Section 2. Definitions.-
In this Act, unless the
context otherwise requires,-
(1) "actionable
claim" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 3 of the
Transfer of Property Act, 1882 (4 of 1882);
(2) "address of
delivery" means the address of the recipient of goods or services or both
indicated on the tax invoice issued by a registered person for delivery of such
goods or services or both;
(3) "address on
record" means the address of the recipient as available in the records of
the supplier;
(4) "adjudicating
authority" means any authority, appointed or authorised to pass any order
or decision under this Act, but does not include the 1[Central Board of
Indirect Taxes and Customs], the Revisional Authority, the Authority for
Advance Ruling, the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling, 2[the National
Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling,] 3[the Appellate Authority, the
Appellate Tribunal and the Authority referred to in sub-section (2) of section
171];
(5) "agent" means a
person, including a factor, broker, commission agent, arhatia, del credere
agent, an auctioneer or any other mercantile agent, by whatever name called,
who carries on the business of supply or receipt of goods or services or both
on behalf of another;
(6) "aggregate
turnover" means the aggregate value of all taxable supplies (excluding the
value of inward supplies on which tax is payable by a person on reverse charge
basis), exempt supplies, exports of goods or services or both and inter-State
supplies of persons having the same Permanent Account Number, to be computed on
all India basis but excludes central tax, State tax, Union territory tax,
integrated tax and cess;
(7) "agriculturist"
means an individual or a Hindu Undivided Family who undertakes cultivation of
land-
(a) by own labour, or
(b) by the labour of family,
or
(c) by servants on wages
payable in cash or kind or by hired labour under personal supervision or the
personal supervision of any member of the family;
(8) "Appellate
Authority" means an authority appointed or authorised to hear appeals as
referred to in section 107;
(9) "Appellate
Tribunal" means the Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal constituted
under section 109;
(10) "appointed
day" means the date on which the provisions of this Act shall come into
force;
(11) "assessment"
means determination of tax liability under this Act and includes
self-assessment, re-assessment, provisional assessment, summary assessment and
best judgment assessment;
(12) "associated
enterprises" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 92A
of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (43 of 1961);
(13) "audit" means
the examination of records, returns and other documents maintained or furnished
by the registered person under this Act or the rules made thereunder or under
any other law for the time being in force to verify the correctness of turnover
declared, taxes paid, refund claimed and input tax credit availed, and to
assess his compliance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made
thereunder;
(14) "authorised
bank" shall mean a bank or a branch of a bank authorised by the Government
to collect the tax or any other amount payable under this Act;
(15) "authorised
representative" means the representative as referred to in section 116;
(16) "Board" means
the 4[Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs] constituted under the
Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963);
(17) "business"
includes -
(a) any trade, commerce,
manufacture, profession, vocation, adventure, wager or any other similar
activity, whether or not it is for a pecuniary benefit;
(b) any activity or
transaction in connection with or incidental or ancillary to sub-clause (a);
(c) any activity or
transaction in the nature of sub-clause (a), whether or not there is volume,
frequency, continuity or regularity of such transaction;
(d) supply or acquisition of
goods including capital goods and services in connection with commencement or
closure of business;
(e) provision by a club,
association, society, or any such body (for a subscription or any other
consideration) of the facilities or benefits to its members;
(f) admission, for a
consideration, of persons to any premises;
(g) services supplied by a
person as the holder of an office which has been accepted by him in the course
or furtherance of his trade, profession or vocation;
(h) 5[activities of a race
club including by way of totalisator or a license to book maker or activities
of a licensed book maker in such club; and]
(i) any activity or
transaction undertaken by the Central Government, a State Government or any
local authority in which they are engaged as public authorities;
(18) 6[****];
(19) "capital
goods" means goods, the value of which is capitalised in the books of
account of the person claiming the input tax credit and which are used or
intended to be used in the course or furtherance of business;
(20) "casual taxable
person" means a person who occasionally undertakes transactions involving
