GST in India

GST is India’s destination-based value-added tax on most goods and services. It went live on 1 July 2017 after the 101st Constitutional Amendment created the legal room for a dual GST — Centre and states sharing a common base.

The GST Council, under Article 279A, is the federal body that recommends rates, exemptions and special rules. The Union Finance Minister chairs it; state finance ministers sit as members. Classroom notes often say the Centre has one-third of the weighted vote and the states two-thirds, with a three-fourths majority of weighted votes needed — treat that as the usual teaching and confirm in the article if a paper is strict.

We do not print 2026 collection totals or a “final” slab chart. Rates are notified and have been rationalised more than once. For the rate on a given item, use gst.gov.in or a Council decision, not a coaching poster. One-rupee notes and the RBI Governor belong on the currency and RBI pages, not here.

Key points

1. GST launch date to memorise: 1 July 2017.
2. Constitutional vehicle: 101st Amendment. Council: Article 279A.
3. Four statutes in the usual set: CGST, SGST, IGST, UTGST — plus a compensation cess in the early design.
4. CGST is the central levy; SGST the state levy on intra-state supplies. IGST applies to inter-state supplies and is apportioned.
5. Destination-based: tax generally accrues where the goods or services are consumed, not where they were manufactured — the teaching contrast with the old origin-heavy excise/VAT mix.
6. GST replaced a stack of central excise, service tax, and state VAT/entry tax on the overlapping base — textbooks still list the subsumed taxes; we do not invent a 2026 extra tax name.
7. Petroleum crude, high-speed diesel, petrol, natural gas and aviation turbine fuel were kept outside the GST base at the start; alcohol for human consumption is a state subject in the usual teaching. Whether and when they enter GST is a Council/political decision — do not invent a 2026 inclusion date.
8. Input tax credit is the chain that makes GST a value-added tax. Breaks in the chain are a compliance topic, not a GK invention.
9. GSTIN is the registration number; thresholds and composition schemes are notified and change — read the portal.
10. We do not quote a 2026 revenue figure or a “GST day” collection tweet as a fact.
11. Compensation to states for the transition years was a statutory promise with a sunset; later debates are live policy — not frozen here.
12. E-way bills and e-invoicing are compliance tools that were added after launch; exact turnover triggers move — official portal only.
13. The Council is not the Supreme Court. It recommends; notifications and statutes give the binding rate.
14. September 2026 polity neighbours: Prime Minister Narendra Modi (third term); Finance Minister’s name can change — we do not invent it.
15. RBI Governor Sanjay Malhotra (from 11 December 2024) does not set GST rates.
16. Compare with Indian currency: GST is a tax; the rupee is the legal tender.
17. A “one nation one tax” slogan is politics; the legal design is dual GST plus IGST.
18. Appeals sit in a GST appellate structure; do not confuse it with the Supreme Court’s constitutional bench.
19. If a question asks only the date, write 1 July 2017. If it asks the amendment, write 101st.
20. Old VAT/sales-tax years are useful history, not the current rate card.
21. Special category states and the Union Territories have UTGST instead of SGST where the statute says so.
22. This page is not live news from the last Council meeting.
23. For slabs, open the official rate schedule rather than memorising a five-column rumour.
24. Related reading: Constitution (101st), Indian currency, RBI Governor.

GST in India — facts (2026)

Exam tip: Date 1 July 2017 + 101st Amendment + “GST Council, Article 279A” is the scoring trio. Leave slabs to the official schedule.

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