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Section 19 of the IGST Act, 2017

From the IndiaAuditLens Law Library

GST›IGST Act, 2017

At a glance

Entitlement and conditions

19(1)A registered person who paid integrated tax on a supply considered inter-State has a refund route if it is subsequently held intra-State, subject to the prescribed manner and conditions.
19(2)Where central and State or Union territory tax was paid on a transaction considered intra-State but subsequently held inter-State, the section excludes interest on the resulting integrated-tax amount.

Procedure, powers and definitions

19The law does not settle which instrument or later act counts as a subsequent holding, including whether the taxpayer’s own reclassification qualifies.

Section 19 addresses tax paid under an inter-State or intra-State classification that is subsequently held incorrect. It provides a prescribed refund route for integrated tax paid on a supply later held intra-State. In the reverse direction, it removes the interest requirement on integrated tax under the stated conditions. What constitutes a subsequent holding remains unresolved.^[1]

Quick facts

Section 19, IGST Act, 2017

Tax wrongfully collected and paid to Central Government or State Government

Provision
Act	Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
Section title	Tax wrongfully collected and paid to Central Government or State Government
Related provisions
Sections	20
Other	Section 77 of the CGST Act, 2017
Structure 19(1)Refund after inter-State treatment is subsequently held intra-State 19(1)Refund measure for the identified qualifying supply 19(2)Interest relief after intra-State treatment is subsequently held inter-State
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 19, verbatim (show)

Section 19. Tax wrongfully collected and paid to Central Government or State Government. -

(1) A registered person who has paid integrated tax on a supply considered by him to be an inter-State supply, but which is subsequently held to be an intra-State supply, shall be granted refund of the amount of integrated tax so paid in such manner and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed.

(2) A registered person who has paid central tax and State tax or Union territory tax, as the case may be, on a transaction considered by him to be an intra-State supply, but which is subsequently held to be an inter-State supply, shall not be required to pay any interest on the amount of integrated tax payable.

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.

Refund after inter-State treatment is subsequently held intra-State 19(1)

Questions to answer on the file9 questions

Which section 19 remedy is in issue: refund or interest?
Is the person registered under CGST section 25?
Does the person hold a Unique Identity Number instead of ordinary registration?
Did the person pay IGST on this supply?
Did the person consider the supply inter-State when paying that tax?
Was the supply subsequently held to be intra-State?
Does the instrument relied on constitute a subsequent holding?
Does this refund follow the applicable prescribed manner?
Are the applicable prescribed refund conditions satisfied?

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Refund measure for the identified qualifying supply 19(1)

Questions to answer on the file3 questions

Is the refund amount for an section 19(1) supply being compared?
How much IGST was paid on that supply?
What refund amount is proposed for that IGST payment?

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Interest relief after intra-State treatment is subsequently held inter-State 19(2)

Questions to answer on the file6 questions

Is the person registered under CGST section 25?
Does the person hold a Unique Identity Number instead of ordinary registration?
Which paired taxes were paid on the transaction: central tax and State tax or central tax and Union territory tax?
Did the person consider the transaction intra-State when paying that tax?
Was the transaction subsequently held to be inter-State?
Does the instrument relied on constitute a subsequent holding?

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Provisions connected to Section 19
Provision	Connection	Words that tie them
Section 77 of the CGST Act, 2017	19(1) same as Mirror mechanism in Section 77 of the CGST Act, 2017 with opposite tax direction	19(1) "integrated tax"; 19(1) "subsequently held to be an intra-State supply"

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. 162/18/2021-GST	25 September 2021	Clarification in respect of refund of tax specified in section 77(1) of the CGST Act and section 19(1) of the IGST Act.

Unsettled questions

The words of section 19 do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

What instrument or later act is a subsequent holding, including the taxpayer’s own reclassification?

See also

Section 77 of the CGST Act, 2017: tax wrongfully collected and paid to Central Government or State Government
Section 20 of the IGST Act, 2017: application of provisions of Central Goods and Services Tax Act

References

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 19. Tax wrongfully collected and paid to Central Government or State Government". Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links

IGST Act, 2017, Section 19 on the CBIC tax information portal