Notification No. 66/2017 – Central Tax

(Dated 15th November 2017 – Issued under Section 148 of the CGST Act, 2017)

Notification No. 66/2017 – Central Tax has been issued in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 148 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which empowers the Government to notify a special procedure for specified classes of registered persons.

Under this notification, the Government has specified that registered persons who have not opted for composition levy under Section 10 shall pay central tax on outward supply of goods at the time of supply as specified in Section 12(2)(a) of the Act, including situations attracting Section 14. Such persons shall furnish details and returns as provided under Chapter IX of the Act and the Rules made thereunder, and pay tax within the period prescribed in the Act.

Class of Persons Covered

The notification applies to all registered persons under the regular scheme of taxation. Persons who have opted for composition levy under Section 10 are excluded. Accordingly, all non-composition registered persons supplying goods are governed by this procedural mandate.

Time of Supply – Statutory Link with Section 12

Section 12(2)(a) provides that the time of supply of goods shall be:

• the date of issue of invoice; or
• the last date on which the invoice is required to be issued under Section 31,

whichever is earlier.

By expressly referring to Section 12(2)(a), the notification confirms that tax liability on outward supply of goods under the regular scheme arises at the invoice stage. The liability must be declared and discharged in the return period corresponding to that time of supply.

This framework operates in conjunction with:

• Section 31 – Issue of tax invoice
• Section 39 – Furnishing of returns
• Section 49 – Payment of tax

Applicability in Change of Rate Cases – Section 14

The notification specifically includes cases attracting Section 14, which governs determination of time of supply where there is a change in the rate of tax. This ensures that in change-of-rate situations, liability must be determined strictly in accordance with the statutory mechanism provided in Section 14.

Supersession of Notification No. 40/2017

Notification No. 66/2017 supersedes Notification No. 40/2017 – Central Tax dated 13 October 2017, except in respect of actions already taken. The earlier notification applied only to registered persons whose aggregate turnover did not exceed ₹1.5 crore. By removing the turnover limitation and extending the same procedure to all non-composition registered persons, Notification 66/2017 established uniform application across regular taxpayers.

Legal Effect

The notification does not create a new levy of tax; the charge continues to arise under Section 9 of the CGST Act. It operationalises the statutory time-of-supply provisions by formally mandating that regular taxpayers determine and discharge liability in accordance with Section 12 and Section 14, integrated with the return mechanism under Chapter IX.