Section 8 - Tax liability on composite and mixed supplies
Finin2min Summary - Section in 2 Minutes
Determines the tax treatment of composite and mixed supplies. Composite: naturally bundled; principal supply controls. Mixed: individual supplies combined for a single price but not naturally bundled; highest rate controls. Contract wording and one invoice are evidence, not conclusive tests.
Exact operative text
Paragraph-wise decode
Determines the tax treatment of composite and mixed supplies. Composite: naturally bundled; principal supply controls. Mixed: individual supplies combined for a single price but not naturally bundled; highest rate controls. Contract wording and one invoice are evidence, not conclusive tests.
Section-Rule-Form-Notification bridge
The mapping is a legal concordance, not a round-robin related-link list. It is limited to instruments certified in this phase.
Practical example
Equipment with compulsory freight and installation may be composite if naturally bundled. An unrelated festival hamper sold for one price may be mixed. PROFESSIONAL ALERT Identify the principal supply only after proving natural bundling.
Section 9 CLEAN OPERATIVE BARE TEXT 9. Levy and collection.-(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section
(2), there shall be levied a tax called the central goods and services tax on all intra-State supplies of goods or services or both, except on the supply of alcoholic liquor for human consumption and un-denatured extra neutral alcohol or rectified spirit used for manufacture of alcoholic liquor, for human consumption, on the value determined under section 15 and at such rates, not exceeding twenty per cent., as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council and collected in such manner as may be prescribed and shall be paid by the taxable person.
(2) The central tax on the supply of petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit (commonly known as petrol), natural gas and aviation turbine fuel shall be levied with effect from such date as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council.
(3) The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, specify categories of supply of goods or services or both, the tax on which shall be paid on reverse charge basis by the recipient of such goods or services or both and all the provisions of this Act shall apply to such recipient as if he is the person liable for paying the tax in relation to the supply of such goods or services or both.
(4) The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, specify a class of registered persons who shall, in respect of supply of specified categories of goods or services or both received from an unregistered supplier, pay the tax on reverse charge basis as the recipient of such supply of goods or services or both, and all the provisions of this Act shall apply to such recipient as if he is the person liable for paying the tax in relation to such supply of goods or services or both.
(5) The Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, by notification, specify categories of services the tax on intra-State supplies of which shall be paid by the electronic commerce operator if such services are supplied through it, and all the provisions of this Act shall apply to such electronic commerce operator as if he is the supplier liable for paying the tax in relation to the supply of such services:
Provided that where an electronic commerce operator does not have a physical presence in the taxable territory, any person representing such electronic commerce operator for any purpose in the taxable territory shall be liable to pay tax:
Provided further that where an electronic commerce operator does not have a physical presence in the taxable territory and also he does not have a representative in the said territory, such electronic commerce operator shall appoint a person in the taxable territory for the purpose of paying tax and such person shall be liable to pay tax.
SIMPLE DECODE Creates the CGST charge on intra-State supplies and shifts liability in notified reverse-charge and e-commerce cases. Charge is on intra-State supply, value under section 15 and notified rate. Alcohol for human consumption and specified ENA/rectified spirit are outside the charge. Five petroleum products await a notified commencement for GST levy.
Professional alert
Confirm the transaction-date amendment and commencement position before reliance.
Implementation checklist
- Fix the transaction, taxable period and jurisdiction.
- Read every subsection, proviso, explanation and omission marker.
- Open the mapped Rule, form, notification and circular.
- Test State/UT variation and portal version.
- Preserve evidence, approvals, working papers and acknowledgements.
- Record the conclusion, assumptions, source date and reviewer.
Evidence and retention checklist
- Contract, purchase order, invoice or underlying transaction document.
- Registration, return, ledger, challan and portal acknowledgement.
- Official Act/Rule/notification version used and effective date.
- Internal tax position paper, computation and management approval.
- Correspondence, notices, replies, orders and appeal papers where applicable.
Practical Q&A
- What does section 8 regulate?
- It regulates tax liability on composite and mixed supplies. Read the exact text, conditions, exceptions and transaction date together.
- Which subordinate law should be checked?
- No direct CGST Rule has been certified in this phase. Notifications, circulars, forms and the corresponding SGST/UTGST layer may also apply.
- What evidence should be retained?
- Preserve the contract or transaction record, invoice or form, portal acknowledgement, payment/ledger evidence, correspondence, legal working and the official source version used.
- Can portal behaviour override the statute?
- No. Portal functionality is operational evidence; legal entitlement and liability remain controlled by the Act, Rules, notifications and binding decisions.