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An order’s booking date does not, by itself, decide which GST rate applies. For a rate change, section 14 of India’s Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) uses the timing of the supply, invoice and payment to determine the time of supply. Match those facts to the statutory rule, then apply the rate in force on that time-of-supply date under the notification for the specific goods or services.
Which GST rate applies when an order crosses a rate-change date?
Use the effective date in the relevant rate notification as the dividing line. First establish whether the supply was made before or after that date. Then identify when the invoice was issued and when payment was received. Section 14 sets out six combinations of those events; the applicable combination gives the time of supply. The rate notification and the specific classification determine the rate applicable at that time.
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This is why a purchase order, quotation, contract, booking confirmation or order-acceptance date is not enough to settle the rate. Those documents may establish the commercial arrangement, but an order date is not an independent trigger in section 14’s rate-change test. A delivery or service-completion date, an invoice date and the legally relevant payment-receipt date are the facts to establish.
Section 14 begins: “Notwithstanding anything contained in section 12 or section 13, the time of supply, where there is a change in the rate of tax in respect of goods or services or both, shall be determined in the following manner, namely:––” In other words, where the tax rate changes, use this special timing test rather than relying only on the ordinary time-of-supply rules in sections 12 and 13.
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Let C be the rate change’s effective date. For the test, “before C” means before that date and “after C” means on or after the date from which the notification makes the changed rate effective. Check the notification’s wording and any conditions to confirm exactly when it applies.
Use the section 14 decision table
Determine the supply timing first, then match the invoice and payment facts. The time-of-supply date in the final column is the date to compare with the effective date C when identifying the applicable rate.
| When the supply is made | Invoice and payment timing | Time of supply under section 14 |
|---|---|---|
| Before C | Both the invoice and payment are after C | The earlier of payment receipt or invoice issue |
| Before C | Invoice before C; payment after C | Invoice issue date |
| Before C | Payment before C; invoice after C | Payment receipt date |
| After C | Payment after C; invoice before C | Payment receipt date |
| After C | Invoice and payment before C | The earlier of payment receipt or invoice issue |
| After C | Invoice after C; payment before C | Invoice issue date |
For example, if a supply is made before C but both the invoice and payment fall after C, compare those two later dates: section 14 makes the earlier one the time of supply. If a supply is made after C, the invoice was issued before C and payment arrives after C, the payment-receipt date is the time of supply. Neither example can be resolved just by looking at when the buyer placed the order.
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For a supply after C, payment after C with an invoice before C makes payment receipt the controlling event. If both invoice and payment are before C, use the earlier of the two; if the invoice is after C and payment before C, use the invoice date. These outcomes illustrate why it is not enough to say that post-change delivery always means the new rate or that an earlier invoice always preserves the old rate. First apply the row that matches the statutory facts; then compare the resulting time-of-supply date with C.
Do not substitute “invoice issued after the change” for the statutory test. In some combinations, an invoice issued on one side of C is not the event that fixes the time of supply. Likewise, payment made before C does not automatically preserve the old rate: the supply timing and invoice timing still matter.
How to review an existing order
- Find the governing rate notification. Confirm the goods or services classification, the rate applicable to that classification, the effective date and any conditions or exceptions in the notification. This general guide cannot identify an actual rate without the transaction’s classification and relevant notification.
- Establish when the supply occurred. Assemble the facts showing when goods were supplied or the service was performed. Do not treat the date of an accepted order, quote or contract as a substitute for the supply date.
- Identify the invoice event. Record the date the relevant tax invoice was issued. If an invoice was issued in stages or there are multiple supplies, determine which invoice and supply are being assessed rather than assuming one order has only one relevant date.
- Reconstruct payment receipt. For section 14, payment receipt generally means the earlier of the date the supplier entered the payment in its books and the date it was credited to the supplier’s bank account. The Act contains a four-working-day proviso for a payment credited after the rate change; where that proviso applies, the bank-credit date is used. Retain both dates and check the precise statutory wording and facts before applying the proviso.
- Select the matching row. Use the before/after status of supply, invoice and payment to find the section 14 time of supply. Compare that date with C and then apply the relevant notified rate.
- Check the tax treatment and documents. Confirm whether the transaction involves CGST plus SGST or IGST, and whether a special rule or reverse-charge treatment changes the analysis. Review any receipt voucher, tax invoice, credit or debit note, and the related return treatment before making an adjustment.
For a payment date near C, do not rely on a bank statement alone if the supplier’s book-entry date could be earlier. Preserve evidence of both. The four-working-day proviso is a specific statutory qualification, not a reason to treat all payments received around the change as having the bank-credit date.
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Make the review in a consistent order. The classification and notification establish which rate change is relevant; supply timing determines which half of the section 14 table to use; invoice and payment dates identify the row; and the row gives the time-of-supply date. Reversing that sequence can lead to errors, such as applying a new rate merely because an invoice was issued after C without checking whether an earlier payment controls.
