Knowledge of GST

GST is the short form for goods and service tax. The process of GST was introduced within the Indian tax system for making the tax system more transparent and simplified. It was further introduced for boosting economic growth in India. GST can be easily regarded as the largest taxation reform in India. The main reasons behind introducing the GST reform were to save effort, time, and cost. From the year 2017, the GST reform came into effect. For addressing the complex systems that were already present in India, 3 main types of GST were introduced by the government. These were

• Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST)
• State Goods and Service Tax (SGST)
• Integrated Goods and Service Tax (IGST)

What is meant by GST?

The Full form of GST is Goods and Service Tax. It can be described as a tax that is specifically levied on –the consumption, sale, or manufacture of goods on a national basis. Every indirect tax that was presently levied in India has been replaced by GST. These different types of indirect taxes include central excise duty, VAT (value-added tax), service tax, etc. It can be observed that GST is levied on different types of transactions levied within the Indian Territory. In this context, it should be mentioned that it is the buyer’s responsibility to pay the applicable taxes for different types of services and goods purchased. The core aim of GST is to eradicate all indirect taxes such as VAT, service tax, etc. These will help in transforming India into a single market. 

Process applying GST

GST can be regarded as a tax based on destination. Further, it is levied on the number of services and goods which are consumed within India. Tax collection is carried out by the person who has the responsibility to finally consume the services and goods. For instance, production of a component in one state of India and selling in another state means that the GST levying of GST will be done in that state in which the product is consumed. From another perspective, GST is a form of tax that involves several stages. Levying of the tax is done at every stage of distribution and production of services and goods. The GST rate at every step depends on the value addition that has occurred in every stage. This taxation system was introduced to ensure a single rate of tax across the territory of India. This helps in making sure that every service and good are not taxed numerous times at separate rates even if multiple states are being crossed by the product before reaching the destination. 

GST portal 

The council of GST has launched a new official portal known as the GST portal. The GST portal is ‘www.gst.gov.in’. All information, details, and queries concerning Goods and Service taxes can be cleared in the official GST portal. All the downloadable files and details that might be needed by the assesses can be found on the portal. The GST portal can be easily accessed by individuals by registering to GST with the help of their mobile numbers. In the portal, one can easily generate a login id and password. Moreover, the people who are using the application for the first time can enter their GSTIN and thereby generate their username. Once generated, the password and the username will be saved on the online platform. The portals can be used for completing different tasks such as Filing GST Returns. GSTR-1 Table 6A, GST Filing payment, claiming for refund of extra GST that has been paid, and much more. The taxpayers will be helped by the GST portal in several ways and the process will be further made easy for the taxpayers. 

Conclusion 

The overall article has been written to discuss GST. The concept of GST is very important in the subject of GST – Goods and Service Tax in India. Further many questions come from this topic in the UPSC exam. In this article, the concept of GST has been discussed through discussion of some key areas. These are the core concept of GST, the process of applying GST, and Different factors related to the GST portal. In simple words, GST is a form of tax that is levied on different forms of manufacturing and selling of goods in different parts of the nation.