Published Online:July 2026
Product Name:The IUP Journal of Accounting Research & Audit Practices
Product Type:Article
Product Code:IJARAP110726
DOI:10.71329/IUPJARAP/2026.25.3.200-211
Author Name:C A Peeyush Sharma
Availability:YES
Subject/Domain:Finance
Download Format:PDF
Pages:200-211
The introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, 2017 unified India’s indirect tax architecture, but the education and training sector has remained one of its most contested domains. Constitutionally, education is a fundamental right under Article 21-A, and the sector is widely characterized in economic literature as a merit good—a service whose social benefits exceed its private benefits, justifying public subsidization and fiscal preference (Musgrave, 1959). Against this backdrop, the GST law exempts services delivered by recognized ‘educational institutions’, while imposing an 18% standard rate on coaching, commercial training, and ed-tech platforms.