supply of goods or services or both in the course or furtherance of business,
whether as principal, agent or in any other capacity, in a State or a Union
territory where he has no fixed place of business;
(21) "central tax"
means the central goods and services tax levied under section 9;
(22) "cess" shall
have the same meaning as assigned to it in the Goods and Services Tax
(Compensation to States) Act;
(23) "chartered
accountant" means a chartered accountant as defined in clause (b) of
sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of
1949);
(24) "Commissioner"
means the Commissioner of central tax and includes the Principal Commissioner
of central tax appointed under section 3 and the Commissioner of integrated tax
appointed under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;
(25) "Commissioner in
the Board" means the Commissioner referred to in section 168;
(26) "common
portal" means the common goods and services tax electronic portal referred
to in section 146;
(27) "common working
days" in respect of a State or Union territory shall mean such days in
succession which are not declared as gazetted holidays by the Central
Government or the concerned State or Union territory Government;
(28) "company
secretary" means a company secretary as defined in clause (c) of
sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Company Secretaries Act, 1980 (56 of 1980);
(29) "competent
authority" means such authority as may be notified by the Government;
(30) "composite
supply" means a supply made by a taxable person to a recipient consisting
of two or more taxable supplies of goods or services or both, or any
combination thereof, which are naturally bundled and supplied in conjunction
with each other in the ordinary course of business, one of which is a principal
supply;
Illustration.- Where goods
are packed and transported with insurance, the supply of goods, packing
materials, transport and insurance is a composite supply and supply of goods is
a principal supply;
(31)
"consideration" in relation to the supply of goods or services or
both includes-
(a) any payment made or to be
made, whether in money or otherwise, in respect of, in response to, or for the
inducement of, the supply of goods or services or both, whether by the
recipient or by any other person but shall not include any subsidy given by the
Central Government or a State Government;
(b) the monetary value of any
act or forbearance, in respect of, in response to, or for the inducement of,
the supply of goods or services or both, whether by the recipient or by any
other person but shall not include any subsidy given by the Central Government
or a State Government:
Provided that a deposit given
in respect of the supply of goods or services or both shall not be considered
as payment made for such supply unless the supplier applies such deposit as
consideration for the said supply;
(32) "continuous supply
of goods" means a supply of goods which is provided, or agreed to be
provided, continuously or on recurrent basis, under a contract, whether or not
by means of a wire, cable, pipeline or other conduit, and for which the
supplier invoices the recipient on a regular or periodic basis and includes
supply of such goods as the Government may, subject to such conditions, as it
may, by notification, specify;
(33) "continuous supply
of services" means a supply of services which is provided, or agreed to be
provided, continuously or on recurrent basis, under a contract, for a period
exceeding three months with periodic payment obligations and includes supply of
such services as the Government may, subject to such conditions, as it may, by
notification, specify;
(34) "conveyance"
includes a vessel, an aircraft and a vehicle;
(35) " cost
accountant" means a cost accountant as defined in 7[clause (b)] of
sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Cost and Works Accountants Act, 1959 (23 of
1959);
(36) "Council "
means the Goods and Services Tax Council established under article 279A of the
Constitution;
(37) "credit note"
means a document issued by a registered person under subsection (1) of section
34;
(38) "debit note"
means a document issued by a registered person under subsection (3) of section
34;
(39) "deemed
exports" means such supplies of goods as may be notified under section
147;
(40) "designated
authority" means such authority as may be notified by the Board;
(41) "document"
includes written or printed record of any sort and electronic record as defined
in clause (t) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);
(42) "drawback" in
relation to any goods manufactured in India and exported, means the rebate of
duty, tax or cess chargeable on any imported inputs or on any domestic inputs
or input services used in the manufacture of such goods;
(43) "electronic cash
ledger" means the electronic cash ledger referred to in sub- section (1)
of section 49;
(44) "electronic
commerce" means the supply of goods or services or both, including digital
products over digital or electronic network;
(45) "electronic
