CGST stands for Central Goods and Services Tax. It is one of the components of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime in India, which is a comprehensive indirect tax levied on the supply of goods and services across the country. CGST is governed by the CGST Act, 2017, which was introduced to outline the provisions for levying and collecting tax on intra-state supply of goods and services by the Central government and all the issues related to the same. The primary objective of the CGST Act is to curb multiple problems associated with the taxation system, such as double taxation, heavy tax duties (such as octroi, entry tax, and check posts) and introduce a simplified compliance system. CGST is applicable to the supply of goods and services within a state or union territory.

The rate of CGST varies depending on the nature and category of the goods and services. The current CGST rates are 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. The CGST Act has 21 chapters, 174 sections and 3 schedules that cover various aspects of the tax, such as administration, levy and collection, time and value of supply, input tax credit, registration, invoice, accounts and records, returns, payment, refunds, assessment, audit, inspection, search, seizure and arrest, demands and recovery, liability to pay in certain cases, advance ruling, appeals and revision, offenses and penalties, transitional provisions and miscellaneous provisions.