GST Architecture
Structure, Components, and Revenue Sharing
India's Goods and Services Tax, introduced on July 1, 2017, replaced a complex, cascading multi-tax system (central excise, service tax, VAT, etc.) with a unified destination-based consumption tax. It operates under a dual structure: CGST (Central GST) and SGST (State GST) apply concurrently on intra-state supplies, while IGST (Integrated GST) applies on inter-state supplies and imports.
Revenue sharing under GST follows destination-based principles: CGST goes entirely to the Centre; SGST goes entirely to the state of supply; IGST from inter-state transactions is apportioned to the destination state after the Centre retains its share. For intra-state transactions, CGST and SGST are split 50:50 between Centre and state.
- Constitutional basis: Article 246A (inserted by the 101st Constitutional Amendment, 2016) grants both Parliament and State Legislatures concurrent power to legislate on GST.
- The GST Council (Article 279A) is the constitutional body chaired by the Union Finance Minister, with state finance ministers as members; it makes recommendations on rates, exemptions, and threshold limits.
- GST replaced 17 indirect taxes and 13 cesses at the central and state level.
- The original rate structure had 5 slabs: 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, 28% (plus cess on luxury/demerit goods).
- The 56th GST Council meeting (September 2025) rationalised slabs — abolishing the 12% and 28% tiers and introducing a 40% slab for luxury and sin goods.
● Tracked since April 01, 2026 · last seen July 01, 2026 · updates as the daily brief publishes