Chapter I

This preliminary chapter introduces the Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, establishing that its provisions extend to the Union territories of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Ladakh, Chandigarh, and other territory. It provides that the Central Government will appoint the commencement date or dates for various provisions of the Act via notifications in the Official Gazette, defining this commencement date as the appointed day [1, 2]. Under the key definitions established, each specified territory is legally considered to be a separate Union territory for the purposes of the Act. The chapter defines critical terms such as Union territory tax as the tax levied under the Act, output tax as the tax chargeable on a taxable supply of goods or services excluding reverse charge payments, and exempt supply as any non-taxable supply or supply attracting a nil tax rate or specified exemptions [2-4]. It also outlines administrative roles, identifying the Government as the Administrator or authorized officer and specifying that a Commissioner of Union territory tax is appointed under the Act to notify designated authorities [2, 4]. Finally, the chapter details that any existing laws refer to pre-commencement laws or regulations concerning duties or taxes, and clarifies that any words not explicitly defined in this Act will carry the same meanings as assigned to them in other related goods and services tax legislation [3, 4].