commerce operator" means any person who owns, operates or manages digital
or electronic facility or platform for electronic commerce;
(46) "electronic credit
ledger" means the electronic credit ledger referred to in sub-section (2)
of section 49;
(47) "exempt supply"
means supply of any goods or services or both which attracts nil rate of tax or
which may be wholly exempt from tax under section 11, or under section 6 of the
Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, and includes nontaxable supply;
(48) "existing law"
means any law, notification, order, rule or regulation relating to levy and
collection of duty or tax on goods or services or both passed or made before
the commencement of this Act by Parliament or any Authority or person having
the power to make such law, notification, order, rule or regulation;
(49) "family"
means,-
(i) the spouse and children
of the person, and
(ii) the parents,
grand-parents, brothers and sisters of the person if they are wholly or mainly
dependent on the said person;
(50) "fixed
establishment" means a place (other than the registered place of business)
which is characterised by a sufficient degree of permanence and suitable
structure in terms of human and technical resources to supply services, or to
receive and use services for its own needs;
(51) "Fund" means
the Consumer Welfare Fund established under section 57;
(52) "goods" means
every kind of movable property other than money and securities but includes
actionable claim, growing crops, grass and things attached to or forming part
of the land which are agreed to be severed before supply or under a contract of
supply;
(53) "Government"
means the Central Government;
(54) "Goods and Services
Tax (Compensation to States) Act" means the Goods and Services Tax (Compensation
to States) Act, 2017;
(55) "goods and services
tax practitioner" means any person who has been approved under section 48
to act as such practitioner;
(56) "India" means
the territory of India as referred to in article 1 of the Constitution, its territorial
waters, seabed and sub-soil underlying such waters, continental shelf,
exclusive economic zone or any other maritime zone as referred to in the
Territorial Waters, Continental Shelf, Exclusive Economic Zone and other
Maritime Zones Act, 1976 (80 of 1976), and the air space above its territory
and territorial waters;
(57) "Integrated Goods
and Services Tax Act" means the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act,
2017;
(58) "integrated
tax" means the integrated goods and services tax levied under the
Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;
(59) "input" means
any goods other than capital goods used or intended to be used by a supplier in
the course or furtherance of business;
(60) "input
service" means any service used or intended to be used by a supplier in
the course or furtherance of business;
(61) "Input Service
Distributor" means an office of the supplier of goods or services or both
which receives tax invoices issued under section 31 towards the receipt of
input services and issues a prescribed document for the purposes of
distributing the credit of central tax, State tax, integrated tax or Union
territory tax paid on the said services to a supplier of taxable goods or
services or both having the same Permanent Account Number as that of the said office;
(62) "input tax" in
relation to a registered person, means the central tax, State tax, integrated
tax or Union territory tax charged on any supply of goods or services or both
made to him and includes-
(a) the integrated goods and
services tax charged on import of goods;
(b) the tax payable under the
provisions of sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 9;
(c) the tax payable under the
provisions of sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 5 of the Integrated Goods and
Services Tax Act;
(d) the tax payable under the
provisions of sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 9 of the respective State
Goods and Services Tax Act; or
(e) the tax payable under the
provisions of sub-sections (3) and (4) of section 7 of the Union Territory
Goods and Services Tax Act,
but does not include the tax
paid under the composition levy;
(63) "input tax
credit" means the credit of input tax;
(64) "intra-State supply
of goods" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 8 of
the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;
(65) "intra-State supply
of services" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in section 8 of
the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;
(66) "invoice" or
"tax invoice" means the tax invoice referred to in section 31;
(67) "inward
supply" in relation to a person, shall mean receipt of goods or services
or both whether by purchase, acquisition or any other means with or without
consideration;
(68) "job work"
means any treatment or process undertaken by a person on goods belonging to
another registered person and the expression "job worker" shall be
construed accordingly;
(69) "local
authority" means-
(a) a "Panchayat"
as defined in clause (d) of article 243 of the Constitution;
