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Section 90 of the CGST Act, 2017

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GST›CGST Act, 2017›Chapter XVI, Liability to Pay in Certain Cases

At a glance

Bars, duties and time limits

90(1)The firm and each partner are jointly and severally responsible for its tax, interest and penalty notwithstanding contrary contracts or other laws.
90 first provisoThe retiring partner or firm must notify the retirement date in writing to the Commissioner. The partner remains responsible for dues up to retirement, even if determined later.
90 second provisoIf intimation is not given within one month of retirement, liability under the first proviso continues until the Commissioner receives it.

Procedure, powers and definitions

90The law does not settle whether late notice extends the cut-off to post-retirement dues, or whether firm and partner include a Limited Liability Partnership and its partners.

A firm and every partner bear joint and several responsibility for its tax, interest and penalty, despite contrary contracts or other laws. Retirement requires written notice to the Commissioner and preserves responsibility for dues up to retirement. If notice is not given within one month, the statutory continuation runs until receipt, although its effect on later dues is unsettled.^[1]

Quick facts

Section 90, CGST Act, 2017

Liability of partners of firm to pay tax

Provision
Act	Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
Chapter	XVI, Liability to Pay in Certain Cases
Section title	Liability of partners of firm to pay tax
In force from	1 July 2017^[1]
Amendments
Last amendment	1 July 2017: brought section 90 into force (none — the source's own enforcement note, not an amendment footnote)
Amendments	1 footnote in the CBIC text (table)
Related provisions
Rules	Rule 19 of the CGST Rules, 2017
Sections	2, 93
Structure 90(1)The firm's liability and the joint and several liability of its partners the first proviso to 90(1)Retirement of a partner and the intimation to the Commissioner the closing words of the first proviso to 90(1)The retired partner's liability up to the date of retirement the second proviso to 90(1)Where no intimation is given within one month
Source
Law text	CBIC tax information portal, served on 17 September 2026^[1]
Questions reviewed	Prashant Prakash, 22 September 2026

Text

The text below is the section as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.^[1] The Act as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.

Section 90, verbatim (show)

* Section 90. Liability of partners of firm to pay tax.-

(1) Notwithstanding any contract to the contrary and any other law for the time being in force, where any firm is liable to pay any tax, interest or penalty under this Act, the firm and each of the partners of the firm shall, jointly and severally, be liable for such payment:

Provided that where any partner retires from the firm, he or the firm, shall intimate the date of retirement of the said partner to the Commissioner by a notice in that behalf in writing and such partner shall be liable to pay tax, interest or penalty due up to the date of his retirement whether determined or not, on that date:

Provided further that if no such intimation is given within one month from the date of retirement, the liability of such partner under the first proviso shall continue until the date on which such intimation is received by the Commissioner.

*Enforced w.e.f. 1st July, 2017.

Questions to answer on the file

Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the section they come from. They describe what the section asks; they do not decide it.

Scope the section as a whole

Questions to answer on the file2 questions

What is the matter, from the things this section speaks about?
Did the matter arise on or after 1 July 2017?

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The firm's liability and the joint and several liability of its partners 90(1)

Questions to answer on the file6 questions

Is a firm liable to pay any tax, interest or penalty under this Act?
What kind of person is the entity whose dues are: a firm, a Limited Liability Partnership or neither a firm nor a Limited Liability Partnership?
Which side of the sub-section is the person on: the firm or a partner of the firm?
On what account is the amount payable by the firm: tax, interest or penalty?
What is the amount of tax, interest or penalty the firm is liable to pay?
Does any contract, or any other law for the time being in force, purport to place that payment elsewhere than on the firm and its partners?

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Retirement of a partner and the intimation to the Commissioner the first proviso to 90(1)

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Has a partner retired from the firm?
What is the date of retirement of that partner?
Has the date of retirement been intimated to the Commissioner?
Who gave that intimation: the retiring partner or the firm?
Was the intimation given by a notice in that behalf in writing?

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The retired partner's liability up to the date of retirement the closing words of the first proviso to 90(1)

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

Is the amount due up to the date of that partner's retirement?
Had the amount been determined on the date of retirement: determined on or before that date or not determined on that date?
What is the amount of tax, interest or penalty due up to the date of retirement?

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Where no intimation is given within one month the second proviso to 90(1)

Questions to answer on the file4 questions

On what date was the intimation given?
On what date was the intimation received by the Commissioner?
Was the intimation given within one month from the date of retirement?
If not: what does the continued liability of the partner under the first proviso cover: tax, interest or penalty due up to the date of his retirement or tax, interest or penalty due up to the date on which such intimation is received by the Commissioner?

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Amendment history

The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.^[1]

Amendments to section 90 as footnoted in the CBIC text
Note	Change	Instrument	Effective from
	brought section 90 into force	none — the source's own enforcement note, not an amendment footnote	1 July 2017

Provisions connected to Section 90
Provision	Connection	Words that tie them
Section 2	this provision defined by Section 2 clause (84)	2(84)(e) "a firm" and 2(84)(f) "a Limited Liability Partnership" are listed separately as persons; the Act defines neither "firm" nor "partner"
Section 93	Section 93 sub-section (3) same as this provision	93(3) carries the dues of a firm to every person who was a partner on dissolution, where section 90 carries them to each partner while the firm subsists

Circulars and notifications

Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this section, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.

Circulars (1)

Number	Date	Subject
Circular No. 113/32/2019-GST	11 October 2019	Clarification regarding GST rates & classification (goods) Circular-reg.

Unsettled questions

The words of section 90 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

The second proviso says that the liability of the partner "under the first proviso" shall continue until the intimation is received. Does it continue only the partner's liability for the dues up to his retirement, or does it also carry forward the cut-off date, so that he is liable for dues arising between his retirement and the receipt of the intimation? The proviso says neither.
The Act nowhere defines "firm" or "partner", and clause (84) of section 2 lists "a firm" and "a Limited Liability Partnership" as separate kinds of person. Does section 90 reach a Limited Liability Partnership and its partners?

See also

Section 93 of the CGST Act, 2017: special provisions regarding liability to pay tax, interest or penalty in certain cases
Rule 19 of the CGST Rules, 2017: amendment of registration

References

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 90. Liability of partners of firm to pay tax". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links

CGST Act, 2017, Section 90 on the CBIC tax information portal