# Constitutional Origin of Taxes
In India, the government cannot tax citizens at will. Taxation power flows from the Constitution, and two articles are the foundation.
## Article 265 — Authority of Law
> "No tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law."
This means every tax must be backed by a valid statute passed by the appropriate legislature (Parliament or State Legislature). Without a law, neither levy (the imposition) nor collection (the recovery) is valid.
## Article 246 read with the Seventh Schedule — Distribution of Power
Article 246 splits legislative power between the Centre and the States. The Seventh Schedule to the Constitution contains three lists allocating subjects on which each level of government may make laws — including tax laws.
### The Three Lists
| List | Who Legislates | Examples of Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| Union List | Central Government only | Railways, Defence, Customs Duty |
| State List | State Government only | Police, Betting & Gambling, Agriculture |
| Concurrent List | Both Centre and State | Education |
### Why This Matters for GST
Before GST, the Centre could levy taxes on the manufacture of goods and on services, while States could levy tax on the sale of goods within their territory. This rigid Union/State split made a unified tax on goods and services constitutionally impossible — neither level alone had the power.
To introduce GST, the Constitution itself had to be amended (101st Constitutional Amendment, 2016) to give both the Centre and the States concurrent power to tax supplies of goods and services. This is why GST is described as a 'dual GST' model — CGST by the Centre and SGST by the States, levied simultaneously on the same supply.
## Putting it Together
1. Article 265 says: every tax needs a law.
2. Article 246 + Seventh Schedule say: that law must be made by the legislature having power over the subject.
3. Pre-GST, indirect taxes were splintered across Union and State lists.
4. The 101st Amendment created concurrent power to enable a unified GST regime.