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 20, verbatim (show)
Section 20. Miscellaneous transitional provisions.
(1) Where any goods on which tax, if any, had been paid under the existing law at the time of sale thereof, not being earlier than six months prior to the appointed day, are returned to any place of business on or after the appointed day, the registered person shall be eligible for refund of the tax paid under the existing law where such goods are returned by a person, other than a registered person, to the said place of business within a period of six months from the appointed day and such goods are identifiable to the satisfaction of the proper officer:
Provided that if the said goods are returned by a registered person, the return of such goods shall be deemed to be a supply.
(2)(a) Where, in pursuance of a contract entered into prior to the appointed day, the price of any goods is revised upwards on or after the appointed day, the registered person who had sold such goods shall issue to the recipient a supplementary invoice or debit note, containing such particulars as may be prescribed, within thirty days of such price revision and for the purposes of this Act, such supplementary invoice or debit note shall be deemed to have been issued in respect of an outward supply made under this Act.
(b) Where, in pursuance of a contract entered into prior to the appointed day, the price of any goods is revised downwards on or after the appointed day, the registered person who had sold such goods may issue to the recipient a credit note, containing such particulars as may be prescribed, within thirty days of such price revision and for the purposes of this Act such credit note shall be deemed to have been issued in respect of an outward supply made under this Act:
Provided that the registered person shall be allowed to reduce his tax liability on account of issue of the credit note only if the recipient of the credit note has reduced his input tax credit corresponding to such reduction of tax liability.
(3) Every claim for refund filed by any person before, on or after the appointed day, for refund of any amount of input tax credit, tax, interest or any other amount paid under the existing law, shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of existing law and any amount eventually accruing to him shall be refunded to him in cash in accordance with the provisions of the said law:
Provided that where any claim for refund of the amount of input tax credit is fully or partially rejected, the amount so rejected shall lapse:
Provided further that no refund shall be allowed of any amount of input tax credit where the balance of the said amount as on the appointed day has been carried forward under this Act.
(4) Every claim for refund filed after the appointed day for refund of any tax paid under the existing law in respect of the goods exported before or after the appointed day shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the existing law:
Provided that where any for refund of input tax credit is fully or partially rejected, the amount so rejected shall lapse:
Provided further that no refund shall be allowed of any amount of input tax credit where the balance of the said amount as on the appointed day has been carried forward under this Act.
(5)(a) Every proceeding of appeal, revision, review or reference relating to a claim for input tax credit initiated whether before, on or after the appointed day, under the existing law shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the existing law, and any amount of credit found to be admissible to the claimant shall be refunded to him in cash in accordance with the provisions of the existing law and the amount rejected, if any, shall not be admissible as input tax credit under this Act:
Provided that no refund shall be allowed of any amount of input tax credit where the balance of the said amount as on the appointed day has been carried forward under this Act.
(b) Every proceeding of appeal, revision, review or reference relating to recovery of input tax credit initiated whether before, on or after the appointed day, under the existing law shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the existing law, and if any amount of credit becomes recoverable as a result of such appeal, revision, review or reference, the same shall, unless recovered under the existing law, be recovered as an arrear of tax under this Act and the amount so recovered shall not be admissible as input tax credit under this Act.
(6)(a) Every proceeding of appeal, revision, review or reference relating to any output tax liability initiated whether before, on or after the appointed day under the existing law, shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the existing law, and if any amount becomes recoverable as a result of such appeal, revision, review or reference, the same shall, unless recovered under the existing law, be recovered as an arrear of tax under this Act and amount so recovered shall not be admissible as input tax credit under this Act.
(b) Every proceeding of appeal, revision, review or reference relating to any output tax liability initiated whether before, on or after the appointed day under the existing law, shall be disposed of in accordance with the provisions of the existing law, and any amount found to be admissible to the claimant shall be refunded to him in cash in accordance with the provisions of the existing law and the amount rejected, if any, shall not be admissible as input tax credit under this Act.
(7)(a) Where in pursuance of an assessment or adjudication proceedings instituted, whether before, on or after the appointed day, under the existing law, any amount of tax, interest, fine or penalty becomes recoverable from the person, the same shall, unless recovered under the existing law, be recovered as an arrear of tax under this Act and the amount so recovered shall not be admissible as input tax credit under this Act.
