Margin scheme for second hand goods allows registered dealers to tax only the margin, preventing double taxation on outward supplies.
The Margin Scheme under GST treats the taxable value for registered dealers of second hand goods as the difference between selling and purchase price where no input tax credit was claimed; negative margins are ignored. The scheme covers goods sold as such or after only minor processing that does not alter their nature, and includes dealers in old and used empty bottles. A central tax exemption for supplies to such registered dealers prevents double taxation when the dealer pays tax on the margin.

GST registration requirement: timely online registration preserves input tax credit access and avoids penalties for liable suppliers.
Registration under GST is mandatory for persons exceeding the turnover threshold and for suppliers making taxable supplies from any State or Territory, while exclusive suppliers of exempt supplies are exempt. Transitional categories (migrated, non migrated, newly liable) have defined short filing windows for conversion, registration or cancellation. Registration is completed online via the national portal using PAN, email and mobile verification, with documents uploaded only if queried. Non registration when liable denies input tax credit to the supplier and purchasers and attracts penalties.

GST on ocean freight increases exporters' working capital burden and creates compliance uncertainty for SEZ export consignments.
Initial procedural and software difficulties from the GST rollout have largely eased, resolving shipping-bill generation delays and permitting export consignments to recover; however, exporters object to the imposition of GST on ocean freight as locking up working capital and face uncertainty over GST treatment of SEZ cargo, while draft limitations at Kolkata Port and the start of container services at Dhamra Port pose risks of cargo diversion.

Reverse charge on gold purchases: jeweller not liable for consumer-sold old jewellery; applies if unregistered supplier sells in business.
Section 9(4) read with Sections 2(105) and 7 requires a taxable supply by an unregistered supplier to a registered person for tax to be payable by the registered recipient under the reverse charge mechanism. A one-off sale of old jewellery by an individual consumer is not a supply as it is not in the course or furtherance of business, so the jeweller will not be liable under RCM; if the unregistered seller is making the sale in the course of business, RCM will apply.

GST exemption for educational institution hostel lodging: annual hostel fees do not attract GST under education services exemption
Services by an educational institution to students, faculty and staff are fully exempt from GST; annual subscription or fees charged as lodging/boarding for hostel accommodation by institutions imparting pre school to higher secondary education, education leading to a law recognised qualification, or approved vocational courses do not attract GST.

GST exemption for RWA member services preserved; tax applies only when per-member subscription and aggregate turnover both exceed statutory thresholds.
Supply of services and goods by a Housing Society RWA to its members for common use is exempt from GST up to a specified per-member monthly contribution and also exempt where the RWA's aggregate annual turnover from such supplies does not exceed a prescribed threshold; GST is payable on subscriptions only when both the per-member contribution exceeds the monthly threshold and the RWA's annual turnover meets or exceeds the turnover threshold. RWAs are entitled to Input Tax Credit on capital goods, goods and input services used for common facilities.

GST Rates Finder app lets users check GST rates and HSN codes offline to verify billed taxes.
GST Rates Finder is an Android app (iOS forthcoming) that, via a Quick Search accepting HSN codes or goods/services names, returns the applicable GST rate, HSN chapter heading and service descriptions; it works offline and links to the CBEC GST web page for further authoritative details.

GST on IMPS charges: SBI waives small-transfer fee while GST applies to other IMPS transactions.
SBI waived its IMPS fee for transfers up to Rs. 1,000 to promote small-value payments while confirming that IMPS transfers above that threshold remain subject to fixed fees and GST, with higher fixed charges for larger retail IMPS transactions.

GST on sanitary products prompts protest over taxation of women's hygiene products and calls for tax policy reconsideration
Imposition of the Goods and Services Tax on sanitary napkins at a 12 per cent rate prompted organised protest by a student political organisation that sent sanitary pads to the finance minister with a slogan opposing taxation and staged coordinated campus demonstrations, framing the GST treatment as a gendered burden and calling for reconsideration of the tax classification and rate for menstrual hygiene products.

Goods and Services Tax on sanitary napkins prompts calls for withdrawal, arguing pads are essential health necessities affecting access.
Activists demanded withdrawal of GST on sanitary napkins, protesting that the tax regime treats pads as non-exempt luxury items despite their status as essential health necessities; they contrasted this with tax-free treatment of certain contraceptives and argued the levy reduces accessibility for poor women and girls.

