Provisional assessment
Section 60, CGST Act
Straight from CBIC
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Amendment history
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Section 60 allows PROVISIONAL ASSESSMENT where a taxpayer cannot determine value or rate – the officer permits provisional payment on a bond/security, then finalises within six months (extendable), with interest on any shortfall.
What this means in practice
The parts that actually decide cases — the things a practitioner checks first.
Apply in ASMT-01 with a bond and security under Rule 98; the officer passes the provisional order in ASMT-04 within ninety days and finalises in ASMT-07 within six months, extendable by six months by the Joint or Additional Commissioner and by four years by the Commissioner.
Interest runs on any short payment from the original due date – provisional assessment protects against penalty, not against interest.
It is the right route where classification or valuation is genuinely unsettled; it is not available merely because the taxpayer wants time.
Questions people actually ask
Real questions we get on this provision, answered straight.
We cannot decide the rate on a new product. Can we pay under protest?+
There is no ‘under protest’ payment in GST. Apply for provisional assessment under section 60 in ASMT-01 with a bond, pay provisionally, and settle on finalisation – interest will still run on any shortfall from the original due date.
How this provision is built
The skeleton, clause by clause — useful when a notice cites a specific sub-clause.
The exact words of the law
2,310 characters, uneditedReproduced from the CBIC text. We explain it above — but you should always be able to read it yourself.
Read the full provision+
(1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), where the taxable person is unable to determine the value of goods or services or both or determine the rate of tax applicable there to, he may request the proper officer in writing giving reasons for payment of tax on provisional basis and the proper officer shall pass an order, within a period not later than ninety days from the date of receipt of such request, allowing payment of tax on provisional basis at such rate or on such value as may be specified by him.
(2) The payment of tax on provisional basis may be allowed, if the taxable person executes a bond in such form as may be prescribed , and with such surety or security as the proper officer may deem fit, binding the taxable person for payment of the difference between the amount of tax as may be finally assessed and the amount of tax provisionally assessed.
(3) The proper officer shall, within a period not exceeding six months from the date of the communication of the order issued under sub-section (1), pass the final assessment order after taking into account such information as may be required for finalizing the assessment: Provided that the period specified in this sub-section may, on sufficient cause being shown and for reasons to be recorded in writing, be extended by the Joint Commissioner or Additional Commissioner for a further period not exceeding six months and by the Commissioner for such further period not exceeding four years.
(4) The registered person shall be liable to pay interest on any tax payable on the supply of goods or services or both under provisional assessment but not paid on the due date specified under sub-section
(7) of section 39 or the rules made thereunder, at the rate specified under sub-section
(1) of section 50 , from the first day after the due date of payment of tax in respect of the said supply of goods or services or both till the date of actual payment, whether such amount is paid before or after the issuance of order for final assessment.
(5) Where the registered person is entitled to a refund consequent to the order of final assessment under sub-section (3), subject to the provisions of sub-section
(8) of section 54 , interest shall be paid on such refund as provided in section 56 .
What changed, and when
The amendment trail, newest first — because the version that applies to your case depends on the period.
2017-07-01 · Commenced
Provision as originally enacted in the CGST Act, 2017 (Act 12 of 2017) and brought into force w.e.f. 01-07-2017.
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Where this comes from
Text reproduced from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, as available on 2026-09-05. The explanation and practice notes above are GSTZone’s own, written for this hub. If you spot anything out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it — this hub is checked daily against CBIC.
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