1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Goods and Services Tax
(Compensation to States) Act, 2017.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date1
as the Central Government may, by notification in the
Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions. — (1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “central tax” means the central goods and services tax levied and collected under the Central
Goods and Services Tax Act;
(b) “Central Goods and Services Tax Act” means the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
(12 of 2017);
(c) “cess” means the goods and services tax compensation cess levied under section 8;
(d) “compensation” means an amount, in the form of goods and services tax compensation, as
determined under section 7;
(e) “Council” means the Goods and Services Tax Council constituted under the provisions of
article 279A of the Constitution;
(f) “Fund” means the Goods and Services Tax Compensation Fund referred to in section 10;
(g) “input tax” in relation to a taxable person, means,––
(i) cess charged on any supply of goods or services or both made to him;
(ii) cess charged on import of goods and includes the cess payable on reverse charge basis;
(h) “Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act” means the Integrated Goods and Services Tax
Act, 2017 (13 of 2017);
(i) “integrated tax” means the integrated goods and services tax levied and collected under the
Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;
(j) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made, on the recommendations of the Council, under
this Act;
(k) “projected growth rate” means the rate of growth projected for the transition period as per
section 3;
(l) “Schedule” means the Schedule appended to this Act;
(m) “State” means,––
(i) for the purposes of sections 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7 the States as defined under the Central Goods
and Services Tax Act; and
(ii) for the purposes of sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14 the States as defined under the Central
Goods and Services Tax Act and the Union territories as defined under the Union Territories Goods
and Services Tax Act;
(n) “State tax” means the State goods and services tax levied and collected under the respective
State Goods and Services Tax Act;
(o) “State Goods and Services Tax Act” means the law to be made by the State Legislature for
levy and collection of tax by the concerned State on supply of goods or services or both;
1. 1st July, 2017 vide notification No. G.S.R. 700 (E) dated the 28 June, 2017, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II,
sec. 3(i).
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(p) “taxable supply” means a supply of goods or services or both which is chargeable to the cess
under this Act;
(q) “transition date” shall mean, in respect of any State, the date on which the State Goods and
Services Tax Act of the concerned State comes into force;
(r) “transition period” means a period of five years from the transition date; and
(s) “Union Territories Goods and Services Tax Act” means the Union Territories Goods and
Services Tax Act, 2017 (14 of 2017).
(2) The words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in the Central Goods and
Services Tax Act and the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act shall have the meanings respectively
assigned to them in those Acts.
3. Projected growth rate.––The projected nominal growth rate of revenue subsumed for a State
during the transition period shall be fourteen per cent. per annum.
4. Base year.––For the purpose of calculating the compensation amount payable in any financial year
during the transition period, the financial year ending 31st March, 2016, shall be taken as the base year.
5. Base year revenue.––(1) Subject to the provision of sub-sections (2), (3), (4), (5) and (6), the base
year revenue for a State shall be the sum of the revenue collected by the State and the local bodies during
the base year, on account of the taxes levied by the respective State or Union and net of refunds, with
respect to the following taxes, imposed by the respective State or Union, which are subsumed into goods
and services tax, namely:––
(a) the value added tax, sales tax, purchase tax, tax collected on works contract, or any other tax
levied by the concerned State under the erstwhile entry 54 of List-II (State List) of the Seventh
Schedule to the Constitution;
(b) the central sales tax levied under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (74 of 1956);
(c) the entry tax, octroi, local body tax or any other tax levied by the concerned State under the
erstwhile entry 52 of List-II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution;
(d) the taxes on luxuries, including taxes on entertainments, amusements, betting and gambling or
any other tax levied by the concerned State under the erstwhile entry 62 of List-II (State List) of the
Seventh Schedule to the Constitution;
(e) the taxes on advertisement or any other tax levied by the concerned State under the erstwhile
entry 55 of List-II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution;
(f) the duties of excise on medicinal and toilet preparations levied by the Union but collected and
retained by the concerned State Government under the erstwhile article 268 of the Constitution;
(g) any cess or surcharge or fee leviable under entry 66 read with entries 52, 54, 55 and 62 of
List-II of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution by the State Government under any Act notified
under sub-section (4),
prior to the commencement of the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment)
Act, 2016:
Provided that the revenue collected during the base year in a State, net of refunds, under the following
taxes shall not be included in the calculation of the base year revenue for that State, namely:—
(a) any taxes levied under any Act enacted under the erstwhile entry 54 of List-II (State List) of the
Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, prior to the coming into force of the provisions of the Constitution
(One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016, on the sale or purchase of petroleum crude, high speed
diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas, aviation turbine fuel and alcoholic liquor
for human consumption;
(b) tax levied under the Central Sales Tax Act, 1956 (74 of 1956), on the sale or purchase of
petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas, aviation
turbine fuel and alcoholic liquor for human consumption;
(c) any cess imposed by the State Government on the sale or purchase of petroleum crude, high
speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas, aviation turbine fuel and
alcoholic liquor for human consumption; and
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(d) the entertainment tax levied by the State but collected by local bodies, under any Act enacted
under the erstwhile entry 62 of List-II (State List) of the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution, prior
to coming into force of the provisions of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act,
2016.
