Payment of GST in GST Regime

1.   Types of Payments to be made in GST Regime

For any intra-state supply	For any interstate supply
Taxes to be paid are: — Central Tax known as the Central GST (CGST), going into the account of the Central Government and — State/UT Tax known as the SGST/UTGST, going into the account of the concerned State Government or Union Territory as the case may be.	Tax to be paid is Integrated GST (IGST) which will have components of both CGST and SGST.

In addition, certain categories of registered persons will be required to pay to the government account Tax  Deducted at Source (TDS) and Tax Collected at Source (TCS).

Further, interest, penalty, fees and any other payment wherever applicable will also be required to be made.

2.   Who liable to pay GST?

The following persons are liable to pay GST:

(1)        In general, the supplier of goods or services is liable to pay GST.

(2)     In specified cases like imports and other notified supplies, the liability may be cast on the  recipient under the  reverse charge  mechanism.

(3)     In some notified  cases of intra-state  supply of services,  the liability to pay  GST may be cast on  e-commerce  operators through  which such services  are supplied.

(4)     Government Departments  making payments to  vendors above a  specified limit of  Rs. 2.5 lakh under  one contract as per  Section 51(1)(d) are  required to deduct  tax (TDS).

(5)     E-Commerce  operators are  required to collect  tax (TCS) on the  net value [i.e.  aggregate value of  taxable supplies of  goods and/or  services but  excluding such  value of services  on which the  operator is made  liable to pay GST  under section 9(5)  of the CGST Act,  2017] of supplies  made through them  and deposit it with  the Government.

3.   When does liability to pay GST arises?

Liability to pay arises at the time of supply of Goods as explained in Section 12 and at the time of supply of services as explained in Section13.

The time is generally the earliest of one of the three events, namely :-

(i)           Receiving Payment,

(ii)          Issuance of Invoice Or

(iii)         Completion of Supply.

 Example: 

(a)        Date of invoice 15th May 2018

(b)        Date of receipt of payment 10th July 2018

(c)        Date when supplier recorded receipt in books 11th July 2018

Time of supply will be 15th May 2018

4.   E-Ledger / Register under GST Scheme

Under the GST scheme, Electronic Ledgers have been introduced. There are two Electronic Ledgers or E-Ledgers namely Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) and Electronic Credit Ledger (ECrL) in respect of each Registered  Taxpayer.

>        Electronic cash ledger (ECL) is a statement of cash in respect of each registered tax payer.

>        Electronic credit ledger (ECrL) is a statement of input tax credit in respect of each registered tax payer.

In addition, each taxpayer shall also have an electronic tax liability register.

>        Electronic Tax Liability Register will reflect the total tax liability of a taxpayer (after netting) for the  particular month.

Once a taxpayer is registered on common portal (GSTN), two e-ledgers (Cash & Input Tax Credit ledger) and  an Electronic Tax Liability Register will be automatically opened and displayed on his dash board at all times.

5.   Payment of GST, Interest, Penalty and other Amounts

Payment of GST can be done by the following methods:

(1)   Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) [Section 49(1) &  (3)]

(i)     Money can be deposited in the Cash Ledger by  generating a challan in Form GST PMT-06 on the  common portal by different modes, namely, E-Payment (Internet Banking, Credit Card, Debit  Card); Real Time Gross Settlement  (RTGS)/National Electronic Fund Transfer  (NEFT); and

Over the Counter Payment in branches of Banks  Authorized to accept deposit of GST upto Rs.  10,000 per challan per tax period by cash, cheque  or demand draft.

Any payment required to be made by a person  who is not registered under the Act, shall be made  on the basis of a temporary identification number  generated through the common portal.

(ii)     The above deposit of money will be credited to the  ECL of the taxable person. This ledger shall be  maintained in Form GST PMT-05.

Further, tax deducted under section 51 and  collected under section 52 from the registered  person shall also be credited to the electronic  ledger.

(iii)    Date of credit into the account of the Government  is deemed to be the date of deposit (not the actual  date of debit to the account of the taxable person).

(iv)    Money deposited in ECL can be used for making  any payment towards tax, interest, penalty, fee or  any other amount payable by a taxable person.

(2)   Electronic Credit Ledger (ECrL) [Section 49(2) &  (4)]

(i)      The input tax credit as self-assessed in the return  of a registered person shall be credited to his  electronic credit ledger (ECrL), in accordance  with section 41 i.e. provisionally, to be maintained  in such manner as may be prescribed.