(b) a
"Municipality" as defined in clause (e) of article 243P of the
Constitution;
(c) a Municipal Committee, a
Zilla Parishad, a District Board, and any other authority legally entitled to,
or entrusted by the Central Government or any State Government with the control
or management of a municipal or local fund;
(d) a Cantonment Board as
defined in section 3 of the Cantonments Act, 2006 (41 of 2006);
(e) a Regional Council or a
District Council constituted under the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution;
(f) a Development Board
constituted under article 371 8[and article 371J] of the Constitution; or
(g) a Regional Council
constituted under article 371A of the Constitution;
(70) "location of the
recipient of services" means,-
(a) where a supply is received
at a place of business for which the registration has been obtained, the
location of such place of business;
(b) where a supply is
received at a place other than the place of business for which registration has
been obtained (a fixed establishment elsewhere), the location of such fixed
establishment;
(c) where a supply is
received at more than one establishment, whether the place of business or fixed
establishment, the location of the establishment most directly concerned with
the receipt of the supply; and
(d) in absence of such
places, the location of the usual place of residence of the recipient;
(71) "location of the
supplier of services" means,-
(a) where a supply is made
from a place of business for which the registration has been obtained, the
location of such place of business;
(b) where a supply is made
from a place other than the place of business for which registration has been
obtained (a fixed establishment elsewhere), the location of such fixed
establishment;
(c) where a supply is made
from more than one establishment, whether the place
of business or fixed
establishment, the location of the establishment most directly concerned with
the provisions of the supply; and
(d) in absence of such
places, the location of the usual place of residence of the supplier;
(72) "manufacture"
means processing of raw material or inputs in any manner that results in
emergence of a new product having a distinct name, character and use and the
term "manufacturer" shall be construed accordingly;
(73) "market value"
shall mean the full amount which a recipient of a supply is required to pay in
order to obtain the goods or services or both of like kind and quality at or
about the same time and at the same commercial level where the recipient and
the supplier are not related;
(74) "mixed supply"
means two or more individual supplies of goods or services, or any combination
thereof, made in conjunction with each other by a taxable person for a single
price where such supply does not constitute a composite supply.
Illustration.- A supply of a
package consisting of canned foods, sweets, chocolates, cakes, dry fruits,
aerated drinks and fruit juices when supplied for a single price is a mixed
supply. Each of these items can be supplied separately and is not dependent on
any other. It shall not be a mixed supply if these items are supplied
separately;
(75) "money" means
the Indian legal tender or any foreign currency, cheque, promissory note, bill
of exchange, letter of credit, draft, pay order, traveller cheque, money order,
postal or electronic remittance or any other instrument recognised by the
Reserve Bank of India when used as a consideration to settle an obligation or
exchange with Indian legal tender of another denomination but shall not include
any currency that is held for its numismatic value;
(76) "motor
vehicle" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (28) of
section 2 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (59 of 1988);
(77) "non-resident
taxable person" means any person who occasionally undertakes transactions
involving supply of goods or services or both, whether as principal or agent or
in any other capacity, but who has no fixed place of business or residence in
India;
(78) "non-taxable
supply" means a supply of goods or services or both which is not leviable
to tax under this Act or under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;
(79) "non-taxable
territory" means the territory which is outside the taxable territory;
(80) "notification"
means a notification published in the Official Gazette and the expressions
"notify" and "notified" shall be construed accordingly;
12[(80A) "online
gaming" means offering of a game on the internet or an electronic network
and includes online money gaming.]
13[(80B) "online money
gaming" means online gaming in which players pay or deposit money or
money's worth, including virtual digital assets, in the expectation of winning
money or money's worth, including virtual digital assets, in any event
including game, scheme, competition or any other activity or process, whether
or not its outcome or performance is based on skill, chance or both and whether
the same is permissible or otherwise under any other law for the time being in
force.]