When a single purchase order includes several deliveries, service milestones, invoices or advances, define the unit being reviewed. Match each relevant supply with the invoice and payment events associated with it, and retain the documents that support that association. Do not automatically assign one date or one rate to the entire commercial order simply because it was booked as a single transaction.
Do an advance or deposit lock in the old rate?
No general answer applies to every advance. Under section 14, an advance is relevant as a payment event, but its effect depends on the supply, invoice and payment combination in the table. The advance’s label alone does not determine the rate.
Also distinguish a payment that is consideration for a supply from an unapplied deposit. CBIC’s sectoral FAQ explains that a deposit relating to a supply is not treated as payment unless the supplier applies it as consideration. Record whether the amount has been applied, what it pays for and how much of the supply it covers. Calling an amount a “deposit” in a ledger or contract is not a substitute for checking its actual treatment.
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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteThe ordinary time-of-supply rules for advances differ across goods and services. The CGST Act’s general service timing provision deems a supply made to the extent covered by an invoice or payment. CBIC’s guidance also gives a goods example under section 12(2) in which an advance can trigger GST before the invoice. Do not carry one category’s ordinary rule over to another category, or use it in place of section 14 where a rate change is involved.
How to handle a part-payment
For a part-payment, document which part of the consideration it covers, when it was received and whether it is consideration or an unapplied deposit. The Act’s cited service provision refers to the extent covered by invoice or payment; that does not establish a universal allocation rule for every supply type. Check the applicable provision and transaction facts before applying the rate to a portion of an order.
Where an order has several deliveries, service milestones, invoices or advances, assess the relevant supply and its associated timing facts rather than treating the entire order as a single undifferentiated event. Keep the allocation supported by the contract, invoices and payment records.
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A useful review of a partial amount asks separate questions: what supply or portion does it relate to; was it actually received and recorded as payment; has a deposit been applied as consideration; and what amount is supported by the relevant invoice or payment evidence? For services, the cited general rule refers to the extent covered by invoice or payment, but that wording should not be turned into a blanket apportionment method for every category. If the allocation is unclear, establish the relevant statutory treatment before calculating an adjustment.
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Why a historical CBIC example is not a blanket rule
CBIC’s GST FAQ includes a historical section 14 illustration in which the rate rose from 18% to 20% effective 1 June 2017. In that example, goods were supplied and invoiced after that date, so the new 20% rate applied despite full advance payment in April 2017. Those figures and facts are a historical illustration, not current rates and not a rule that an advance can never affect the applicable rate. Apply the statutory combination to the actual supply.
The example is useful because it directly addresses the common assumption that paying the full amount before a change necessarily fixes the rate. It does not. Its result follows from the example’s particular supply, invoice and payment facts under the statutory test. A different arrangement may fall into a different row, and a current transaction also requires its own classification and rate notification.
Invoices, vouchers and adjustments
The CGST Act requires a registered person receiving an advance to issue a receipt voucher. It also provides for a refund voucher where the contemplated supply does not occur and no tax invoice is issued in pursuance of that receipt voucher. Match the voucher to the payment and to the eventual supply or refund so that the transaction history can be followed.
CBIC’s invoice-rules guidance says a taxable service invoice is generally due within 30 days from the date of service. It describes 45-day exceptions for insurers, banks, financial institutions including NBFCs, and stated special circumstances. Those are not interchangeable deadlines for every supplier: confirm the current rule and the exception applicable to the service and supplier before deciding that an invoice is timely.
Credit and debit notes may be relevant where the tax charged or payable differs, but they are governed by statutory conditions. The Act permits credit notes in stated circumstances and requires debit notes when the invoiced taxable value or tax is less than payable. Do not issue an adjustment document merely because a rate changed; first determine the correct time of supply, the amount actually payable and whether the statutory conditions are met. Verify current amendments and return treatment before correcting filed records.
Keep the document sequence traceable. A receipt voucher should correspond to the advance received; where no supply takes place and no tax invoice follows in the circumstances described by the Act, consider the applicable refund-voucher requirement. If an invoice or tax amount needs correction, establish whether the credit-note or debit-note conditions apply and preserve the connection to the original document. The rate change alone does not tell you which adjustment document to issue.
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Records to keep for a rate-change review
Section 14 depends on dates and the identity of the supply, so a defensible review needs a linked record of those facts. Keep a transaction file containing:
- The applicable rate notification, effective date and basis for the goods or services classification.
- The order or contract and records showing delivery of goods or completion of the service.
- The relevant tax invoice or invoices, with issue dates.
- Advance and part-payment details, including what each amount covered and whether it remained an unapplied deposit.
- Bank-credit evidence and the supplier’s book-entry date for each payment, including any evidence relevant to the four-working-day proviso.