(ii)     ECrL shall be maintained in Form GST PMT-02  for each registered person eligible for input tax  credit under the Act on the Common Portal and  every claim of input tax credit under the Act shall  be credited to the said Ledger.

(iii)    The amount available in the electronic credit  ledger may be used for making any payment  towards output tax under the provisions of the  CGST Act or the IGST Act.  Only tax can be paid through ECrL.  Interest, Penalty and Fees cannot be paid by debit  in the RCrL.

(iv)    A registered person shall, upon noticing any  discrepancy in his electronic credit ledger,  communicate the same to the officer exercising jurisdiction in the matter, through the common  portal in FORM GST PMT-04.

(3)   Electronic Liability Ledger

All liabilities of a taxable person under GST shall be recorded and maintained in electronic liability ledger  in Form GST PMT-01. It shall be maintained for each person liable to pay tax, interest, penalty, late fee or any  other amount on the common portal and all amounts payable by him shall be debited to the said register.

>>           The Electronic Liability Register of the person shall be debited by—

a.  The amount payable towards tax, interest, late fee or any other amount payable as per the return furnished by the said person;

b.  The amount of tax, interest, penalty or any other amount payable as determined by a proper officer in pursuance of any proceedings under the Act or as ascertained by the said person;

c.  The amount of tax and interest payable as a result of mismatch under section 42 or section 43 or section 50; or

d.  Any amount of interest that may accrue from time to time.

>>        Payment of every liability by a registered person as per his return shall be made by debiting the electronic credit  ledger or the electronic cash ledger and the electronic liability register shall be credited accordingly.

>>        The amount of TDS/TCS or amount payable on reverse charge basis, or the amount payable by a Composition  Scheme dealer, any amount payable towards interest, penalty, fee or any other amount under the Act shall be  paid by debiting the electronic cash ledger and the electronic liability register shall be credited accordingly.

>>        Any amount of demand debited in the electronic liability register shall stand reduced to the extent of relief  given by the appellate authority or Appellate Tribunal or court and the electronic tax liability register shall be  credited accordingly.

>>        The amount of penalty imposed or liable to be imposed shall stand reduced partly or fully, as the case may be,  if the taxable person makes the payment of tax, interest and penalty specified in the show cause notice or demand  order and the electronic liability register shall be credited accordingly.

>>        A registered person shall, upon noticing any discrepancy in his electronic liability ledger, communicate the  same to the officer exercising jurisdiction in the matter, through the common portal in Form GST PMT-04.

(4)   Time of payment of GST by the Supplier

Payment of GST by the normal tax payer is to be done on monthly basis by the 20th of the succeeding  month. Money will be first deposited in the Electronic Cash Ledger and the tax payer shall debit the ledger while  making payment in the monthly returns and shall reflect the relevant debit entry number in his return.

Further, payment can also be debited from the Electronic Credit Ledger.

However, composition tax payers will need to pay GST on quarterly basis.

As per section 39(7), every registered person, who is required to furnish a return under section 39(1) or  section 39(2) or section 39(3) or section 39(5), shall pay to the Government the GST due as per such return not later  than the last date on which he is required to furnish such return.

Thus, the due dates for payment of GST for different registered persons are as under:

Sl.No.	Registered Person (RP)	Due date of payment of GST	Section of the  CGST Act / SGST  Act
A.	Any registered person other than mentioned  below	20th of the month following the calendar  month	Section 39(1)
B.	Registered person paying GST under  Composition Levy Scheme	18th of the month following the quarter	Section 39(2)
C.	Registered person required to deduct tax at  source	10th of the month following the month in  which such deductions have been made	Section 39(3)
D.	Every registered non-resident taxable  person	Earlier of the following dates: (i) 20th of the month following the  end of the calendar month; or (ii) 7 days after the last day of the  period of registration Note.— Advance deposit of GST [Section  27(2)]: A non-resident taxable person  (NRTP), at the time of submission of  application for registration under section  25(1), also makes an advance deposit of GST  in an amount equivalent to the estimated  GST liability of such person for the period  for which the registration is sought: The advance amount so deposited shall  be credited to the electronic cash ledger of  such person and shall be utilised in the  manner provided under section 49.	Section 39(5)
	Every Electronic Commerce Operator  [ECO] collecting tax at source	10th of the month following the month in  which such collection is made	Section 52(3)

6.   Order of utilization of ITC Available in the Electronic Credit Ledger [Section 49(5)]

The following will be the order in which the input tax credit available in the electronic credit ledger shall be  utilized for tax payment:

Input tax credit on account  of IGST	Input tax credit on account  of CGST	Input tax credit on account of  SGST/UTGST
First for payment of IGST	First for payment of CGST	First for payment of SGST/UTGST
Then for payment of CGST	Then for payment of IGST	Then for payment of IGST
And then if balance is there,  for payment of SGST or  UTGST	In case there is further balance it shall  not be utilized for payment of  SGST/UTGST	In case there is further balance if  shall not be utilized for payment of  CGST

Example-1 : 

R has a sum of Rs. 2,80,000 on account of input tax credit of CGST in the electronic credit ledger. He has to  pay the following tax liability:

Tax payable under	Amount (Rs.)
(i) IGST	1,10,000
(ii) SGST / UTGST	80,000
(iii) CGST	1,50,000

Determine the order of utilization of the ITC available in electronic credit ledger.

Solution : 

Out of input tax credit of CGST of Rs. 2,80,000 lying credited in electronic credit ledger, R shall first use Rs.  1,50,000 for the payment of CGST.

Thereafter, he will use the balance, if any, for payment of IGST amounting to  Rs. 1,10,000.

If there is still some balance in the electronic credit ledger, it cannot be used for payment of  SGST/UTGST.

Example-2: 

R has a sum of Rs. 3,60,000 on account of input tax credit of SGST in the electronic credit ledger. He has to  pay the following tax liability:

Tax payable under	Amount (Rs.)
(i) IGST	1,40,000
(ii) SGST / UTGST	1,80,000
(iii) CGST	1,70,000

Determine the order of utilization of the ITC available in electronic credit ledger.

Solution :

Out of input tax credit of Rs. 3,60,000 lying credited in electronic credit ledger, R shall first use Rs. 1,80,000  for the payment of SGST/UTGST.

Thereafter, he will use the balance, if any, for payment of IGST amounting to  Rs. 1,40,000.

If there is still some balance in the electronic credit ledger, it cannot be used for payment of CGST.

Example-3: 

R has a sum of Rs. 3,90,000 on account of input tax credit of IGST in the electronic credit ledger. He has to pay the following tax liability:

Tax payable under	Amount (Rs.)
(i) IGST	2,10,000
(ii) SGST / UTGST	1,80,000
(iii) CGST	1,40,000

Determine the order of utilization of the ITC available in electronic credit ledger.

Solution: 

Out of input tax credit of IGST of Rs. 3,90,000 lying credited in electronic credit ledger, R shall first use Rs.  2,10,000 for the payment of IGST.

Thereafter, he will use the balance, if any, for payment of CGST amounting to Rs. 1,40,000.

If there is still some balance in the electronic credit ledger, it will be used for payment of SGST / UTGST.

Hence, he can use the balance of Rs. 40,000 towards the payment of SGST / UTGST.

7.   Refund of the Amount Available in Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) or Electronic Credit Ledger  (ECrL) [Section 49(6)]

After payment of tax, interest, penalty, fee or any other amount payable under the Act or the rules made there  under, the balance amount available in ECL or ECrL may be refunded in accordance with the provisions of  section 54.

8.Electronic Liability Register (ELR) to be maintained in Form GST PMT-01 for recording all  liabilities [Section 49(7)]

All liabilities of a taxable person under this Act shall be recorded and maintained in an Electronic Liability  Register in FORM GST PMT-01 for each person liable to pay tax, interest, penalty, late fee or any other amount.  Further, the said register shall be maintained on the Common Portal and all amounts payable by a taxable person  shall be debited to the said register.

9.   Order of Discharge of GST and Other Dues [Section 49(8)]

Every taxable person shall discharge his tax and other dues (interest, penalty, fee or any other amount  payable) in the following order:—

(a)        self-assessed tax, and other dues related to returns of previous tax periods;

(b)        self-assessed tax, and other dues related to the return of the current tax period;

(c)        any other amount payable under this Act or the rules made there under including the demand determined  under section 73 or section 74.

Section 73 or section 74 deal with the following:  Section 73       :           Determination of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly  availed or utilized for any reason other than fraud or any willful misstatement or suppression of facts Section 74       :           Determination of tax not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly  availed or utilized by reason of fraud or any willful misstatement or suppression of facts

10. Passing on the Full Incidence of CGST/SGST/IGST [Section 49(9) of the CGST Act, 2017]

Every person who has paid the tax on goods or services or both under the CGST Act/SGST Act/IGST Act  shall be deemed to have passed on the full incidence of such tax to the recipient of such goods or services or both.