(81) "other
territory" includes territories other than those comprising in a State and
those referred to in sub-clauses (a) to (e) of clause (114) ;
(82) "output tax"
in relation to a taxable person, means the tax chargeable under this Act on
taxable supply of goods or services or both made by him or by his agent but
excludes tax payable by him on reverse charge basis;
(83) "outward
supply" in relation to a taxable person, means supply of goods or services
or both, whether by sale, transfer, barter, exchange, licence, rental, lease or
disposal or any other mode, made or agreed to be made by such person in the
course or furtherance of business;
(84) "person"
includes-
(a) an individual;
(b) a Hindu Undivided Family;
(c) a company;
(d) a firm;
(e) a Limited Liability
Partnership;
(f) an association of persons
or a body of individuals, whether incorporated or not, in India or outside
India;
(g) any corporation
established by or under any Central Act, State Act or Provincial Act or a
Government company as defined in clause (45) of section 2 of the Companies Act,
2013 (18 of 2013);
(h) any body corporate
incorporated by or under the laws of a country outside India;
(i) a co-operative society
registered under any law relating to co-operative societies;
(j) a local authority;
(k) Central Government or a
State Government;
(l) society as defined under
the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (21 of 1860);
(m) trust; and
(n) every artificial
juridical person, not falling within any of the above;
(85) "place of
business" includes-
(a) a place from where the
business is ordinarily carried on, and includes a warehouse, a godown or any
other place where a taxable person stores his goods, supplies or receives goods
or services or both; or
(b) a place where a taxable
person maintains his books of account; or
(c) a place where a taxable
person is engaged in business through an agent, by whatever name called;
(86) "place of
supply" means the place of supply as referred to in Chapter V of the
Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;
(87) "prescribed"
means prescribed by rules made under this Act on the recommendations of the
Council;
(88) "principal"
means a person on whose behalf an agent carries on the business of supply or
receipt of goods or services or both;
(89) "principal place of
business" means the place of business specified as the principal place of
business in the certificate of registration;
(90) "principal
supply" means the supply of goods or services which constitutes the
predominant element of a composite supply and to which any other supply forming
part of that composite supply is ancillary;
(91) "proper
officer" in relation to any function to be performed under this Act, means
the Commissioner or the officer of the central tax who is assigned that
function by the Commissioner in the Board;
(92) "quarter"
shall mean a period comprising three consecutive calendar months, ending on the
last day of March, June, September and December of a calendar year;
(93) "recipient" of
supply of goods or services or both, means-
(a) where a consideration is
payable for the supply of goods or services or both, the person who is liable
to pay that consideration;
(b) where no consideration is
payable for the supply of goods, the person to whom the goods are delivered or
made available, or to whom possession or use of the goods is given or made
available; and
(c) where no consideration is
payable for the supply of a service, the person to whom the service is
rendered,
and any reference to a person
to whom a supply is made shall be construed as a reference to the recipient of
the supply and shall include an agent acting as such on behalf of the recipient
in relation to the goods or services or both supplied;
(94) "registered
person" means a person who is registered under section 25 but does not
include a person having a Unique Identity Number;
(95) "regulations"
means the regulations made by the Board under this Act on the recommendations
of the Council;
(96) "removal" in
relation to goods, means-
(a) despatch of the goods for
delivery by the supplier thereof or by any other person acting on behalf of
such supplier; or
(b) collection of the goods
by the recipient thereof or by any other person acting on behalf of such
recipient;
(97) "return" means
any return prescribed or otherwise required to be furnished by or under this
Act or the rules made thereunder;
(98) "reverse
charge" means the liability to pay tax by the recipient of supply of goods
or services or both instead of the supplier of such goods or services or both
under sub-section (3) or sub-section (4) of section 9, or under sub-section (3)
or sub- section (4) of section 5 of the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act;
(99) "Revisional
Authority" means an authority appointed or authorised for revision of
decision or orders as referred to in section 108;
(100) "Schedule"
means a Schedule appended to this Act;
(101) "securities"
shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (h) of section 2 of the
Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956 (42 of 1956);
(102) "services"
means anything other than goods, money and securities but includes activities
relating to the use of money or its conversion by cash or by any other mode,
from one form, currency or denomination, to another form, currency or
denomination for which a separate consideration is charged;
14[(102A) "specified
actionable claim" means the actionable claim involved in or by way of— (i)
betting;
(ii) casinos;
(iii) gambling;
(iv) horse racing;
(v) lottery; or
(vi) online money gaming.]