(2) In respect of the State of Jammu and Kashmir*, the base year revenue shall include the amount of
tax collected on sale of services by the said State Government during the base year.
(3) In respect of the States mentioned in sub-clause (g) of clause (4) of article 279A of the Constitution,
the amount of revenue foregone on account of exemptions or remission given by the said State
Governments to promote industrial investment in the State, with respect to such specific taxes referred to in
sub-section (1), shall be included in the total base year revenue of the State, subject to such conditions as
may be prescribed.
(4) The Acts of the Central Government and State Governments under which the specific taxes are
being subsumed into the goods and services tax shall be such as may be notified.
(5) The base year revenue shall be calculated as per sub-sections (1), (2), (3) and (4) on the basis of
the figures of revenue collected and net of refunds given in that year, as audited by the Comptroller and
Auditor-General of India.
(6) In respect of any State, if any part of revenues mentioned in sub-sections (1), (2), (3) and (4) are
not credited in the Consolidated Fund of the respective State, the same shall be included in the total base
year revenue of the State, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.
6. Projected revenue for any year.—The projected revenue for any year in a State shall be
calculated by applying the projected growth rate over the base year revenue of that State.
Illustration.—If the base year revenue for 2015-16 for a concerned State, calculated as per section 5
is one hundred rupees, then the projected revenue for financial year 2018-19 shall be as follows—
Projected Revenue for 2018-19=100 (1+14/100)3
7. Calculation and release of compensation.––(1) The compensation under this Act shall be payable
to any State during the transition period.
(2) The compensation payable to a State shall be provisionally calculated and released at the end of
every two months period, and shall be finally calculated for every financial year after the receipt of final
revenue figures, as audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India:
Provided that in case any excess amount has been released as compensation to a State in any financial
year during the transition period, as per the audited figures of revenue collected, the excess amount so
released shall be adjusted against the compensation amount payable to such State in the subsequent financial
year.
(3) The total compensation payable for any financial year during the transition period to any State
shall be calculated in the following manner, namely:––
(a) the projected revenue for any financial year during the transition period, which could have
accrued to a State in the absence of the goods and services tax, shall be calculated as per section 6;
(b) the actual revenue collected by a State in any financial year during the transition period shall
be—
(i) the actual revenue from State tax collected by the State, net of refunds given by the said
State under Chapters XI and XX of the State Goods and Services Tax Act;
(ii) the integrated goods and services tax apportioned to that State; and
(iii) any collection of taxes on account of the taxes levied by the respective State under the
Acts specified in sub-section (4) of section 5, net of refund of such taxes,
as certified by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India;
(c) the total compensation payable in any financial year shall be the difference between the
projected revenue for any financial year and the actual revenue collected by a State referred to in
clause (b).
*. Vide notification No. S.O. 3912(E), dated 30th October, 2019, this Act is made applicable to the Union territory of Jammu
and Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh..
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(4) The loss of revenue at the end of every two months period in any year for a State during the
transition period shall be calculated, at the end of the said period, in the following manner, namely:––
(a) the projected revenue that could have been earned by the State in absence of the goods and
services tax till the end of the relevant two months period of the respective financial year shall be
calculated on a pro-rata basis as a percentage of the total projected revenue for any financial year
during the transition period, calculated in accordance with section 6.
