GST Law and Practice by Arpit Haldia – 8th Pocket Edition 2026

GST Law & Practice [POCKET Edition]—A Compendium of CGST/IGST Acts along with Relevant Rules/Circulars/Notifications & Case Laws is a single-volume, provision-centric compendium of the Goods and Services Tax law in India. It is designed not as a bare-act reprint but as a working reference in which every operative section of the CGST and IGST Acts is read together with the delegated legislation, administrative clarifications, and judicial precedent that give it meaning. Each section is immediately followed by the relevant rules, a gist of applicable notifications and circulars, and a curated digest of case law, so that the reader can move from statute to interpretation on the same page.

The 8^th Edition incorporates all amendments brought in by the Finance Act 2026 and reflects the regulatory and judicial developments up to the date of publication.

This is the Pocket Edition of the principal volume. It delivers the complete content—every operative section, the relevant Rules reproduced in full, the section-wise gist of notifications and circulars, and the curated case-law digest—in a compact, portable trim sized for daily carry. It is intended as a carry-anywhere companion for use before adjudicating and appellate authorities, the GST Appellate Tribunal, in client and audit engagements, and on travel, where the standard volume is impractical to transport.

The book is intended as a daily-use reference for professionals and institutions engaged with GST:

• Chartered Accountants, Cost Accountants, Company Secretaries, and Advocates practising in GST advisory, compliance, audit, and litigation
• In-House Indirect-Tax Teams of Corporates, Multinationals and PSUs—GST heads, indirect-tax controllers, finance and commercial managers
• Officers of the Central and State GST administrations, DGGI, and CBIC
• Members and Counsel appearing before Adjudicating Authorities, Appellate Authorities, the GST Appellate Tribunal, High Courts, and the Supreme Court
• Academicians, Researchers, and Candidates preparing for the CA, CS, CMA, LL.B., and LL.M. examinations where GST is a core paper

The Present Publication is the 8^th Edition, amended by the Finance Act 2026. This book is edited by CA. (Dr) Arpit Halida, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Three-Layer Treatment Applied to Every Section] The book’s defining feature is the uniform three-layer presentation given to every operative provision:
  • Statutory Layer — The annotated text of the section, with a dense footnote apparatus that traces every substitution, insertion, and omission to the specific Finance Act, Amendment Act, Removal of Difficulties Order, or notification that effected it, along with the effective date and the pre-amendment text preserved
  • Regulatory Layer — The relevant rules from the CGST Rules 2017 are reproduced in full under the parent section, each rule carrying its own layered footnote history. A gist of applicable notifications follows, keyed to the provision
  • Judicial Layer — A curated digest of relevant case law is placed under the section, with ratios reported in sufficient substantive detail, citations, and explicit flagging of contrary decisions
• [Circulars Updated Through Late 2025] The gist of CBIC circulars runs through Circular No. 254/11/2025-GST, dated 27-10-2025, covering landmark recent clarifications including:
  • Circular 251/08/2025 on post-sale discounts and financial/commercial credit notes
  • Circular 253/10/2025 on the withdrawal of Circular No. 212/6/2024-GST
  • Circular 252/09/2025 on the Document Identification Number (DIN) requirement
  • Circular 250/07/2025 on reviewing, revisional, and appellate authorities for Common Adjudicating Authority (CAA) orders
  • Circular 249/06/2025 on the generation and quoting of DIN on CBIC communications
  • Circular 248/05/2025 on eligibility for Section 128A benefit where tax was paid through FORM GSTR-3B
• [Comprehensive Amendment Tracking] Every legislative change up to and including the Finance Act 2026 is integrated into the statutory text of the CGST, IGST, and UTGST Acts. The annotation format preserves the complete amendment history for each provision—the amending instrument, the effective date, and the pre-amendment text—enabling the reader to reconstruct the law as it stood on any prior date, a frequent need in assessment, audit, and litigation work involving past tax periods

The coverage of the book is as follows:

• Division One — Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017
  • The principal Division is a complete, section-wise treatment of the CGST Act 2017—Chapter I (Preliminary) through Chapter XXI (Miscellaneous)
  • The Division also provides, as continuous annexures:
    • Schedules I, II, and III to the CGST Act
    • Removal of Difficulties Orders — First through Tenth Orders of 2019, together with the 2020 and 2023 Orders, reproduced in full
    • Text of Provisions of Allied Acts referred to in the CGST Act—including relevant extracts from the Cantonments Act 2006; the Chartered Accountants Act 1949; the Cost and Works Accountants Act 1959; the Information Technology Act 2000; the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act 2016; the Customs Tariff Act 1975; the Constitution of India (Article 279A); and other allied statutes referred to in definitions and operative sections
    • Validation Provisions—a consolidated compilation
    • Subject Index—detailed index keyed to the CGST Act
• Division Two — Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act 2017
  • A complete, section-wise annotated treatment of the IGST Act 2017, covering the full place-of-supply regime (domestic and cross-border, including the special rules for online money gaming and online information services), zero-rated supplies, apportionment of tax, refund of IGST on exports, and validation provisions
  • The Division follows the same three-layer structure used in Division One, with a section-wise gist of circulars and case law, including post-2024 rulings such as the Delhi High Court’s judgment in Interglobe Aviation Ltd. on the constitutionality of additional duty on re-imported aircraft parts
• Division Three — Miscellaneous
  • Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act 2017—annotated section-wise
  • Goods and Services Tax (Period of Levy and Collection of Cess) Rules 2022
  • National Anti-Profiteering Authority : Procedure and Methodology
  • Goods and Services Tax Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules 2025—the new procedural code for institution of appeals, registry functions, cause lists, interlocutory applications, and hearings before the GSTAT Principal and State Benches, reproduced in full
  • Goods and Services Tax Settlement of Funds Rules 2026—notified by GSR 225(E), dated 30-3-2026, in supersession of the 2017 Rules (deemed effective from 1 April 2025), covering cross-utilisation reports, Form GST STL-1 series, apportionment of IGST, and settlement between Centre and States
  • List of CGST Forms—complete catalogue of every statutory form under the CGST Rules, organised by function (Registration, ITC, Enrolment, Returns, GST Practitioner, Payment of Tax, Refunds, Assessment, Audit, Advance Ruling, Appeals and Revision, Transitional Provisions, Inspection and Search, Demands and Recovery, Compounding, E-Way Bill)
• Reference Apparatus
  • List of Notifications—consolidated table of CGST and IGST notifications with description and page reference
  • List of Circulars & Clarifications—with subject description and precise page reference, running through Circular No. 254/11/2025-GST, dated 27-10-2025
  • Arrangement of Sections and Arrangement of Rules at the opening of each Division
  • Subject Index for both the CGST and IGST Divisions

The book is organised into three Divisions, each self-contained with its own pagination:

• Division One — CGST Act, Rules, Circulars, Case Law, Schedules, Removal of Difficulties Orders, Allied Acts, Validation, Subject Index
• Division Two — IGST Act, Rules, Circulars, Case Law, Validation, Subject Index
• Division Three — UTGST Act, GST Cess Rules 2022, Anti-Profiteering Procedure, GSTAT Procedure Rules 2025, GST Settlement of Funds Rules 2026, CGST Forms
• Consolidated Lists of Notifications and Circulars at the end serve as a master navigation table cross-referencing every notification and circular to the exact page where its gist and application are discussed within the body text