Get the Rs 7,500 rule right. EstateDeck tracks the per-member exemption and the Rs 20 lakh registration limit, applies 18% GST only where it is due, raises member tax invoices, keeps your ITC records and produces GSTR-ready reports — so the society isn't guessing at GST.
GST on housing society maintenance applies only when two conditions are met together, per CBIC Circular 109/28/2019-GST: the society's aggregate annual turnover is Rs 20 lakh or more, and the maintenance charged to a member is more than Rs 7,500 per month. Where both hold, GST is charged at 18% (9% CGST + 9% SGST) on that member's maintenance, and the society can claim Input Tax Credit on its own expenses. The exemption is tested per member and per apartment — a member billed Rs 7,400 stays exempt while one billed Rs 7,600 may attract GST. EstateDeck checks both conditions automatically and applies 18% only where it is genuinely due.
Miss either one and no GST is charged. EstateDeck watches both, all year.
Maintenance up to Rs 7,500 a member each month is exempt under Notification 12/2017, Entry 77. The test runs per member and per flat, not across the whole society.
A society registers for GST only once aggregate annual turnover reaches Rs 20 lakh (Rs 10 lakh in special-category states). Below it, no GST — even on members above Rs 7,500.
— BOTH CONDITIONS MUST BE MET FOR GST TO APPLY —
The compliance layer that sits on top of your maintenance billing.
The Rs 7,500 test is applied to each member and each apartment, so multi-flat owners and mixed bills are handled without manual sorting.
Once both conditions are met, EstateDeck adds the 9% + 9% line to the right members and leaves exempt members untouched in the same bill run.
Compliant GST tax invoices go to the members who are charged GST, with GSTIN, HSN/SAC and the tax split — not a plain maintenance slip.
GST on security, housekeeping, lift AMC, DG diesel and capital goods is recorded against the GSTIN, so the ITC offset is captured, not lost.
Outward member invoices and inward ITC come out as GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B ready figures your CA files — exported clean, not rebuilt monthly.
Turnover is tracked toward Rs 20 lakh, and the GST method your CA chose is applied consistently and recorded — so the position is auditable.
Same society, different members — the Rs 7,500 test runs flat by flat.
| Flat | Maintenance / month | GST status | GST @ 18% | Total billed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A-302 | Rs 6,800 | Exempt — under Rs 7,500 | — | Rs 6,800 |
| B-1104 | Rs 7,500 | Exempt — at the limit | — | Rs 7,500 |
| C-1802 | Rs 9,000 | Taxable — above Rs 7,500 | Rs 1,620 | Rs 10,620 |
| D-2401 & D-2402 (same owner, two flats) |
Rs 7,400 each | Both exempt — tested per flat | — | Rs 14,800 |
Rs 7,500 test to each flat, added 18% only to C-1802, gave the two-flat owner the exemption on both units, and raised a GST tax invoice for C-1802 while the rest got plain maintenance bills. The June ITC on security and lift AMC posts against the society GSTIN — and the GSTR-1 figures are ready to file. Method used is on record, so if the rule shifts the society can restate cleanly.
Here's the question every treasurer asks: once a member's maintenance crosses Rs 7,500, is GST on the whole amount or only on the excess?
The CBIC view (Circular 109/28/2019-GST) is that the entire amount is taxable — on Rs 9,000, GST is on the full Rs 9,000, not on Rs 1,500. The Madras High Court (Greenwood Owners Association, 2021) held the opposite — only the excess over Rs 7,500 is taxable. A separate, bigger argument — that the doctrine of mutuality exempts member contributions altogether — was raised in the Kerala High Court (2025). The Government has appealed, and the matter sits before the Supreme Court; the law is not yet settled.
So EstateDeck doesn't pretend there's one right answer. Your CA picks the method — conservative (full amount) or excess-only — and EstateDeck applies it consistently and keeps a clean, member-wise record either way. If the Supreme Court rules, you have the trail to adjust or claim refunds, instead of rebuilding the year. This is software support, not tax advice.
Add the society's GSTIN and aggregate turnover. EstateDeck checks both conditions — turnover at or above Rs 20 lakh, and which members are billed above Rs 7,500.
Choose the treatment your auditor advises — GST on the full amount, or only the excess. EstateDeck applies it the same way every month and records it.
EstateDeck raises member tax invoices, records ITC on society expenses, and exports GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B ready figures for your CA to file.
