Taxation System in India
India has a well-developed tax structure with clearly demarcated authority between Central and State Governments and local bodies.
- Central Government levies
- State Governments levies
- Local bodies levies
Direct and Indirect Taxes
The most fundamental classification of taxes is based on who collects the taxes from the taxpayer.
Direct Taxes, as the name suggests, are taxes that are directly paid to the government by the taxpayer. It is a tax applied on individuals and organizations directly by the government e.g. income tax
Indirect Taxes are applied on the manufacture or sale of goods and Services. These are initially paid to the government by an intermediary, who then adds the amount of the tax paid to the value of the goods / services and passes on the total amount to the end user.
Examples of these are Vat, Central Sales Tax, Service Tax, Excise Duty etc
We focused on Indirect Taxes, before GST Indirect Taxes structure is as per following:
- Central Excise duty is tax on Manufacturing of Goods levied by Central Government
- VAT is tax on Sales of Goods within State (Intra State) levied by State Government
- CST is tax on Inter-State Sales of Goods levied by Central Government
- Purchase Tax is tax on goods purchase from unRegistered Dealer levied by State Govt.
- Service Tax is tax on Provision of Services levied by Central Government
- CVD – Countervailing Duty charged on Import of Goods on behalf of Central Excise duty
- ADE – Additional Import duty charged on Import of Goods on behalf of State VAT
Any other many taxes levied by Central and State Government on sales of goods or services like a Entertainment Tax, Luxury Tax, Tax on Lottery, Octroi, Entry Tax etc…
Goods and Services Tax (GST) is indirect taxes in India merging most of the existing taxes into single system of taxation
The GST would replace the following taxes:
Taxes currently levied and collected by the Centre:
Central Excise duty, Duties of Excise (Medicinal and Toilet Preparations), Additional Duties of Excise (Goods of Special Importance), Additional Duties of Excise (Textiles and Textile Products), Additional Duties of Customs (commonly known as CVD), Special Additional Duty of Customs (SAD), Service Tax, Central Surcharges and Cess so far as they relate to supply of goods and services
State taxes that would be subsumed under the GST are:
State VAT, Central Sales Tax, Luxury Tax, Entry Tax (all forms), Entertainment and Amusement Tax (except when levied by the local bodies), Taxes on advertisements, Purchase Tax, Taxes on lotteries, betting and gambling, State Surcharges and Cess so far as they relate to supply of goods and services
Exclusion of petroleum from GST
5 petroleum products – crude petroleum, high speed diesel, motor spirit, natural gas and aviation fuel and Alcohol for human consumption – will be outside the purview of GST.