Payment of tax, interest, penalty and other amounts

In force Act 12 of 2017 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 12 of 2017 Ministry Finance Enacted 12 Apr 2017 Cited by 14 provisions Instruments 17

Commencement. 22nd June, 2017 for sections 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 10, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 139, 146 and 164 1st July, 2017 for sections 6 to 9, 11 to 21, 31 to 41, 42 (except proviso to sub-section (9) of S 42), 43 (except proviso to subsection (9) of S 43), 44 to 50, 53 to 138, 140 to 163, 165 to 174.

Section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 deals with payment of tax, interest, penalty and other amounts. Every deposit made towards tax, interest, penalty, fee or any other amount by a person by internet banking or by using credit or debit cards or National Electronic Fund Transfer or Real Time Gross Settlement or by such other mode and subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, The Act was enacted on 12 Apr 2017.

(1) Every deposit made towards tax, interest, penalty, fee or any other amount by a person by internet banking or by using credit or debit cards or National Electronic Fund Transfer or Real Time Gross Settlement or by such other mode and subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed, shall be credited to the electronic cash ledger of such person to be maintained in such manner as may be prescribed.
(2) The input tax credit as self-assessed in the return of a registered person shall be credited to his electronic credit ledger, in accordance with ¹[section 41 ²***] to be maintained in such manner as may be prescribed.
(3) The amount available in the electronic cash ledger may be used for making any payment towards tax, interest, penalty, fees or any other amount payable under the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder in such manner and subject to such conditions and within such time as may be prescribed.
(4) The amount available in the electronic credit ledger may be used for making any payment towards output tax under this Act or under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act in such manner and subject to such conditions ³[and restrictions] and within such time as may be prescribed.
(5) The amount of input tax credit available in the electronic credit ledger of the registered person on account of---
(a) integrated tax shall first be utilised towards payment of integrated tax and the amount remaining, if any, may be utilised towards the payment of central tax and State tax, or as the case may be, Union territory tax, in that order;
(b) the central tax shall first be utilised towards payment of central tax and the amount remaining, if any, may be utilised towards the payment of integrated tax;
(c) the State tax shall first be utilised towards payment of State tax and the amount remaining, if any, may be utilised towards payment of integrated tax;
⁴[Provided that the input tax credit on account of State tax shall be utilised towards payment of integrated tax only where the balance of the input tax credit on account of central tax is not available for payment of integrated tax;]
(d) the Union territory tax shall first be utilised towards payment of Union territory tax and the amount remaining, if any, may be utilised towards payment of integrated tax;
⁴]Provided that the input tax credit on account of Union territory tax shall be utilised towards payment of integrated tax only where the balance of the input tax credit on account of central tax is not available for payment of integrated tax;]
(e) the central tax shall not be utilised towards payment of State tax or Union territory tax; and
(f) the State tax or Union territory tax shall not be utilised towards payment of central tax.
(6) The balance in the electronic cash ledger or electronic credit ledger after payment of tax, interest, penalty, fee or any other amount payable under this Act or the rules made thereunder may be refunded in accordance with the provisions of section 54.
(7) All liabilities of a taxable person under this Act shall be recorded and maintained in an electronic liability register in such manner as may be prescribed.
(8) Every taxable person shall discharge his tax and other dues under this Act or the rules made thereunder in the following order, namely:---
(a) self-assessed tax, and other dues related to returns of previous tax periods;
(b) self-assessed tax, and other dues related to the return of the current tax period;
(c) any other amount payable under this Act or the rules made thereunder including the demand determined under section 73 or section 74 ⁵[or section 74A].
(9) Every person who has paid the tax on goods or services or both under this Act shall, unless the contrary is proved by him, be deemed to have passed on the full incidence of such tax to the recipient of such goods or services or both.
Explanation.---For the purposes of this section,--
(a) the date of credit to the account of the Government in the authorised bank shall be deemed to be the date of deposit in the electronic cash ledger;
(b) the expression,---
(i) "tax dues" means the tax payable under this Act and does not include interest, fee and penalty; and
(ii) "other dues" means interest, penalty, fee or any other amount payable under this Act or the rules made thereunder.
⁶[⁷[(10) A registered person may, on the common portal, transfer any amount of tax, interest, penalty, fee or any other amount available in the electronic cash ledger under this Act, to the electronic cash ledger for,---
(a) integrated tax, central tax, State tax, Union territory tax or cess; or
(b) integrated tax or central tax of a distinct person as specified in sub-section (4) or sub-section (5) of section 25,
in such form and manner and subject to such conditions and restrictions as may be prescribed and such transfer shall be deemed to be a refund from the electronic cash ledger under this Act:
Provided that no such transfer under clause (b) shall be allowed if the said registered person has any unpaid liability in his electronic liability register.]
(11) Where any amount has been transferred to the electronic cash ledger under this Act, the same shall be deemed to be deposited in the said ledger as provided in sub-section (1).]
⁸(12) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, the Government may, on the recommendations of the Council, subject to such conditions and restrictions, specify such maximum proportion of output tax liability under this Act or under the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (13 of 2017) which may be discharged through the electronic credit ledger by a registered person or a class of registered persons, as may be prescribed.
Section 49, The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (Act 12 of 2017).