GST exemption on free religious food clarified: prasadam nil-rated; inputs and related transport services remain subject to GST.
Prasadam and free food supplied by temples, mosques, churches, gurudwaras, dargahs and similar religious institutions are nil-rated for CGST and SGST or IGST and do not attract GST. However, inputs and input services used to prepare or transport such prasadam-such as sugar, edible oils, ghee, butter and transportation-are taxable, and GST does not provide end-use based exemptions for those inputs.

Double taxation persists as tolls continue despite GST, prompting trader protests and calls for abolition.
State continuation of toll levies on goods vehicles at entry plazas continues despite implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, prompting traders and trade bodies to allege double taxation, demand abolition, and stress that tolls should have been kept outside the scope of powers exercised under Section 5 of the state constitution.

Input tax credit inversion increases when GST on sanitary napkins is reduced, disadvantaging domestic manufacturers.
Major inputs for sanitary napkins attract 18% and 12% GST, producing an input tax credit inversion where input taxes exceed the 12% tax on the finished product; refunds are available but impose interest, fund blockage and administrative costs. Reducing the GST to 5% or nil would increase accumulated ITC or deny ITC to domestic producers respectively, placing domestic manufacturers at a competitive disadvantage compared with zero rated imports.

GST treatment of employer gifts: gifts above the exemption threshold without consideration may attract GST if made in business course
Gifts to employees below an exemption threshold per year are outside GST, while gifts exceeding that threshold made without consideration in the course or furtherance of business attract GST. Employment services supplied by an employee are outside GST scope, so contractual employer supplies to employees are not taxable. Input Tax Credit excludes certain employee services; if an employer provides such services or free housing to all employees and paid GST on procurement, those provisions will not be subjected to GST when they form part of contractual cost to company arrangements.

Extension of Integrated GST to Jammu and Kashmir makes IGST Act operative in the State and removes its exclusion
The Ordinance immediately extends the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and all Central rules, notifications, schemes and orders thereunder to the State of Jammu and Kashmir and amends the principal Act by omitting the words that had excluded Jammu and Kashmir, thereby bringing the Act into force in the State.

Extension of Central GST: principal Act and subordinate instruments applied, with a special appellate bench arrangement.
The ordinance extends the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and all subordinate rules, notifications and orders to Jammu and Kashmir with immediate commencement, and amends the principal Act by omitting the exclusionary phrase from section 1(2), inserting a qualification into the Explanation to section 22, and altering section 109(6) to exclude the State from certain uniform provisions while specifying that the State Bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal for the State shall be the State Appellate Tribunal constituted under the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.

GST exemption on leased aircraft imports prevents double taxation by treating lease GST as covering import levy.
Import of aircraft, aircraft engines and parts procured on lease is not subject to a separate GST where GST has been paid on the lease, preventing a double levy; remaining issues include availability of input tax credit for certain tickets and tax treatment of movement of spares.

GST Council consensus affirms state-led rate-setting, allowing states to waive local shares and defer items.
Rates under the Goods and Services Tax were set by collective agreement of the GST Council, reflecting cooperative federalism and leaving states with discretion over local levies and shares; petroleum and liquor remain excluded at state request, the rate framework is revenue-neutral, implementation issues are largely settled, and uniform GST is promoted as beneficial for investment, cost clarity and exports.

GST transition concepts: introductory guidance on invoicing and framework for shifting to the GST regime.
Explains foundational concepts relating to transition and invoice under the Goods and Services Tax (GST), presenting an introductory framework for the shift to the GST regime and the basic invoicing considerations that accompany that shift; directs readers to a linked presentation and an official press release for further reference.

GST composition scheme lets eligible small manufacturers, traders and restaurants pay low turnover-based tax and follow simplified recordkeeping.
The composition scheme permits eligible small taxpayers (manufacturers, goods traders, restaurants) to pay GST at a low turnover-based rate subject to an aggregate turnover threshold across all units under one PAN; exclusions include most service suppliers, inter-state suppliers, notified goods manufacturers, casual/non-resident taxpayers, and those exceeding the threshold. Composition taxpayers cannot collect tax or claim input tax credit, must pay tax on purchases from unregistered persons and reverse-charge supplies, opt using Form CMP-04, file quarterly returns, and maintain records (electronic or manual) for six years, with audit requirements where turnover exceeds the prescribed limit.