11. Interest on delayed payment of GST [Section 50 of the CGST Act, 2017]

Every person who is liable to pay tax in accordance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made there  under, but fails to pay the tax or any part thereof to the Government within the period prescribed, shall for the  period for which the tax or any part thereof remains unpaid, pay, on his own, interest at such rate, not exceeding  18%, as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council.

Further, a taxable person who makes an undue or excess claim of input tax credit under section 42(10) or  undue or excess reduction in output tax liability under section 43(10), shall pay interest on such undue or excess  claim or on such undue or excess reduction, as the case may be, at such rate not exceeding 24%, as may be  notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council.

12. When Interest is Applicable under GST

Interest is applicable in the following cases –

Section	Different situations	Rate of  interest
50(1)	A person who is liable to pay tax (in accordance with different provisions under GST) fails to  pay the tax (or part thereof) to the Government within the prescribed period	18%
50(3)	A taxable person who makes an undue or excess claim of input tax credit under section 42(10) or  undue reduction in output tax under section 43(10)	24%
54(12)	Where a refund is withheld, a taxable person shall be entitled to interest if as a result of an  appeal (or further proceedings) he becomes entitled to refund	6%
56	If any tax ordered to be refunded is not refunded within 60 days of the refund application made  by the taxpayer, interest will be paid by Government	6%
56, Proviso	Where any claim of refund arises from an appellate order (which has attained finality) and the  same is not refunded within 60 days from the date of receipt of application filed consequent to  such order, interest will be paid by the Government after the expiry of 60 days	9%

13. When A Person is Liable for Penalty Under GST

The incidence of short payment of tax (or erroneous refund or wrong availment of input tax credit) may  be because of the following reasons –

– Normal cases –          An inadvertent bona fide mistake.

– Fraud cases –             It may be a deliberate attempt to evade the tax.

In these two cases, nature of offence is totally different. Consequently, separate provisions for recovery of the  tax and levy of penalty have been made. Moreover, there are provisions to encourage voluntary compliance  such as no penalty (or lesser penalty) if the due tax (along with interest) is paid within the specified time limit.

The table below summarises these provisions –

Action by taxpayer	Quantum of Penalty
	Normal cases	Fraud cases
Tax (along with interest) paid before issue of notice	No penalty and no notice shall be issued	15% of tax and no notice shall be  issued
Tax (along with interest) paid within30 days of issue of notice	No penalty (all proceedings deemed to be concluded)	25% of the tax (all proceedings deemed to be concluded)
Tax (along with interest) paid within 30 days of communication of order	10% of the tax or Rs. 10,000, whichever is higher –	50% of the tax (all proceedings deemed to be concluded)
Tax (along with the interest) paid after 30 days of communication of	10% of the tax or Rs. 10,000, whichever is higher	100% of the tax

Order  Note –

No penalty is levied in cases where the self-assessed tax (or any amount collected as tax) is paid (with interest)  within 30 days from the due date of payment.

Time for issue of notice and making order –

Time-limit for issue of notice and issue of order pertaining to penalty  is as follows –

Different cases	Time-limit for issue of notice	Time-limit for issue of order
Normal cases	Within 2 years and 9 months from the due date of filing annual return for the financial year to which the demand pertains or from the date of erroneous refund	Within 3 years from the due date of filing of annual return for the financial year to which the demand pertains or from the date of erroneous refund
Fraud cases	Within 4 years and 6 months from the due date of filing annual return for the financial year to which the demand pertains or from the date of erroneous refund	Within 5 years from the due date of filing of annual return for the financial year to which the demand pertains or from the date of erroneous refund
Amount collected as tax but not paid	No time-limit	Within one year from the date of issue of notice
Non-payment of self-assessed tax	No need to issue a show cause notice	Recovery proceedings can be started directly

FAQ’s on GST Payment released by CBEC on 31.3.2017

Q 1. What happens if the taxable person files the return but does not make payment of tax? [Question No.  8 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. In such cases, the return is not considered as a valid return. Section 2(117) defines a valid return to mean  a return furnished under sub-section (1) of section 39 on which self-assessed tax has been paid in full. It is only  the valid return that would be used for allowing input tax credit (ITC) to the recipient. In other words, unless the  supplier has paid the entire self-assessed tax and filed his return and the recipient has filed his return, the ITC of  the recipient would not be confirmed.

Q 2. Which date is considered as date of deposit of the tax dues – Date of presentation of cheque or Date of  payment or Date of credit of amount in the account of government? [Question No. 9 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. It is the date of credit to the Government account.

Q 3. What are E-Ledgers? [Question No. 10 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. Electronic Ledgers or E-Ledgers are statements of cash and input tax credit in respect of each registered  taxpayer. In addition, each taxpayer shall also have an electronic tax liability register. Once a taxpayer is  registered on Common Portal (GSTN), two e-ledgers (Cash &Input Tax Credit ledger) and an electronic tax  liability register will be automatically opened and displayed on his dash board at all times.

Q 4. What is a tax liability register? [Question No. 11 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. Tax Liability Register will reflect the total tax liability of a taxpayer (after netting) for the particular  month.

Q 5. What is a Cash Ledger? [Question No. 12 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. The cash ledger will reflect all deposits made in cash, and TDS/TCS made on account of the taxpayer.  The information will be reflected on real time basis. This ledger can be used for making any payment on account  of GST.

Q 6. What is an ITC Ledger? [Question No. 13 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. Input Tax Credit as self-assessed in monthly returns will be reflected in the ITC Ledger. The credit in  this ledger can be used to make payment of TAX ONLY and not other amounts such as interest, penalty, fees etc.

Q 7. What is the linkage between GSTN and the authorized Banks? [Question No. 14 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. There will be real time two-way linkage between the GSTN and the Core Banking Solution (CBS) of the  Bank. CPIN is automatically routed to the Bank via electronic string for verification and receiving payment and a  challan identification number (CIN) is automatically sent by the Bank to the Common Portal confirming payment  receipt. No manual intervention will be involved in the process by any one including bank cashier or teller or the  tax payer.

Q 8. Can a tax payer generate challan in multiple sittings? [Question No. 15 of FAQ’s]

Ans. Yes, a taxpayer can partially fill in the challan form and temporarily “save” the challan for completion at  a later stage. A saved challan can be “edited” before finalization. After the tax payer has finalized the challan, he  will generate the challan, for use of payment of taxes. The remitter will have option of printing the challan for his  record.

Q 9. Can a challan generated online be modified? [Question No. 16 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. No. After logging into GSTN portal for generation of challan, payment particulars have to be fed in by  the tax payer or his authorized person. He can save the challan midway for future updation. However once the  challan is finalized and CPIN generated, no further changes can be made to it by the taxpayer.

Q 10. Is there a validity period of challan? [Question No. 17 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. Yes, a challan will be valid for fifteen days after its generation and thereafter it will be purged from the  System. However, the tax payer can generate another challan at his convenience.

Q 11. What is a CPIN? [Question No. 18 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. CPIN stands for Common Portal Identification Number (CPIN) given at the time of generation of  challan. It is a 14-digit unique number to identify the challan. As stated above, the CPIN remains valid for a  period of 15 days.

Q 12. What is a CIN and what is its relevance? [Question No. 19 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. CIN stands for Challan Identification Number. It is a 17-digit number that is 14-digit CPIN plus 3-digit  Bank Code. CIN is generated by the authorized banks/ Reserve Bank of India (RBI) when payment is actually  received by such authorized banks or RBI and credited in the relevant government account held with them. It is an  indication that the payment has been realized and credited to the appropriate government account. CIN is  communicated by the authorized bank to taxpayer as well as to GSTN.

Q 13. What is the sequence of payment of tax where that taxpayer has liabilities for previous months also?  [Question No. 20 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. Section 49(8) prescribes an order of payment where the taxpayer has tax liability beyond the current  return period. In such a situation, the order of payment to be followed is: First self-assessed tax and other dues for  the previous period; thereafter self-assessed tax and other dues for the current period; and thereafter any other  amounts payable including any confirmed demands under section 73 or 74. This sequence has to be mandatorily  followed.

Q 14. What does the expression “Other dues” referred to above mean? [Question No. 21 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. The expression “other dues” means interest, penalty, fee or any other amount payable under the Act or  the rules made thereunder.

Q 15. What is an E-FPB? [Question No. 22 of FAQ’s] 

Ans. E-FPB stands for Electronic Focal Point Branch. These are branches of authorized banks which are  authorized to collect payment of GST. Each authorized bank will nominate only one branch as its E-FPB for pan  India Transactions. The E-FPB will have to open accounts under each major head for all governments. Total 38  accounts (one each for CGST, IGST and one each for SGST for each State/UT Govt.) will have to be opened.  Any amount received by such E-FPB towards GST will be credited to the appropriate account held by such EFPB.