9[Explanation.- For the
removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that the expression
"services" includes facilitating or arranging transactions in
securities;]
(103) "State"
includes a Union territory with Legislature;
(104) "State tax"
means the tax levied under any State Goods and Services Tax Act;
(105) "supplier" in
relation to any goods or services or both, shall mean the person supplying the
said goods or services or both and shall include an agent acting as such on
behalf of such supplier in relation to the goods or services or both supplied;
15[Provided that a person who
organises or arranges, directly or indirectly, supply of specified actionable
claims, including a person who owns, operates or manages digital or electronic
platform for such supply, shall be deemed to be a supplier of such actionable
claims, whether such actionable claims are supplied by him or through him and
whether consideration in money or money's worth, including virtual digital
assets, for supply of such actionable claims is paid or conveyed to him or
through him or placed at his disposal in any manner, and all the provisions of
this Act shall apply to such supplier of specified actionable claims, as if he
is the supplier liable to pay the tax in relation to the supply of such
actionable claims.]
(106) "tax period"
means the period for which the return is required to be furnished;
(107) "taxable
person" means a person who is registered or liable to be registered under
section 22 or section 24;
(108) "taxable
supply" means a supply of goods or services or both which is leviable to
tax under this Act;
(109) "taxable
territory" means the territory to which the provisions of this Act apply;
(110) "telecommunication
service" means service of any description (including electronic mail,
voice mail, data services, audio text services, video text services, radio
paging and cellular mobile telephone services) which is made available to users
by means of any transmission or reception of signs, signals, writing, images
and sounds or intelligence of any nature, by wire, radio, visual or other
electromagnetic means;
(111) "the State Goods
and Services Tax Act" means the respective State Goods and Services Tax
Act, 2017;
(112) "turnover in
State" or "turnover in Union territory" means the aggregate
value of all taxable supplies (excluding the value of inward supplies on which
tax is payable by a person on reverse charge basis) and exempt supplies made within
a State or Union territory by a taxable person, exports of goods or services or
both and inter-State supplies of goods or services or both made from the State
or Union territory by the said taxable person but excludes central tax, State
tax, Union territory tax, integrated tax and cess;
(113) "usual place of
residence" means-
(a) in case of an individual,
the place where he ordinarily resides;
(b) in other cases, the place
where the person is incorporated or otherwise legally constituted;
(114) "Union
territory" means the territory of-
(a) the Andaman and Nicobar
Islands;
(b) Lakshadweep;
(c) 10[Dadra and Nagar Haveli
and Daman and Diu;
(d) Ladakh;]
(e) Chandigarh; and
(f) Other territory.
Explanation.- For the
purposes of this Act, each of the territories specified in sub-clauses (a) to
(f) shall be considered to be a separate Union territory;
(115) "Union territory
tax" means the Union territory goods and services tax levied under the
Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act;
(116) "Union Territory
Goods and Services Tax Act" means the Union Territory Goods and Services
Tax Act, 2017;
(117) "valid
return" means a return furnished under sub-section (1) of section 39 on
which self-assessed tax has been paid in full;
16[(117A) "virtual
digital asset" shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause
(47A) of section 2 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.]
(118) "voucher"
means an instrument where there is an obligation to accept it as consideration
or part consideration for a supply of goods or services or both and where the
goods or services or both to be supplied or the identities of their potential
suppliers are either indicated on the instrument itself or in related
documentation, including the terms and conditions of use of such instrument;
(119) "works
contract" means a contract for building, construction, fabrication,
completion, erection, installation, fitting out, improvement, modification,
repair, maintenance, renovation, alteration or commissioning of any immovable
property wherein transfer of property in goods (whether as goods or in some
other form) is involved in the execution of such contract;
(120) words and expressions
used and not defined in this Act but defined in the Integrated Goods and
Services Tax Act, the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act and the Goods
and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act shall have the same meaning as
assigned to them in those Acts;
(121) 11[****]