The per-member test means exempt members aren't wrongly billed GST and taxable members aren't missed — both are common in manual books.
GST paid on security, housekeeping and lift AMC is recorded against the GSTIN, so the credit offsets the tax instead of quietly leaking away.
GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B figures come straight out of the bill run, so your CA files from clean numbers rather than reconstructing them.
The method and member-wise figures are on record, so a future Supreme Court ruling is an adjustment you can make, not a year you have to rebuild.
EstateDeck is built on the specific notifications and circulars that govern society GST.
Entry 77 of Notification 12/2017-Central Tax (Rate), as amended by Notification 2/2018, exempts maintenance a society sources for members' common use up to Rs 7,500 per member per month. This is the clause the whole page rests on.
The CBIC circular dated 22 July 2019 sets the twin conditions (Rs 20 lakh turnover + Rs 7,500 per member), the per-apartment exemption for multi-flat owners, and the department's entire-amount view above the threshold.
Input-tax-credit support documents must be retained for 72 months under CGST Act 2017 §35(1) and §36. EstateDeck keeps the GST records against the GSTIN for the full retention window.
A premium tower where many flats are billed above Rs 7,500 has real GST to charge — and real ITC to claim back.
A society with large and small flats needs the per-member test so only the right members are charged GST.
A growing society watching turnover climb toward Rs 20 lakh needs to know exactly when GST registration becomes mandatory.
"Half our flats are above Rs 7,500 and half are below, and our old books charged GST to everyone to be 'safe' — which residents fought every month. Now the bill charges GST only where it's due, the ITC on our lift and security contracts is finally being claimed, and our CA files from a clean export. The GST argument at the AGM has gone quiet."
This page is the GST rules only. Here's where the mechanism lives.
The monthly invoice run, late fees and UPI collection live in Maintenance Billing. This page decides the GST that goes on the bill; that page raises and collects it.
Member-wise ledgers, income and expenditure statements and Tally exports live in Society Accounting. GST records post into those books; this page doesn't duplicate them.
For the cooperative statutory audit, deadlines and auditor access, see Society Audit & Compliance. For running the whole association, see RWA & Apartment Association.
Only when two conditions are met together, per CBIC Circular 109/28/2019-GST: the society's aggregate annual turnover is Rs 20 lakh or more, and a member's maintenance is more than Rs 7,500 a month. Miss either and no GST is charged. EstateDeck checks both automatically.
Under Notification 12/2017, Entry 77, maintenance is exempt up to Rs 7,500 per member per month. It's tested per member — a flat billed Rs 7,400 stays exempt while one at Rs 7,600 may attract GST once the society is registered. EstateDeck applies it flat by flat.
Where GST applies, the rate is 18% — 9% CGST plus 9% SGST. EstateDeck adds the line only to the members and charges where it's due, leaving exempt members untouched in the same bill run.
Genuinely unsettled. The CBIC circular says the entire amount is taxable above Rs 7,500; the Madras High Court (2021) said only the excess. The matter is before the Supreme Court. EstateDeck lets your CA pick the method and keeps records either way.
When aggregate annual turnover reaches Rs 20 lakh (Rs 10 lakh in special-category states). Below that, no GST even if some members pay above Rs 7,500. EstateDeck tracks turnover so you see the threshold approaching.
Yes. A registered society charging GST can claim ITC on security, housekeeping, lift AMC, DG diesel and capital goods like generators and pumps. EstateDeck records it against the GSTIN, with documents kept the 72 months required under CGST §35(1) and §36.
The Rs 7,500 exemption applies separately to each apartment, per the CBIC circular. A member owning two flats at Rs 7,500 each is exempt on both. EstateDeck applies the threshold per unit, not per person.
Advance amounts for future services, like a sinking fund, have been treated as consideration and brought into GST where the society is taxable. Pure-agent recoveries like property tax billed at actual sit outside the threshold test. EstateDeck separates the heads.
No — it produces GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B ready reports (member invoices and ITC) that your CA files on the portal. The aim is that filing is an export of clean figures, not a monthly rebuild.
The area is evolving, with the entire-amount question and the mutuality argument pending before the Supreme Court. EstateDeck keeps a clean member-wise record and the method used, so a change is an adjustment, not a rebuild. This is software support, not tax advice.
Bring your member list and turnover, and we'll show GST applied correctly on your own data — exempt and taxable members in the same run. 30 minutes, no card.