- Receipt vouchers, refund vouchers, and any credit or debit notes.
- The tax calculation and the associated return treatment, including the basis for CGST/SGST versus IGST where relevant.
This is a practical file checklist, not a claim that section 14 itself lists these documents as a standalone statutory checklist. Its purpose is to preserve the evidence needed to establish the supply, invoice and payment timing and to explain the rate used.
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Repair common Windows errors and clear accumulated junk for a smoother, more stable PC - no reinstall needed.Free scan · no reinstallFor efficient review, keep the evidence together rather than relying on a summary spreadsheet alone. The order or contract can help identify the intended supply and allocation, delivery or completion evidence supports the supply date, invoices establish issue dates, and payment records establish both bank-credit and book-entry dates. The notification and classification basis explain why the selected rate was used. A reviewer should be able to follow that chain from the transaction facts through the section 14 row to the tax treatment and return entry.
Compare the facts, not commercial options
This issue does not involve competing products or commercial options; the useful comparison is between the transaction facts that can change the result. For each supply, set out whether the supply occurred before or after the effective date, whether the invoice was before or after, and whether payment was before or after. Then distinguish actual payment from an unapplied deposit, identify whether the advance covers all or only part of the consideration, and confirm whether ordinary forward-charge treatment or a special or reverse-charge treatment needs separate review.
The first five comparisons map directly to the section 14 timing analysis and the advance/deposit distinctions. The last is a reminder not to assume that the timing table resolves every tax-treatment issue. Confirm any special regime against the applicable provisions and notification. This fact-by-fact comparison is more reliable than sorting transactions only by order date or by whether an invoice was generated before or after C.
What section 14 does not decide by itself
Section 14 answers the rate-change timing question; it does not identify the correct classification or supply-specific rate. The rate and effective date must come from the applicable notification. Nor does this timing test alone settle whether the transaction is subject to CGST and SGST or IGST, or resolve special or reverse-charge cases. Check those issues against the actual supply, current legal text and relevant notifications.
This is a general explanation of India’s CGST rate-change rule, not a transaction-specific determination of liability. The applicable effective rate, classification, tax treatment and notification conditions depend on the actual supply and current legal materials. A business with an order crossing C should retain its classification and timing analysis and verify the current notification and legal provisions before changing tax documents or returns.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How do I handle GST on an order placed before a rate change but delivered after it?
Do not use the order date as the deciding date. Confirm the supply timing, invoice issue date and payment-receipt date, select the section 14 row for a supply after the effective date, and apply the rate indicated by the resulting time-of-supply date and the relevant notification.
Does an advance payment lock in the old GST rate?
Not automatically. Under section 14, an advance is a payment event whose effect depends on when the supply occurred and when the invoice and payment fell relative to the change. Also establish whether the amount is consideration or an unapplied deposit; CBIC guidance says a deposit is not treated as payment unless applied as consideration.
Which GST rate applies if the invoice and payment fall on different sides of the change?
It depends on whether the supply was before or after the effective date. Section 14 has separate rows for each combination; for example, a pre-change supply with invoice before C and payment after C uses the invoice date, while a post-change supply with payment after C and invoice before C uses payment receipt.
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Generally, it is the earlier of the date the supplier records the payment in its books and the date it is credited to the supplier’s bank account. Section 14 contains a four-working-day proviso for a payment credited after the rate change; check the statutory wording and facts to determine whether it applies.
Are deposits treated the same as advances?
No. The label alone does not settle the treatment. CBIC’s sectoral FAQ distinguishes a deposit from payment: a deposit is not treated as payment unless the supplier applies it as consideration. Record how it was applied and what supply or portion it covers.
What if only part of an order was paid before the rate change?
Record what the part-payment covered, its receipt and book-entry dates, and whether it was consideration or an unapplied deposit. The ordinary service provision refers to the extent covered by invoice or payment, but do not assume that creates a universal allocation rule for every supply. Check the applicable provision and facts.
What documents should a business check before adjusting GST?
Link the rate notification and classification basis to the order, delivery or service-completion evidence, invoices, payment and bank-credit records, supplier book-entry dates, receipt or refund vouchers, and any credit/debit notes and return treatment. Verify current amendments and statutory conditions before correcting filed records.
Does an invoice for a taxable service have to be issued within 30 days?
CBIC’s invoice-rules guidance describes 30 days from the date of service as the general period, with 45-day exceptions for insurers, banks, financial institutions including NBFCs, and stated special circumstances. Confirm the current rule and the supplier- and service-specific exception.
The Bottom Line
Bottom line: An order date or advance payment alone does not determine the GST rate after a change. Confirm the supply’s timing, identify the invoice and payment-receipt dates using the section 14 rules, select the matching statutory combination, and then apply the rate notification effective on the resulting time-of-supply date. Treat deposits, part-payments, vouchers and adjustments according to their actual facts and the applicable provisions.
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