What is Tax, Duty, Cess, Surcharge & Toll ?

In India, tax, duty, cess, surcharge, toll are some common words for public. But only few people know properly about these. In this article I'm trying to clear the basic concept of taxation. Let's read:

Tax: Any money the government takes from a person (legally) for doing any economic activity is tax. Generally, this is a percentage of the money a person receive or give. Taxes are either direct, where the money goes directly from a person’s pocket to the govt's pocket, or indirect, where the money goes from a person’s pocket to someone else's pocket and then to the govt's pocket.

Taxes in india are leived by the Central Government and State Governments. Some minor taxes are also leived by the local authorities such as Municipality.

CENTRAL TAXES :
There are two kinds of taxes in India.

DIRECT TAX : A direct tax is generally a tax paid directly to the government by a person on whom it is imposed.

Such as

Income Tax (Income Tax Act, 1961)

Wealth Tax (Wealth Tax Act, 1957)

CBDT ( Central Board of Direct Taxes) is the controller of direct taxes in India.

INDIRECT TAX :

GST (Goods & Service Tax)

STATE TAXES :

SGST (State Goods & Services Tax)

LOCAL BODY TAXES :
Property Tax

Duty: This is an on-border tax charged on goods (commodities, or things that you can physically touch) either while coming into the country or going out of the country. Generally, a percentage of the value of the good. i.e Custom duty, excise duty, stamp duty etc.

Cess: This is a tax on tax, levied by the govt for a specific purpose. Generally, cess is expected to be levied till the time the govt gets enough money for that purpose. The education cess, that is levied currently, is meant to finance basic education in the country.

Surcharge: This is an additional burden to the tax being already levied. Generally, surcharge is levied for a certain period time. For instance, the 10% surcharge being levied on super rich in India for one financial year.
(Surcharge and Cess may look the same, but the difference is in the way of charging. For instance, say some tax is 30%, so out of Rs 100 earning, Rs 30 is paid as tax. Now if the govt levies a 10% cess, the total tax will become Rs 33. However, if the govt levies a 10% surcharge, the total tax will become Rs 40.

Toll: is a charge payable to use a bridge or road and the collected money is used to repair or maintain such bridge or road.

Taxes in India are levied by the Central Government and State Governments. Some minor taxes are also levied by the local authorities such as Municipality.

Hope this article may help you to clear your concept about taxation system of India. For any queries, please comment in the comment section below. Stay connected with us.