(b) Where in pursuance of an assessment or adjudication proceedings instituted, whether before, on or after the appointed day under the existing law, any amount of tax, interest, fine or penalty becomes refundable to the taxable person, the same shall be refunded to him in cash under the said law and the amount rejected, if any, shall not be admissible as input tax credit under this Act.
(8)(a) Where any return, furnished under the existing law, is revised after the appointed day and if, pursuant to such revision, any amount is found to be recoverable or any amount of input tax credit is found to be inadmissible, the same shall, unless recovered under the existing law, be recovered as an arrear of tax under this Act and the amount so recovered shall not be admissible as input tax credit under this Act.
(b) Where any return, furnished under the existing law, is revised after the appointed day but within the time limit specified for such revision under the existing law and if, pursuant to such revision, any amount is found to be refundable or input tax credit is found to be admissible to any taxable person, the same shall be refunded to him in cash under the existing law and the amount rejected, if any, shall not be admissible as input tax credit under this Act.
(9) Save as otherwise provided in this Chapter, the goods or services or both supplied on or after the appointed day in pursuance of a contract entered into prior to the appointed day shall be liable to tax under the provisions of this Act.
(10)(a) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 12 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, no tax shall be payable on goods under this Act to the extent the tax was leviable on the said goods under the existing law.
(b) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 13 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, no tax shall be payable on services under this Act to the extent the tax was leviable on the said services under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994.
(c) Where tax was paid on any supply, both under any existing law relating to sale of goods and under Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994, tax shall be leviable under this Act and the taxable person shall be entitled to take credit of value added tax or service tax paid under the existing law to the extent of supplies made after the appointed day and such credit shall be calculated in such manner as may be prescribed.
(11) Where any goods sent on approval basis, not earlier than six months before the appointed day, are rejected or not approved by the buyer and returned to the seller on or after the appointed day, no tax shall be payable thereon if such goods are returned within six months from the appointed day:
Provided that the said period of six months may, on sufficient cause being shown, be extended by the Commissioner for a further period not exceeding two months:
Provided further that the tax shall be payable by the person returning the goods if such goods are liable to tax under this Act and are returned after the period specified in this sub-section:
Provided also that tax shall be payable by the person who has sent the goods on approval basis if such goods are liable to tax under this Act, and are not returned within the period specified in this sub-section.
(12) Where a supplier has made any sale of goods in respect of which tax was required to be deducted at source under any existing law relating to sale of goods and has also issued an invoice for the same before the appointed day, no deduction of tax at source under section 51 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, as made applicable to this Act, shall be made by the deductor under the said section where payment to the said supplier is made on or after the appointed day.
Explanation .-For the purposes of this Chapter, the expression ''capital goods'' shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in any existing law relating to sale of goods.
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.
Returned-goods refund conditions 20(1)
Questions to answer on the file10 questions
Registered returner deemed supply 20(1) proviso
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Upward price document and timely deeming 20(2)(a)
Questions to answer on the file11 questions
Downward price document and timely deeming 20(2)(b)
Questions to answer on the file11 questions
Late upward document deeming 20(2)(a)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Downward tax reduction recipient condition 20(2)(b) proviso
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Existing-law general refund disposal 20(3)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Rejected ITC amount lapses subsection3 20(3) provisos
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Carried-forward ITC no-refund restriction subsection3 20(3) provisos
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Existing-law exported-goods refund disposal 20(4)
Questions to answer on the file6 questions
Rejected ITC amount lapses subsection4 20(4) provisos
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Carried-forward ITC no-refund restriction subsection4 20(4) provisos
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Cash refund of accrued old-law amount 20(3)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Input Tax Credit Claim refund consequence 20(5)(a)
Questions to answer on the file7 questions
Rejected amount not admissible as UT ITC 20(5)(a) 20(5)(a)
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Input Tax Credit Recovery recover consequence 20(5)(b)
Questions to answer on the file8 questions
Output Tax Liability recover consequence 20(6)(a)
Questions to answer on the file8 questions
Output Tax Liability refund consequence 20(6)(b)
Questions to answer on the file7 questions
