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Section 21 of the IGST Act, 2017

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GST›IGST Act, 2017

At a glance

Entitlement and conditions

21 main provision and ExplanationAn import on or after the appointed day falls within this Act despite earlier initiation. A transaction is deemed initiated earlier if the relevant invoice was received or payment, wholly or partly, was made before that day.
21 provisosFull tax payment under the existing law is the condition for the first proviso’s exclusion; partial payment brings the balance within the second proviso.

Procedure, powers and definitions

21The law does not settle the balance measure where earlier-law tax differs from IGST, or how partial payment is credited across those different measures.

Section 21 applies the Integrated GST Act to service imports made on or after the appointed day even where the transaction began earlier. It preserves the effect of full or partial tax payment under the earlier law through separate provisos. An invoice or payment before the appointed day can establish earlier initiation, but the basis for comparing different tax measures remains unresolved.^[1]

Quick facts

Section 21, IGST Act, 2017

Import of services made on or after the appointed day

Provision
Act	Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
Section title	Import of services made on or after the appointed day
Related provisions
Sections	20
Structure 21 main paragraph and first provisoImport on or after the appointed day 21 first provisoExisting-law full-payment exception 21 second provisoBalance after part payment under the existing law 21 ExplanationWhen the transaction is deemed initiated
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 21, verbatim (show)

Section 21. Import of services made on or after the appointed day. -

Import of services made on or after the appointed day shall be liable to tax under the provisions of this Act regardless of whether the transactions for such import of services had been initiated before the appointed day:

Provided that if the tax on such import of services had been paid in full under the existing law, no tax shall be payable on such import under this Act:

Provided further that if the tax on such import of services had been paid in part under the existing law, the balance amount of tax shall be payable on such import under this Act.

Explanation .-For the purposes of this section, a transaction shall be deemed to have been initiated before the appointed day if either the invoice relating to such supply or payment, either in full or in part, has been received or made before the appointed day.

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.

Import on or after the appointed day 21 main paragraph and first proviso

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Which statutory transitional element is in issue: Import of services, paid in full, paid in part or initiated before the appointed day?
Is the activity an import of services?
On what date was this import of services made?
What is the appointed day for this IGST provision?
Had the tax on this import been paid in full under the existing law?

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Existing-law full-payment exception 21 first proviso

Questions to answer on the file4 questions

Is the activity an import of services?
On what date was this import made?
What is the appointed day for this provision?
Had the tax on this import been paid in full under the existing law?

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Balance after part payment under the existing law 21 second proviso

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Had tax on that import been paid in part under the existing law?
Are the gross-tax and earlier-payment amounts on the same legally supported balance basis?
What gross tax amount is established on that balance basis?
What tax amount was paid in part under the existing law?
What balance amount is proposed?

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When the transaction is deemed initiated 21 Explanation

Questions to answer on the file5 questions

Was the invoice relating to this supply received?
If so: on what date was that invoice received?
Was a payment relating to this supply made, whether full or part?
If so: on what date was that payment made?
What is the appointed day for this provision?

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Circulars and notifications

No circular or notification in the CBIC repository is recorded as citing this section.

Unsettled questions

The words of section 21 do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

Which tax measure supplies the balance when the tax fully leviable under the existing law differs from the IGST measure, and how is earlier part payment credited without inventing a rate or over-credit?

See also

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 21. Import of services made on or after the appointed day". Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal. Retrieved 17 September 2026.

External links

IGST Act, 2017, Section 21 on the CBIC tax information portal