UPSC Prelims Practice Questions — Nine Years of GST: Simplifying Taxation, Strengthening India

Q1. Which one of the following most precisely describes the provision introduced by Article 246A of the Constitution of India?

• A. It confers simultaneous power on Parliament and the State legislatures to make laws on the levy of GST on supply of goods and services
• B. It empowers only the Government of India to levy and collect GST on inter-State supplies and apportion it between the Union and States
• C. It establishes the Goods and Services Tax Council as a joint forum of the Centre and the States
• D. It guarantees compensation to the States for any loss of revenue arising from the introduction of GST

Q2. With reference to the Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016, consider the following pairings of constitutional Articles with their function in the GST framework: 1. Article 246A — simultaneous power of the Union and the States to legislate on GST 2. Article 269A — levy and collection of GST on inter-State trade by the Government of India, with apportionment between the Union and the States 3. Article 279A — constitution of the Goods and Services Tax Council 4. Article 360 — power to declare a 'GST emergency' suspending State GST powers Which of the above are correctly identified?

1. Article 246A — simultaneous power of the Union and the States to legislate on GST
2. Article 269A — levy and collection of GST on inter-State trade by the Government of India, with apportionment between the Union and the States
3. Article 279A — constitution of the Goods and Services Tax Council
4. Article 360 — power to declare a 'GST emergency' suspending State GST powers

• A. 1, 2 and 3
• B. 1 and 3 only
• C. 2, 3 and 4
• D. 1, 2, 3 and 4

Q3. Under India's dual GST model, which one of the following is the component levied and collected by the Central Government on inter-State supplies of goods and services and subsequently apportioned between the Union and the States?

• A. Integrated GST (IGST)
• B. Central GST (CGST)
• C. State GST (SGST)
• D. Union Territory GST (UTGST)

Q4. The levy and collection of Central GST (CGST) on intra-State supplies of goods and services is governed primarily by which one of the following statutes?

• A. The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
• B. The Central Sales Tax Act, 1956
• C. The Finance Act, 1994
• D. The Constitution (101st Amendment) Act, 2016

Q5. The decision to compress the four-tier GST slab structure into two principal rates of 5% and 18% (with a 40% special rate) was approved at which one of the following?

• A. The 56th GST Council meeting held in September 2025
• B. The 53rd GST Council meeting
• C. The 50th GST Council meeting
• D. The Union Budget 2025-26 presented in Parliament

Q6. In the rationalized GST rate structure approved in 2025, the 40% rate is best described as which one of the following?

• A. A special rate applicable to a small set of select sin and luxury goods
• B. The new standard rate applicable to all services
• C. The merit rate applicable to essential and mass-consumption items
• D. A compensation cess levied in addition to the highest GST slab

Q7. As per Article 279A, every decision of the GST Council must be taken by a majority of not less than which one of the following of the weighted votes of the members present and voting?

• A. Three-fourths
• B. Two-thirds
• C. A simple majority (more than one-half)
• D. Five-sixths

Q8. Under Article 279A, who is the Chairperson of the Goods and Services Tax Council?

• A. The Union Finance Minister
• B. The Prime Minister of India
• C. The Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue
• D. The Union Finance Secretary

Q9. Which one of the following financial years recorded the highest-ever gross GST collection of about ₹22.08 lakh crore, with a year-on-year growth of 9.4%?

• A. FY 2024-25
• B. FY 2023-24
• C. FY 2022-23
• D. FY 2021-22

Q10. GST subsumed a web of 17+ central and state indirect taxes into a single levy with effect from which one of the following dates?

• A. 1 July 2017
• B. 16 September 2016
• C. 1 April 2017
• D. 1 April 2010

Q11. Which one of the following entities provides the shared information-technology backbone for GST registration, return filing and the matching of input tax credit?

• A. Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)
• B. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC)
• C. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
• D. GST Council Secretariat

Q12. Under the GST (Compensation to States) framework, the compensation payable to a State was computed by assuming a guaranteed annual growth in its protected revenue of which one of the following over the base year 2015-16?

• A. 14%
• B. 10%
• C. 12%
• D. 16%