Illustration.—If the projected revenue for any year calculated in accordance with section 6 is one
hundred rupees, for calculating the projected revenue that could be earned till the end of the period of
ten months for the purpose of this sub-section shall be 100x(5/6) = Rs. 83.33;
(b) the actual revenue collected by a State till the end of relevant two months period in any
financial year during the transition period shall be—
(i) the actual revenue from State tax collected by the State, net of refunds given by the State
under Chapters XI and XX of the State Goods and Services Tax Act;
(ii) the integrated goods and services tax apportioned to that State, as certified by the
Principal Chief Controller of Accounts of the 1
[Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs];
and
(iii) any collection of taxes levied by the said State, under the Acts specified in
sub-section (4) of section 5, net of refund of such taxes;
(c) the provisional compensation payable to any State at the end of the relevant two months period
in any financial year shall be the difference between the projected revenue till the end of the relevant
period in accordance with clause (a) and the actual revenue collected by a State in the said period as
referred to in clause (b), reduced by the provisional compensation paid to a State till the end of the
previous two months period in the said financial year during the transition period.
(5) In case of any difference between the final compensation amount payable to a State calculated in
accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) upon receipt of the audited revenue figures from the
Comptroller and Auditor-General of India, and the total provisional compensation amount released to a State
in the said financial year in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (4), the same shall be adjusted
against release of compensation to the State in the subsequent financial year.
(6) Where no compensation is due to be released in any financial year, and in case any excess amount
has been released to a State in the previous year, this amount shall be refunded by the State to the Central
Government and such amount shall be credited to the Fund in such manner as may be prescribed.
8. Levy and collection of cess.—(1) There shall be levied a cess on such intra-State supplies of goods
or services or both, as provided for in section 9 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, and such interState supplies of goods or services or both as provided for in section 5 of the Integrated Goods and Services
Tax Act, and collected in such manner as may be prescribed, on the recommendations of the Council, for the
purposes of providing compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of
the goods and services tax with effect from the date from which the provisions of the Central Goods and
Services Tax Act is brought into force, for a period of five years or for such period as may be prescribed on
the recommendations of the Council:
Provided that no such cess shall be leviable on supplies made by a taxable person who has decided to
opt for composition levy under section 10 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act.
(2) The cess shall be levied on such supplies of goods and services as are specified in column (2) of
the Schedule, on the basis of value, quantity or on such basis at such rate not exceeding the rate set forth
in the corresponding entry in column (4) of the Schedule, as the Central Government may, on the
recommendations of the Council, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify:
Provided that where the cess is chargeable on any supply of goods or services or both with reference
to their value, for each such supply the value shall be determined under section 15 of the Central Goods
and Services Tax Act for all intra-State and inter-State supplies of goods or services or both:
Provided further that the cess on goods imported into India shall be levied and collected in
accordance with the provisions of section 3 of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 (51 of 1975), at the point
1. Subs. by Act 34 of 2018, s. 2, for “Central Board of Excise and Customs” (w.e.f. 1-2-2019).
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when duties of customs are levied on the said goods under section 12 of the Customs Act, 1962
(52 of 1962), on a value determined under the Customs Tariff Act, 1975.
9. Returns, payments and refunds.—(1) Every taxable person, making a taxable supply of goods or
services or both, shall—
(a) pay the amount of cess as payable under this Act in such manner;
(b) furnish such returns in such forms, along with the returns to be filed under the Central Goods
and Services Tax Act; and
(c) apply for refunds of such cess paid in such form,
as may be prescribed.
(2) For all purposes of furnishing of returns and claiming refunds, except for the form to be filed, the
provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act and the rules made thereunder, shall, as far as may
be, apply in relation to the levy and collection of the cess leviable under section 8 on all taxable supplies
of goods or services or both, as they apply in relation to the levy and collection of central tax on such
supplies under the said Act or the rules made thereunder.
