Section 17 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Rule 42's whole answer turns on one number: E, the value of exempt supplies. Getting E wrong changes every reversal in the year.
Section 17(3) defines it, and the definition is deliberately wider than "supplies that are exempt".
The value of exempt supply for apportionment purposes includes — supplies on which the recipient is liable to pay tax on reverse charge, transactions in securities, sale of land, and, subject to Schedule II paragraph 5(b), sale of building. It excludes, since 01.02.2019, the value of activities in paragraph 8(a) of Schedule III — supply of warehoused goods before clearance for home consumption. And the value of a security is taken as one per cent of its sale value.
Start with section 2(47)
Before s.17(3) adds anything, "exempt supply" in s.2(47) already means supply of goods or services or both which:
- attracts a nil rate of tax;
- may be wholly exempt from tax under s.11 or s.6 of the IGST Act; and
- includes non-taxable supply.
"Non-taxable supply" in s.2(78) means a supply not leviable to tax under the CGST Act or the IGST Act — alcoholic liquor for human consumption, petroleum crude, high speed diesel, motor spirit, natural gas and aviation turbine fuel.
So before s.17(3) does anything, liquor and petroleum turnover are exempt turnover. That alone catches hotels, restaurants with bars, and fuel retailers.
The four inclusions
1. Supplies on which the recipient is liable to pay tax on reverse charge.
This is the one that surprises people most. A goods transport agency, an advocate, or an author supplying under RCM makes an outward supply on which they charge no tax. For the supplier, that turnover enters exempt turnover and triggers reversal of the supplier's own common credit.
The tax is paid — by the recipient — but the supplier's credit is restricted as if the supply were exempt.
2. Transactions in securities.
Securities are outside GST entirely — neither goods nor services. But the Explanation to Chapter V of the CGST Rules provides that for Rules 42 and 43, the value of a security shall be taken as one per cent of the sale value of such security.
So a treasury operation that sells ₹500 crore of securities in a year adds ₹5 crore to exempt turnover, not ₹500 crore. Without the 1% convention, any business with an active treasury would reverse nearly all its credit. Securities and money under GST →
3. Sale of land.
Schedule III paragraph 5 puts sale of land outside supply. Section 17(3) nonetheless brings its value into exempt turnover. A real estate business selling land alongside taxable construction services must include the land consideration in E.
4. Sale of building, subject to Schedule II paragraph 5(b).
Paragraph 5(b) makes construction of a complex a supply of services except where the entire consideration is received after the completion certificate or first occupation. Where the entire consideration comes after completion, there is no supply — and that sale value enters exempt turnover under s.17(3).
This is the provision behind the reversal on unsold completed inventory in real estate.
The exclusion
The Explanation to s.17(3), inserted with effect from 01.02.2019:
"For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression 'value of exempt supply' shall not include the value of activities or transactions specified in paragraph 8(a) of Schedule III."
Paragraph 8(a) is the supply of warehoused goods to any person before clearance for home consumption — the in-bond sale.
Note the precision. It excludes only paragraph 8(a). It does not exclude:
- paragraph 8(b) — high seas sales;
- paragraph 7 — out-and-out supplies where goods never enter India.
The conservative reading is that those two do enter exempt turnover. A merchant trading business with substantial Indian overheads should compute a reversal on that turnover or be prepared to defend not doing so. Merchant trade and out-and-out supplies →
What is not in exempt turnover
- Zero-rated supplies. Expressly on the taxable side of s.17(2).
- Supplies to SEZ units and developers. Zero-rated under s.16 of the IGST Act.
- Deemed exports. Taxable supplies with a refund mechanism.
- Non-GST supplies that are not exempt supplies — but note that non-taxable supply is within s.2(47), so this category is narrow in practice.
- In-bond sales under paragraph 8(a). Expressly excluded.
Practical notes
- Build E from the turnover working, not from the return. GSTR-3B's exempt field does not capture the s.17(3) additions.
- Reverse charge outward supplies are the most commonly missed inclusion. A GTA, an advocate's firm, or a licensor supplying under RCM must include that turnover.
- Apply the 1% convention to securities, and document it.
- Real estate: land consideration and post-completion sales both enter E.
- Reconcile E and F to GSTR-9C, where the taxable turnover reconciliation makes the composition of turnover visible.
- Do the annual recomputation with annual figures — monthly ratios and the annual ratio diverge.
Key takeaways
- s.2(47) already includes nil-rated, exempt and non-taxable supplies.
- s.17(3) adds: reverse charge outward supplies, securities, sale of land, and sale of building post-completion.
- The value of a security is 1% of its sale value for Rules 42 and 43.
- The Explanation excludes only paragraph 8(a) — in-bond sales.
- Paragraph 7 and 8(b) turnover is not expressly excluded.
- Zero-rated supplies are not exempt turnover.
Read next
- Rule 42 Worked: The Monthly Formula and Annual True-Up
- Section 17(1) and 17(2): Two Apportionments
- Merchant Trade and Out-and-Out Supplies Under GST
- Securities and Money Under GST
Disclaimer: Positions stated as on 5 September 2026, based on ICAI Background Material on GST, Volume I (2026 edition).