Time of Supply of Goods under GST Explained

Time of supply is a relevant measure under the GST law for every transaction entered into by the supplier of goods and services. This means the point in time when goods have been deemed to be supplied or services have been deemed to be provided to determine when the taxpayer is liable to pay taxes. While this article explains all about the time of supply for goods under GST, there is a separate article for time of supply for services. 

Time of supply under normal charge

The time of supply of goods shall be the earlier of the following dates:  

(a) The date of issuing of invoice (or the last day by which invoice should have been issued*) 

OR 

(b) The date of receipt of payment 

*In case where the supply involves the movement goods, the invoice needs to be issued at the time of removal. In other cases, the invoice needs to be issued at the time of delivery of goods to the recipient.

Notes:

• If the supplier receives an amount up to Rs.1,000 in excess of the invoice amount, the time of supply for the extra amount shall be the date of issue of invoice (at the option of the supplier).
• For (a) and (b)- The supply shall be assumed to have been made to the extent it is covered by the invoice or the payment (as the case may be). 
• For (b)- the date of receipt of payment shall be earlier of- 

1. The date on which he entered the payment in his books 

OR 

2. The date on which the payment is credited to his bank account  

Illustration:

(a) Date of invoice 15th May 2021 

(b) Date of receipt of payment 10th July 2021

(c) Date when supplier recorded receipt in books 11th July 2021
 

The time of supply will be 15th May 2021.

Time of supply under reverse charge

Reverse charge means the liability to pay tax is by the recipient of goods/services instead of the supplier. In case of reverse charge, the time of supply shall be the earliest of the following dates— 

(a) the date of receipt of goods 

OR

(b) the date of payment^#

OR 

(c) the date immediately after THIRTY days from the date of issue of invoice by the supplier (60 days for services). 
 

If it is not possible to determine the time of supply under (a), (b) or (c), the time of supply shall be the date of entry in the books of account of the recipient. 

Notes:

^#For clause (b)- the date of payment shall be earlier of- 

• The date on which the recipient entered the payment in his books OR 
• The date on which the payment is debited from his bank account 

Illustration: 

(a) Date of receipt of goods 15th May 2021 

(b) Date of payment 15th July 2021 

(c) Date of invoice 1st June 2021 

(d) Date of entry in books of receiver 18th May 2021 
 

Time of supply of goods 15th May 2021 

• If for some reason time of supply could not be determined supply under (a), (b) or (c) then it would be 18th May 2018 i.e., date of entry

Time of supply for vouchers

In case of supply of vouchers the time of supply is- 

(a) The date of issue of the voucher, if the supply can be identified at that point. 

OR 

(b) The date of redemption of the voucher, in all other cases.

When time of supply cannot be determined

If it is not possible to determine the time of supply by the above provisions, then it will be- 

(a) The date on which a periodical return has to be filed 

OR 

(b) The date on which the tax is paid, in any other case. 

In the GST regime, the tax collection event will be the earliest of the dates as given above. The various events like issuing invoice/making payment in case of supply of goods /services or completion of event-in case of supply of service triggering the tax levy, confirms that the Government wants to ensure tax is collected at the earliest point of time. 
 

There are multiple parameters in determining ‘time’ of supply. Thus, businesses continue to face a challenge in maintaining and reconciling between revenue as per financials and as per GST.

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