Pramit Pratim Ghosh

With GST now a reality in India, businesses across the country should be conversant with GST related words, tax terms under GST, and important definitions in GST.

Works contract, by definition, is an agreement to carry out for cash, deferred payment, or other valuable consideration of an immovable property. In GST, it's purview is crucial.

The concept of pure agent was first introduced in the erstwhile Service Tax regime. The same concept of pure agent in GST is applicable.

Transport of goods by road or freight is the most commonly used mode of transportation for businesses which supply goods. This freight is facilitated either by a GTA or common carriers.

The important identifier for businesses in the GST era is the GSTIN or Goods and Services Tax Identification Number, or simply GST number.

In the GST regime, primarily two types of GST bill or GST invoices will be issued, according to the GST billing process: Tax Invoice & Bill of Supply.

The third party applications which will connect with the GST system via APIs are the GST Suvidha Providers or GSP.

E-way bill or Electronic-way bill is a document introduced under the GST regime that needs to be generated before transporting or shipping goods worth more than INR 50,000 within state or inter-state.

It may be noted that as per the initial notification issued by the government on 26th June 2017, the provisions of TDS and TCS under GST were put on hold.

For any taxation system, time of taxation or point of taxation is of crucial importance. Point of Taxation (POT) refers to the point in time when tax is required to be paid for a taxable event.

Reverse Charge Mechanism, is a system wherein the liability to pay tax on a transaction to the Government is on the recipient.

While every change has its pros and cons, GST is no different. However, it is expected that one will be able to see significant GST benefits for the common man, as well as for the business community.