Time of Supply of Goods - Reverse Charge (Section 12(3))
# Time of Supply of Goods — Reverse Charge (Section 12(3))
When the recipient is liable to pay tax under reverse charge (RCM), TOS is the earliest of three dates:
1. Date of receipt of goods;
2. Date of payment, taken as earlier of —
Date of entry in recipient's books, OR
Date of debit in recipient's bank account;
3. Date immediately following 30 days from the date of issue of invoice (or any other document in lieu thereof) by the supplier.
> TOS = EARLIEST of the three.
If none of the above can be determined, TOS = date of entry in books of account of the recipient.
## Mental Model
```
TOS (Goods, RCM) = MIN(
Date of receipt of goods,
Date of payment (books vs bank — earlier),
31st day from invoice date
)
```
Worked example
### Example 1
Example 1: Goods received 10 Aug, invoice dated 5 Aug, payment debited from bank 25 Aug. 31st day from invoice = 5 Sept. TOS = earliest of (10 Aug, 25 Aug, 5 Sept) = 10 Aug.
### Example 2
Example 2 — Invoice not received: Goods received 1 Oct, payment made 15 Oct, no invoice received. If supplier's invoice date unknown, 31st-day limb cannot apply; TOS = earliest of receipt (1 Oct) and payment (15 Oct) = 1 Oct.
### Example 3
Example 3 — Bank vs books: Invoice dated 1 July; payment entered in books 20 July, debited from bank 25 July. 'Date of payment' = 20 July (earlier of books and bank).
⚠️ Common exam mistakes
Counting 30 days FROM invoice date as the third trigger — the law uses '31st day' (date immediately following 30 days).
Picking the LATEST of the three dates instead of the EARLIEST.
For 'date of payment', taking only the bank debit and ignoring an earlier book entry.
Forgetting the residual rule (date of entry in recipient's books) when no other limb can be determined.
Bare-Act text Section 12(3) · CGST Act, 2017 · click to expand
Section 12(3): In case of supplies in respect of which tax is paid or liable to be paid on reverse charge basis, the time of supply shall be the earliest of the following dates, namely — (a) the date of the receipt of goods; or (b) the date of payment as entered in the books of account of the recipient or the date on which the payment is debited in his bank account, whichever is earlier; or (c) the date immediately following thirty days from the date of issue of invoice or any other document, by whatever name called, in lieu thereof by the supplier. Provided that where it is not possible to determine the time of supply, the time of supply shall be the date of entry in the books of account of the recipient of supply.