Section 2
Definitions.
GST
PRELIMINARY
Section 2 of Central Goods And Services Tax Act, 2017
Definitions.
2. 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 2[Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs], the Revisional Authority, the Authority for Advance Ruling, the Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling, 9[the National Appellate Authority for Advance Ruling,] 3[the Appellate Authority,
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nd 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
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upply 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;
4[(h) 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) 5[****]
(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 o
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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 good
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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 6[clause (b)
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lectronic 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 non-taxable 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 per
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tion 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
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s;
(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”
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a Panchayat area and vested by law with the powers to levy, collect and appropriate any tax, duty, toll, cess or fee, by whatever name called;
(b) “municipal fund” means any fund under the control or management of an authority of a local self-government established for discharging civic functions in relation to a Metropolitan area or Municipal area and vested by law with the powers to levy, collect and appropriate any tax, duty, toll, cess or fee, by whatever name called;]
(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 7[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
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nt, 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;
I
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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;
16[(80A) “online gaming” means offering of a game on the internet or an electronic network and includes online money gaming;
(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
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(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
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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
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tegrated 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;
17[(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;]
8[Explanation.For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that the expression “services” i
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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, vi
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Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu;
(d) Ladakh;]
(e) Chandigarh; 13[****]
14[(ea) Ladakh; 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;
24[(116A) “unique identification marking” means the unique identification marking referred to in clause (b) of sub-section (2) of section 148A and includes a digital stamp, digital mark or any other similar marking, which is unique, secure and non-removable;]
(117) “valid return” means a return furnished under sub-section (1) of section 39 on which self-assessed tax has been paid in full;
19[(117A) “virtual digital asset” shall have the same meaning as a
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s 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) 15[****]
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NOTES:-
1.
Substituted vide Section 221 of the Finance Act, 2018 w.e.f 29-03-2018 before it was read as,
“Central Board of Excise and Customs”
2.
Substituted vide Section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 w.e.f 01-02-2019 before it was read as,
“Central Board of Excise and Customs”
3.
Substituted vide Section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 w.e.f 01-02-2019 before it was read as,
“the Appellate Authority and the Appellate Tribunal”
4.
Substituted vide Section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 w.e.f 01-02-2019 before it was read as,
“(h) services provided by a race club by way of totalisator or a licence to book maker in such club ; and”
5.
Omitted vide Section 2 of th
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d as, “clause (c)”
7.
Inserted vide Section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 w.e.f 01-02-2019
8.
Inserted vide Section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2018 w.e.f 01-02-2019
9.
Inserted vide Section 92 of the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019 (This amendment shall be effective from a date to be notified.)
10.
Inserted vide Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Regulation, 2020 w.e.f. 26-01-2020
11.
Omitted vide Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Regulation, 2020 w.e.f. 26-01-2020 before it was read as, “(d) Daman and Diu”
12.
Substituted vide Section 118 of the Finance Act, 2020 w.e.f. 30
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e Section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2023 w.e.f. 01-10-2023
19.
Inserted vide Section 2 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Act, 2023 w.e.f. 01-10-2023
20.
Substituted vide Section 11 of the Finance Act, 2024 w.e.f. 01-04-2025 before it was read as,
“(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;”
21.
Inserted vide Section 121 of the Finance Act, 2025 dated 29-03-2025 w.e.f. 01-04-2025
22.
Inserted vide Section 121 of the Finance Act, 2025 dated 29-
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