10. Crediting proceeds of cess to Fund.—(1) The proceeds of the cess leviable under section 8 and
such other amounts as may be recommended by the Council, shall be credited to a non-lapsable Fund
known as the Goods and Services Tax Compensation Fund, which shall form part of the public account of
India and shall be utilised for purposes specified in the said section.
(2) All amounts payable to the States under section 7 shall be paid out of the Fund.
(3) Fifty per cent. of the amount remaining unutilised in the Fund at the end of the transition period
shall be transferred to the Consolidated Fund of India as the share of Centre, and the balance fifty
per cent. shall be distributed amongst the States in the ratio of their total revenues from the State tax or
the Union territory goods and services tax, as the case may be, in the last year of the transition period.
1
[(3A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (3), fifty per cent. of such amount, as may
be recommended by the Council, which remains unutilised in the Fund, at any point of time in any
financial year during the transition period shall be transferred to the Consolidated Fund of India as the
share of Centre, and the balance fifty per cent. shall be distributed amongst the States in the ratio of their
base year revenue determined in accordance with the provisions of section 5:
Provided that in case of shortfall in the amount collected in the Fund against the requirement of
compensation to be released under section 7 for any two months' period, fifty per cent. of the same, but
not exceeding the total amount transferred to the Centre and the States as recommended by the Council,
shall be recovered from the Centre and the balance fifty per cent. from the States in the ratio of their base
year revenue determined in accordance with the provisions of section 5.]
(4) The accounts relating to Fund shall be audited by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India or
any person appointed by him at such intervals as may be specified by him and any expenditure in
connection with such audit shall be payable by the Central Government to the Comptroller and
Auditor-General of India.
(5) The accounts of the Fund, as certified by the Comptroller and Auditor-General of India or any
other person appointed by him in this behalf together with the audit report thereon shall be laid before
each House of Parliament.
11. Other provisions relating to cess.—(1) The provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act,
and the rules made thereunder, including those relating to assessment, input tax credit, non-levy, short-levy,
interest, appeals, offences and penalties, shall, as far as may be, mutatis mutandis, apply, in relation to the
levy and collection of the cess leviable under section 8 on the intra-State supply of goods and services, as
they apply in relation to the levy and collection of central tax on such intra-State supplies under the said Act
or the rules made thereunder.
(2) The provisions of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, and the rules made thereunder,
including those relating to assessment, input tax credit, non-levy, short-levy, interest, appeals, offences and
penalties, shall, mutatis mutandis, apply in relation to the levy and collection of the cess leviable under
1. Ins. by Act 34 of 2018, s. 3 (w.e.f. 1-2-2019).
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section 8 on the inter-State supply of goods and services, as they apply in relation to the levy and collection
of integrated tax on such inter-State supplies under the said Act or the rules made thereunder:
Provided that the input tax credit in respect of cess on supply of goods and services leviable under
section 8, shall be utilised only towards payment of said cess on supply of goods and services leviable
under the said section.
12. Power to make rules.—(1) The Central Government shall, on the recommendations of the
Council, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules for carrying out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power, such rules may
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the conditions which were included in the total base year revenue of the States, referred to in
sub-clause (g) of clause (4) of article 279A of the Constitution, under sub-section (3) of section 5;
(b) the conditions subject to which any part of revenues not credited in the Consolidated Fund of
the respective State shall be included in the total base year revenue of the State, under sub-section (6)
of section 5;
(c) the manner of refund of compensation by the States to the Central Government under
sub-section (6) of section 7;
(d) the manner of levy and collection of cess and the period of its imposition under
sub-section (1) of section 8;
(e) the manner and forms for payment of cess, furnishing of returns and refund of cess under
sub-section (1) of section 9; and
(f) any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed, or in respect of which provision is to be
made, by rules.
13. Laying of rules before Parliament.—Every rule made under this Act by the Central Government
shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for
a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions,
and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions
aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule
should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as
the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the
validity of anything previously done under that rule.
14. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this
Act, the Central Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by order published in the Official
Gazette, make such provisions, not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to it to be necessary
or expedient for removing the difficulty:
Provided that no order shall be made under this section after the expiry of 1
[five years] from the
commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each
House of Parliament.