WHEN ARE WE LIABLE TO PAY GST - THE FINER PRINT

The edifice of GST is built on the concept of "Supply". Supply is explained or defined in Section 7 of the GST act, where the "scope of supply" is set out.

- CA Gaurav Kenkre

Every taxpayer by now understands that he or she is liable to pay GST whenever there is either of sale of goods or a provision of service. Some others may be under the presumption that every income or receipt is liable to GST. In this edition we will try to analyse the ingredients which make a transaction liable to GST.

The edifice of GST is built on the concept of "Supply". Supply is explained or defined in Section 7 of the GST act, where the "scope of supply" is set out. Only if a transaction meets all the ingredients set out in Section 7, will that transaction be liable to GST.

Besides other ingredients, for there to be supply, the supply must be "for a consideration". The phrase "for a consideration" firstly means that whatever the activity done, if it is done without any corresponding benefit in exchange, then the activity may not be a supply. There are a few exceptions to this rule, which we will check later.