Understanding GST in India: A Complete Beginner's Guide

GST (Goods and Services Tax) is a destination-based, multi-stage tax on the supply of goods and services, introduced in India on 1 July 2017. It unified over 17 indirect taxes and 23 cesses into a single tax structure.

GST has four main tax slabs: 5% (essential goods), 12% (standard goods), 18% (most goods and services), and 28% (luxury and demerit goods). For transactions within a state, GST is split equally between CGST and SGST. For inter-state transactions, only IGST applies.