What is India Tax (GST)? India Tax (GST) Review, Features

GST stands for Goods and Services Tax, which can be understood as consumption tax. Because it only taxes consumption, taxes are only levied when goods are consumed, and a uniform tax rate is applied across India. It is similar to my country's value-added tax and Europe's VAT (Value Added Tax).

Origin of GST

On July 1, 2017, India officially implemented the new national tax system GST. This tax reform was called "the largest tax reform since the founding of India". It simplified the tax system, unified the consumption tax collection system, and avoided double taxation when goods were circulated. It can be said that it was from this tax reform that the door to cross-border e-commerce was opened to enter the Indian market.

Basic tax rate

GST is divided into five basic tax rates according to the nature of the goods: 0.5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%. The platform's hot-selling products are mainly distributed in the 5%-28% range, with 18% being the highest.

Classification

GST is divided into three categories: CGST, SGST and IGST, depending on whether the goods or services are circulated within or across states in India:

Can different types of GST offset each other?

When offsetting, it is necessary to offset according to the type of tax. GST of the same type should be offset first. If it is not enough, other GST can be offset. The order is: CGST should be offset first, followed by IGST, and SGST cannot be offset; SGST should be offset first, followed by IGST, and CGST cannot be offset; IGST should be offset first, followed by CGST, and finally SGST.

Let's take headphones as an example to calculate: