The Goods and Services Tax, sometimes known as the GST, is an indirect form of taxation, which implies that it is the consumer who is responsible for making the payment.

As part of its “one country, one tax” initiative, the Government of India started implementing the GST in 2017. It is a single tax that is charged on the supply of goods and services, directly from the producer to the customer, and it effectively replaces many indirect taxes. The consolidation of several tax regimes into a single framework was the primary purpose of the legislation being overhauled.

Because the GST in India is collected in the state where goods and services are consumed rather than in the state where they are made, it is considered a destination-based tax. At every point of sale, the customer is required to pay for it, and it is included in the total cost of the item that they are buying.

The following is a list of the five most important facts about the goods and services tax:

1. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) would take the place several of indirect taxes that have been collected in India by both the federal government and the state governments, resulting in the country being one unified market.
2. Certain products and services are exempt from GST, and instead, they are subject to the taxes that are already in place within a state, such as the value-added tax (VAT), which is a tax that is paid at each level of value addition in the supply chain. At each level of the manufacturing process, the customer is responsible for paying these fees.
3. The implementation of the GST on petroleum crude, high-speed diesel, motor spirit, natural gas, and aviation turbine fuel has been delayed, and these goods are currently subject to excise charges and VAT imposed by the central government.
4. Businesses operating inside the country as well as those operating outside may profit from GST.
5. By consolidating several different taxes into a single rate, makes the work of the producer easier on a national scale and contributes to the consolidation of the economy. 

Four-slab system 

GST means that now the prices of all products and services are largely organized into a four-tier rate system with percentages ranging from 5% to 12% to 18% to 28%.

To streamline the process of taxing, the government is mulling simplifying the current four-slab system by reducing it to either three or two levels.

Classification of GST

To facilitate categorization within the framework of the GST in India, a standardized system of numbers and names was devised. The code for the category of products is referred to as the Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN), whereas the code for the category of services is referred to as the Services Accounting Code (SAC). The advantages of GST enable India to be consistent in the national markets exhibiting uniformity in tax rates.

Exceptions:

• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) has a dual structure, which means that both the federal government and the individual states have the power to simultaneously impose the tax on the provision of goods and services.
• While the Central Government oversees collecting and handling CGST, individual states and Union Territories are responsible for collecting SGST and UGST.
• When commodities are exported from or supplied inside Special Economic Zones, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) does not apply (known as “zero-rated supply”). Exporters have the option of submitting a claim for an IGST refund or exporting goods under a bond to avoid having to pay the IGST in exceptional circumstances like these.
• The GST transaction may be classified as either an intrastate or an interstate supply depending on the location of the provider as well as the place where the products or services are delivered.

Advantages

In the past, India’s complex tax structure consisted of several levies levied at both the national and state levels, which often led to confusion among taxpayers. The system known as “one country, one tax” has grouped several different levies to make the process of filing taxes simpler for individuals and businesses.

Conclusion

The Goods and Services Tax, or GST, is one of the most important tax changes in the history of India. Changing away from the previous method of taxes and adopting the GST regime has been a difficult task; but, if it is successful, it will make life easier for a lot of different stakeholders.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) makes it possible to transfer goods and services more easily across borders. Manufacturers are now exempt from paying the Central Sales Tax (CST) as well as any other taxes thanks to the introduction of the IGST.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) will bring with it a single tax department, which will result in fewer tax regulations and a unified subsumption of several other tax agencies.