IGST Act · Chapter IX
Miscellaneous
s. 20Application of provisions of Central Goods and Services Tax Act
The IGST Act is short because section 20 borrows almost all of its machinery from the CGST Act — supply, valuation, credit, registration, returns, assessment, appeals, penalties and more. The provisos then adjust the borrowed rules where IGST must differ.
- Section 20 of the IGST Act, 2017 applies the CGST Act's provisions on 25 listed subjects — from scope and value of supply to appeals, offences and penalties — to integrated tax, "mutatis mutandis" and "so far as may be".
- Tax deducted at source under IGST is at 2% of the payment (first proviso).
- E-commerce operators collect tax at source under IGST at a notified rate not exceeding 2%; it has been 0.5% since 10.07.2024 (Notification 01/2024-Integrated Tax).
- The value of a supply for IGST includes taxes, duties, cesses, fees and charges under other laws, other than the IGST Act and the GST (Compensation to States) Act.
- From 01.11.2024 the pre-deposit for an IGST appeal before the Appellate Authority or the Appellate Tribunal is capped at Rs. 40 crore.
s. 21Import of services made on or after the appointed day
Section 21 is a transition rule for imported services that straddled 1 July 2017: it taxes the import under IGST if it took place on or after the appointed day, while avoiding double tax on what was already paid as service tax.
- Under section 21 of the IGST Act, 2017, an import of services made on or after the appointed day (01.07.2017) is taxable under IGST even if the transaction was initiated before that day.
- If service tax on the import was paid in full under the earlier law, no IGST is payable; if paid in part, only the balance is payable.
- A transaction is deemed initiated before the appointed day if the invoice was issued or any payment made before it.
s. 2225 - Rules Regulations Laying and Removal of difficulties
The last four sections of the IGST Act give the Government and the Board the power to fill in detail by rules and regulations, require that subordinate legislation be laid before Parliament, and allowed a time-limited power to remove difficulties.
- Section 22 of the IGST Act, 2017 lets the Government, on the GST Council's recommendation, make rules by notification — including rules with retrospective effect to a date not earlier than the provision's commencement, and penalties of up to Rs. 10,000 for contravening them.
- The Integrated Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 are made under section 22.
- Rules, regulations and notifications under the IGST Act must be laid before each House of Parliament (section 24).
- The power to remove difficulties under section 25 was extended from three to five years by the Finance Act, 2020, and lapsed five years after the section came into force on 01.07.2017.