Under GST Rule 86B, introduced in January 2021, registered persons with a taxable turnover exceeding ₹50 lakhs per month (excluding exempt/zero-rated supplies) must pay at least 1% of their output tax liability in cash, limiting the use of Input Tax Credit (ITC) to 99%. This rule aims to curb tax evasion via fake invoices.
✔ If monthly taxable turnover > ₹50 lakh (excluding exempt and zero-rated supplies), ✔ Minimum 1% of GST liability must be paid in cash, ✔ The remaining 99% may be paid through ITC. Applicable to registered persons under GST whose monthly taxable supply exceeds ₹50 lakh.
Persons required to comply with Rule 86B
Registered persons whose monthly taxable turnover exceeds ₹50 lakhs (excluding exempt and zero-rated supplies) are required to pay at least 1% of their GST liability in cash, subject to certain exceptions.
No Cash Transaction Limit: The GST Act doesn't impose specific limits.
On the other hand, if the business uses a cash basis (where income is only recorded when money is received), GST is only payable once the deposit is received. In most cases, a deposit is considered part of the total payment, and GST must be included when the deposit is received.
Yes, taxpayers can pay GST in cash by paying at the Bank.
a transaction is a transaction regardless of how it is paid for. sales tax would need to be collected if the items sold qualify for sales tax to be collected no matter the payment method. Sales tax is definitely something you want to be messing around with as the government gets really mad when you don't pay them.
2 lakh or more in a single day from a single person. Any cash payment or receipt exceeding this limit is prohibited. Transactions beyond this limit must be conducted through banking channels or electronic methods to comply with the provisions of section 269ST of the Income Tax Act.
The New GST Rate Structure
The old four-slab structure (5%, 12%, 18%, 28%) has been simplified. The 12% and 28% slabs were eliminated and replaced with a new structure, which is now primarily 0%, 5%, 18%, and a 40% rate for luxury and “sin” goods.
Rule 86. (1) The electronic credit ledger shall be maintained in FORM GST PMT-02 for each registered person eligible for input tax credit under the Act on the common portal and every claim of input tax credit under the Act shall be credited to the said ledger.
GST is leviable only if aggregate turnover is more than 20 lacs. (Rs. 10 lacs in 11 special category States). For computing aggregate supplies turnover of all supplies made by you would be added.
Manufacturers and traders typically have a GST Composition Scheme rate of 1% of turnover. Restaurants and service providers under the Composition Scheme usually face a rate of 5% of turnover. Participants in the scheme cannot claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) on their purchases.
The rationale for introducing this rule
To curb tax evasion by issuing fake invoices, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) had made it mandatory for taxpayers to have a monthly turnover of more than Rs 50 lakh to pay 1% of their GST liability in cash.
The following category of tax persons are exempted from payment of 1% of GST in Cash 1. Registered taxpayers who have paid income tax above Rs 1.00 in Income Tax during the last two years continuously 2. Taxpayers who have zero-rated supplies without payment of duty and claimed refund of more than Rs 1.00 lac 3.
Currently, the GST Exemption Limit is set at Rs. 40 lakhs for goods and Rs. 20 lakhs for services. Businesses with annual revenues below these limits are not mandated to register for GST; however, they may opt to do so voluntarily.
Effective April 1, 2025, businesses with an Annual Aggregate Turnover (AATO) exceeding ₹10 crore must report B2B e-invoices to the IRP within 30 days from the invoice date. Previously, this rule applied only to taxpayers with AATO above ₹100 crore.
Using the wrong tax codes or accounting method
Many GST mistakes are the result of using incorrect tax codes or the wrong accounting method: Tax codes: If a GST-free sale is coded as taxable in your accounting system, you'll pay GST unnecessarily. If a taxable sale is coded GST-free, you'll underpay.
At each stage of sale or purchase in the supply chain, the tax is collected on value-added goods and services, through a tax credit mechanism. GST is levied on the supply of all goods and services except the supply of liquor for human consumption which is still liable to state excise duties and the VAT.
Under Section 269ST, any person or business cannot receive ₹2 lakh or more in cash from a single person in a single day or a single transaction. ✔ Example: If a business sells goods worth ₹2,50,000, the buyer must pay via cheque, bank transfer, UPI, or credit card. Cash payment is not allowed.
Section 40A(3) of Income Tax Act: Cash Payment Limit, Exceptions, and Disallowance. byPaytm Editorial TeamAugust 31, 2025. Section 40A(3) of the Income Tax Act disallows business expense deductions if cash payments exceed ₹10,000 per person per day (₹35,000 for transporters), unless exceptions under Rule 6DD apply.
Receiving ₹2 lakh or more in cash from one person in a day can lead to a penalty equal to the amount received. Accepting or giving cash loans above ₹20,000 violates the rules and may trigger a 100% penalty. Cash payments above ₹20,000 in property transactions are red flags.
Cash accounting means you report GST on your Business Activity Statement (BAS) when you actually receive or make payments. In contrast, under the accruals method, GST is reported when invoices are issued or received, regardless of when the money changes hands.
If you're an employee who receives cash wages or tips, these should be reported on your tax return just like any other income. Your employer is responsible for withholding taxes from your wages, including cash payments, and reporting the income on your W-2 form.
Note that under a separate reporting requirement, banks and other financial institutions report cash purchases of cashier's checks, treasurer's checks and/or bank checks, bank drafts, traveler's checks and money orders with a face value of more than $10,000 by filing currency transaction reports.