GST Reverse Charge (RCM) Checker (India)
Who pays the GST — supplier or buyer? The notified entry, the duties and the return lines.
Reverse charge
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The entry relied on
What the recipient must do
Reference only, not tax advice. The entries are those of the reverse-charge notifications as amended; exemptions in Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) can mean no tax is due at all.
Tax rules and rates change. This calculator follows the rules described on this page and may not cover every situation. Check the official source or a qualified tax professional before filing or invoicing.
About the GST Reverse Charge (RCM) Checker (India)
Under reverse charge the buyer, not the seller, pays the GST on certain supplies. Pick what was supplied and answer a few questions about the supplier and the buyer, and the checker matches the entries of the reverse-charge notifications as amended — Notification No. 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate) for services, including goods transport agencies, advocates, arbitral tribunals, sponsorship, government services, renting from unregistered landlords, directors, insurance and recovery agents, security services and copyright; Notification No. 4/2017-Central Tax (Rate) for goods such as raw cotton, cashew nuts and metal scrap; and imports of services under section 5(3) of the IGST Act.
When reverse charge applies it lists what the buyer must do: register, issue a self-invoice and a payment voucher, work out the time of supply, pay the tax in cash, and report it in Table 3.1(d) of GSTR-3B with the credit in Table 4(A)(3) — or 4(A)(2) for imports. Nothing you enter leaves your device.
How to use it
- Choose what was supplied — services, imported services or goods. The supplier and recipient the entry names appear under it.
- Answer the questions that appear: whether the buyer and supplier are registered, what kind of entity the buyer is, and the facts that take a supply out of the entry (a GTA that opted for forward charge, a corporate security agency, a composition tenant…).
- Read the verdict, the entry relied on with its serial number, and what the recipient must do. Copy summary keeps it for your file.
Examples
Reverse charge applies — 13/2017 S. No. 5AB: the tenant pays; not if the tenant is under the composition scheme (07/2025)
Reverse charge applies — S. No. 1: 5% (2.5% + 2.5%) paid by the manufacturer, unless the GTA opted for forward charge
Reverse charge applies — S. No. 6: the company pays
Reverse charge applies — S. No. 14; from a private limited agency: no, the agency charges GST
Import of services — IGST under reverse charge, credit in Table 4(A)(2)
Common uses
- Check before paying a landlord, transporter, advocate or director whether you owe the GST on it.
- Prepare the self-invoice and the GSTR-3B entries for reverse-charge purchases.
- Review a vendor list for supplies that should have been under reverse charge.
- Revise the reverse-charge entries for CA and CMA examinations.
What reverse charge means for the buyer
- Register — a person liable to pay tax under reverse charge must register, whatever the turnover (CGST Act s. 24(iii)).
- Self-invoice within thirty days for supplies from unregistered suppliers and imports (s. 31(3)(f), rule 47A), and a payment voucher when you pay (s. 31(3)(g)).
- Time of supply — goods: the earliest of receipt, payment and the day after thirty days from the supplier’s invoice (s. 12(3)); services: the earlier of payment and the day after sixty days from the invoice, or the date of your own invoice (s. 13(3)).
- Pay in cash — tax under reverse charge is not “output tax” and cannot be paid from the credit ledger (s. 2(82) and 49(4)).
- GSTR-3B — show it in Table 3.1(d) and take the credit, unless blocked, in Table 4(A)(3) (imports of services: 4(A)(2)).
Recent changes the checker applies
- Renting of commercial property by an unregistered person to a registered person is under reverse charge (S. No. 5AB, Notification No. 09/2024 and its corrigendum), but not for tenants paying tax under the composition levy (No. 07/2025).
- Sponsorship is under reverse charge only when the sponsor-supplier is not a body corporate (No. 07/2025).
- Residential dwellings rented to registered persons are under reverse charge (S. No. 5AA, No. 05/2022), except a proprietor renting one personally as his home, which is exempt (Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate), S. No. 12, Explanation added by No. 15/2022).
- Indian Railways is outside the entries for government services and sales of used goods (Nos. 14/2023 and 19/2023); metal scrap from unregistered persons is under reverse charge (No. 06/2024 to 4/2017).
Sources
Notifications No. 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate) and No. 4/2017-Central Tax (Rate) and their amendments, Notification No. 10/2017-Integrated Tax (Rate) and the GST Acts, on CBIC’s tax information portal and GST site: CGST Act ss. 2(82), 9(3), 12(3), 13(3), 24(iii), 31(3)(f)–(g) and 49(4); IGST Act s. 5(3); CGST Rules 46 and 47A.
Limitations
- Reverse charge for promoters of real estate projects on purchases from unregistered suppliers (section 9(4), Notification No. 07/2019-Central Tax (Rate)) is not worked out here.
- Exemptions in Notification No. 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate) can mean no tax is due at all; check them for your case.
- The rate for most services comes from Notification No. 11/2017-Central Tax (Rate); the checker names it rather than looking it up.
- Reference only, not tax advice.
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Frequently asked questions
Is GST payable under reverse charge on rent?
On a shop, office or other non-residential property rented from an unregistered landlord by a registered person: yes, the tenant pays (S. No. 5AB of Notification No. 13/2017-Central Tax (Rate)), unless the tenant is a composition taxpayer. On a residential dwelling rented to a registered person: yes (S. No. 5AA), except a proprietor renting it personally as his own home.
Who pays GST on GTA services?
The person who pays the freight, if it is a factory, society, co-operative society, registered person, body corporate, partnership firm or casual taxable person — at 5% under reverse charge — unless the GTA has opted to pay the tax itself under forward charge (S. No. 1).
Can I pay reverse charge GST from my input tax credit?
No. Tax payable under reverse charge is excluded from “output tax” (CGST Act s. 2(82)), and the credit ledger can be used only for output tax, so it is paid in cash. You can then claim it as credit in the same return if the credit is not blocked.
What is the time of supply under reverse charge?
For goods, the earliest of the date of receipt, the date of payment and the day after thirty days from the supplier’s invoice (s. 12(3)); for services, the earlier of the date of payment and the day after sixty days from the supplier’s invoice, or the date of the recipient’s own invoice where the recipient issues it (s. 13(3)).
Do I need a self-invoice for reverse charge purchases?
Yes, when the supplier is not registered (including a supplier registered only for TDS) and for imports of services: issue it within thirty days of receiving the supply (CGST Act s. 31(3)(f) and rule 47A), and a payment voucher when you pay (s. 31(3)(g)).