, 2020-21

Local Bodies Grants (90k cr)

for 5th and 6th salary & establishment (building renovation,

From 1/4/2021 they’ll be required to submit

From 1/4/2021, ULBs required to 1) reform

Post-Devolution Revenue Deficit Grants (74kcr)

Only 14 states eligible: Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya,

Disaster Management Grants (41kcr)

Fund (NDRMF) Risk

Sector Specific Grants (~7700cr)

At present, 15th FC only recommended health sector a grant of ₹7700+ cr

Special Grants ( ~6700kcr)

e. Promotion of Domestic and International Tourism

Other recommendations to Govt

1. Reform the direct taxation system → increase tax collection.

Recommendations on fiscal roadmap

3. Statutory framework for public financial management:

• The Commission recommended forming an expert group to draft

6. Financing of security-related expenditure:

iii. monetisation of surplus land and other assets

Horizontal schemes (CSS)? component is decided

Special Category States

Benefits of Special Category States?

present, Special Category states don’t get additional revenue/grants in

Special Category States → Hill Union Territory Status for J&K?

Category → Welfare schemes Cost sharing

C UT without legislature Ladakh, 100% funded by Union

While Incidence of a tax is on person who finally bears burden of a tax.

It is termed as a progressive tax because the proportion of tax liability rises as

The system of Direct taxation is governed by the Central Board of Direct

Significance of Direct tax collection

Maintaining Inflationary Trends: High rate of direct tax collection helps in

Why the fiscal deepening of the Indian state is important now?

Types of Direct Taxes

apart from salary e.g.

Merits of Direct Taxes Demerits

Union tax, Cess and Surcharge

Any Computed on taxable income, profit, transaction. Goes to

▪ Exception is 10% Social Welfare Surcharge on the customs

▪ By default, cess goes to CFI→ from there, to a specific fund in

(Although some of the cess money will invisibly go to states as

TAXABLE Income (per (new slab, if you give (old slabs, if u

**It is left to individual’s discretion whether he wants to stay in old / new

• But, Lower Income tax paid = ⬆disposable income with people→

• 10% surcharge is applicable on income tax if income exceeds 50 lacs but

• So, Income Tax Act requires such organizations (college) to deduct a