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

Referred to by 14

and 2 more

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

Union of India through Its Secretary vs Bharti Airtel LTD

Supreme Court of India 28 Oct 2021 Binding (SC) Reportable

Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

A registered person's primary obligation under the CGST Act, 2017 is to self-assess taxes and input tax credit based on books of accounts and records maintained by him as per statutory requirements, not on auto-generated information from the common electronic portal. The common portal is merely a facilitator. Consequently, non-operability of electronic forms does not excuse a registered person from this self-assessment obligation. Section 39(9) of the CGST Act, 2017 expressly provides that rectification of omission or incorrect particulars in returns can be effected only in the return to be furnished for the month or quarter during which such omission or incorrect particulars are noticed, not in the return for the period to which the error relates. This provision applies with full vigor to Form GSTR3B returns. Therefore, Circular No. 26/26/2017GST dated 29.12.2017 restricting rectification of Form GSTR3B to subsequent months is consistent with the statutory framework and cannot be read down. A registered person cannot unilaterally rectify returns for the relevant period as this would have cascading effects on other stakeholders and create uncertainty in tax administration.

On this section: Manner of availing ITC; establishes that ITC may be availed from electronic credit ledger

Read the full order on eCourts India

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Judgments citing this section

These may be obiter dicta or a precedent, for you to study. These are the judgments where this section is quoted.

High Court 07 Jun 2022 HCBM020181382016

… amount of Rs.67,94,965.02 is allowed to be retained by the MCGM (which belongs to the Applicant) and is thereafter paid over to the Government towards the liability of GST, it would amount to unjust enrichment on the part of the MCGM because the MCGM would be entitled to Input Tax Credit (under Section 16 read with Section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017) even though the MCGM has paid the GST from the monies due to the Applicant. In other words, this would mean that the MCGM would be getting Input Tax Credit not for the amounts paid by the MCGM but for the amounts deducted from the dues payable to the Applicant. He, …

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Made under this section, and citing it

17 instruments name this provision in its title or its text without being made under it.

All subordinate legislation

Questions about Section 49

What have the courts held on Section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act?

Union of India through Its Secretary vs Bharti Airtel LTD (28 Oct 2021) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Manner of availing ITC; establishes that ITC may be availed from electronic credit ledger.

How do I find court cases under Section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: CGST Act 49, section 49 CGST Act, section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Union of India through Its Secretary vs Bharti Airtel LTD (28 Oct 2021).

What should I read with Section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 25 (Procedure for registration), section 41 (Availment of input tax credit), section 54 (Refund of tax), section 73 (Determination of tax, pertaining to the period up to Financial Year 2023-24, not paid or short paid or erroneously refunded or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilised for any reason other than fraud or any wilful-misstatement or suppression of facts), and on 2 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 14 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. 17 instruments name it without being made under it, most recently Notification No- 76/2020-Central Tax dated 15.10.2020 (2020), then Notification No- 82/2020-Central Tax dated 10.11.2020 (2020).

When was Section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act enacted?

Section 49 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, cited as CGST Act 49, was enacted on 12 Apr 2017 as Act 12 of 2017. It is in force as at the date shown on this page.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Text as in force on 15 Oct 2026. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.