Rejected amount not admissible as UT ITC 20(6)(b) 20(6)(b)
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Tax Interest Fine Or Penalty recover consequence 20(7)(a)
Questions to answer on the file7 questions
Tax Interest Fine Or Penalty refund consequence 20(7)(b)
Questions to answer on the file6 questions
Rejected amount not admissible as UT ITC 20(7)(b) 20(7)(b)
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Revised Return recover consequence 20(8)(a)
Questions to answer on the file8 questions
Revised Return refund consequence 20(8)(b)
Questions to answer on the file8 questions
Rejected amount not admissible as UT ITC 20(8)(b) 20(8)(b)
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
ITC-claim proceeding carry-forward restriction 20(5)(a) proviso
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Unrecovered amount measure 20(5)(b),(6)(a),(7)(a),(8)(a)
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Post-day supply under pre-day contract 20(9)
Questions to answer on the file4 questions
No UT tax to old-tax goods extent 20(10)(a)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
No UT tax to old-tax services extent 20(10)(b)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Both old taxes paid and post-day credit extent 20(10)(c)
Questions to answer on the file6 questions
Both old taxes paid UT levy 20(10)(c)
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
Dual-tax credit calculation 20(10)(c)
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Approval goods timely-return relief 20(11)
Questions to answer on the file12 questions
Late-approval tax on returner 20(11) second proviso
Questions to answer on the file5 questions
Late-approval tax on sender 20(11) third proviso
Questions to answer on the file6 questions
Old-law TDS sale no incorporated CGST51 deduction 20(12)
Questions to answer on the file5 questions
Capital-goods meaning under existing sales law 20 Explanation
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Relationship with other provisions
| Provision | Connection | Words that tie them |
|---|---|---|
| Section 12 of the CGST Act, 2017 | this provision overrides Section 12 of the CGST Act, 2017 | 20(10)(a) "Notwithstanding anything contained in section 12" |
| Section 13 of the CGST Act, 2017 | this provision overrides Section 13 of the CGST Act, 2017 | 20(10)(b) "Notwithstanding anything contained in section 13" |
| Section 51 of the CGST Act, 2017 | this provision branches on Section 51 of the CGST Act, 2017 | 20(12) "section 51" |
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.
Notifications (1)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Notification No. 03/2019-Union Territory Tax (Rate) | 29 March 2019 | Seeks to amend notification No. 11/2017- Union Territory Tax (Rate) so as to notify UTGST rates of various services as recommended by Goods and Services Tax Council for real estate sector. |
Unsettled questions
The words of section 20 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.
- Where the supplementary invoice or debit note required by clause (a) of sub-section (2) is issued after the thirty days that clause allows, does the deeming still operate, so that the document is treated as issued in respect of an outward supply made under this Act? The clause states the obligation, the period and the deeming in one breath and nowhere says whether the deeming is conditional on the period being kept. The same timing-versus-deeming question applies to the corresponding goods-only upward price revision under UTGST section 20(2)(a).
- How is the supplier to establish that the recipient has reversed the input tax credit attributable to the credit note, when the Act gives him no means of seeing the recipient's ledger? The same evidentiary question applies to the corresponding goods-only downward price revision in UTGST section 20(2)(b).
- What standard determines whether the shown cause is sufficient for the Commissioner to extend this identified UT transitional period, where the provision supplies no mechanical criterion?
- Do the words "a period specified in this sub-section", used in the second and third provisos to sub-section (12), mean the six months in the main limb alone, or the six months as extended by the Commissioner under the first proviso? The first proviso extends "the said period of six months" but the two provisos that follow speak of a period "specified in this sub-section", and the sub-section itself specifies only six months. The same specified-period question applies to UTGST section 20(11), preserving that subsection’s six-month return period and optional extension of no more than two months.
- Do the words "a period specified in this sub-section", used in the second and third provisos to sub-section (12), mean the six months in the main limb alone, or the six months as extended by the Commissioner under the first proviso? The first proviso extends "the said period of six months" but the two provisos that follow speak of a period "specified in this sub-section", and the sub-section itself specifies only six months. The same specified-period question applies to UTGST section 20(11), preserving that subsection’s six-month return period and optional extension of no more than two months.
See also
- Section 12 of the CGST Act, 2017: time of Supply of Goods
- Section 13 of the CGST Act, 2017: time of Supply of Services
- Section 51 of the CGST Act, 2017: tax deduction at source
- Section 19 of the UTGST Act, 2017: transitional provisions relating to job work
- Section 21 of the UTGST Act, 2017: application of provisions of Central Goods and Services Tax Act
References
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 20. Miscellaneous transitional provisions". Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
External links
- UTGST Act, 2017, Section 20 on the CBIC tax information portal