CGST vs SGST vs IGST vs UTGST: What's the Difference?

CGST and SGST are charged together on a sale inside one state, each at half the GST rate. IGST is charged alone, at the full rate, when the supplier and the place of supply are in different states, and on imports. UTGST takes the place of SGST in a Union Territory that has no legislature of its own. The buyer pays the same total either way. A product at 18% carries 9% CGST plus 9% SGST on a local bill, or 18% IGST on an out-of-state bill.

Why care, then? Because the wrong head is a real mistake. Your buyer's credit gets stuck, and the fix is paying again under the right head and claiming a refund of the wrong one under Section 77 of the CGST Act or Section 19 of the IGST Act.

The four taxes at a glance

The UTs that use UTGST are Chandigarh, Ladakh, Lakshadweep, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu and Kashmir have legislatures, so a local sale there carries CGST plus SGST.

Intra-state or inter-state: the place of supply decides

Sections 7 and 8 of the IGST Act set the test. Compare two things: where the supplier is located, and where the place of supply is. Same state, it's intra-state and you charge CGST plus SGST. Different states, it's inter-state and you charge IGST. The billing address is only a clue; Sections 10 to 13 decide.

For goods that are moved, the place of supply is generally where the movement ends for delivery. A Bengaluru tourist who buys a pair of shoes at a shop on FC Road and walks out with them gets a Maharashtra bill with CGST and SGST, because the goods were delivered in Pune. Ship the same pair to Bengaluru and the bill shows IGST.

Services work differently. For most business-to-business services, the place of supply is the registered recipient's location. A Pune chartered accountant billing a client registered in Bengaluru charges IGST. Hotel stays are an exception worth remembering: the place of supply is where the property is. When a Pune company books rooms at a hotel in Goa, the bill carries Goa's CGST and SGST, and a company registered only in Maharashtra usually can't claim that credit.

How the rate splits

Each slab halves for a local sale and stays whole for an inter-state one. Rates in force since 22 September 2025:

Source: Notification 9/2025-Central Tax (Rate) and 9/2025-Integrated Tax (Rate), Schedules I to V. The CGST notification prescribes the half-rates (2.5%, 9%, 20%, 1.5%, 0.125%); the IGST notification prescribes the full rates.

To find the rate for your product, look up its HSN on the HSN code and GST rate page or the full GST rates 2026 list.

Worked example: a Pune seller, two buyers

Deshpande Bearings in Bhosari sells ball bearings (HSN 8482, 18%). This week it has two orders of exactly the same value, ₹2,40,000 before tax. One buyer is a fabricator in Chakan. The other is a machine-tool maker in Peenya, Bengaluru.

Rate: ball bearings, roller bearings (HSN 8482), 18%, Notification 9/2025-CT(Rate) Schedule II. Business names and values are examples.

The totals match to the rupee. The Chakan buyer gets ₹21,600 of CGST credit and ₹21,600 of SGST credit. The Peenya buyer gets ₹43,200 of IGST credit, and Karnataka receives its share later through the settlement of IGST between the Centre and the states. For Deshpande Bearings, the delivery point of each order is what settles the head. Run either sale through the CGST SGST calculator or the IGST calculator to check a bill.

How it shows on the invoice

Rule 46 of the CGST Rules wants the rate and the amount of each tax shown separately. A local invoice has two tax columns or lines, CGST and SGST (or UTGST). An inter-state invoice has one, IGST. For an inter-state supply the invoice must also state the place of supply with the name of the state, so the Peenya bill should read "Place of supply: 29-Karnataka". The first two digits of each GSTIN give the same hint: 27 is Maharashtra, 29 is Karnataka. Our GST invoice format page lays out every field.

Using input credit: the set-off order

Here the taxes really do behave differently. Section 49 of the CGST Act and Rule 88A of the CGST Rules fix the order.

IGST credit goes first, and it must be used up completely before you touch CGST or SGST credit. It pays IGST liability first; whatever is left can pay CGST and SGST in any order and any proportion you choose. CGST credit then pays CGST, and any balance can pay IGST. SGST credit pays SGST, then IGST, though only once CGST credit is no longer available for IGST. The one door that stays shut: CGST credit can never pay SGST, and SGST credit can never pay CGST. They belong to different governments.

The freedom over leftover IGST credit is worth real money. Take a Hadapsar trader's month.

₹30,000 of IGST credit clears the IGST bill, leaving ₹40,000. Put it all against CGST and the CGST bill drops to ₹10,000; the trader then uses only ₹10,000 of the ₹20,000 CGST credit, the other ₹10,000 sits idle, and SGST needs ₹25,000 in cash. Split the ₹40,000 as ₹20,000 each instead. CGST owes ₹30,000, met by ₹20,000 credit and ₹10,000 cash. SGST owes ₹30,000, met by ₹25,000 credit and ₹5,000 cash. Cash out falls from ₹25,000 to ₹15,000, and no credit is stranded. Work out the split before you file.

General information, not tax advice. Business names and amounts are examples. Law referred to: IGST Act 2017 sections 7, 8, 10, 12 and 19; CGST Act 2017 sections 49 and 77; CGST Rules 46 and 88A (inserted by Notification 16/2019-Central Tax).

Last reviewed 9 November 2026.