What is an Electronic Cash Ledger under GST?

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Sakshi Shah

E-Cash Ledger
GST
GST Portal
GSTR-3B
ITC
Last updated on April 20th, 2021

The E-Cash or Electronic Cash Ledger under GST displays all the amounts deposited for payment of tax, interest, fee or penalty. It also reflects TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) and TCS (Tax Collected at Source) since they are tax deposits of the taxpayer.

An E-Cash Ledger is like a digital wallet of the taxpayer. Taxpayer can deposit money into and utilize the balance for payment of liabilities. The payments options include NEFT, RTGS, Credit Card, Debit Card or Net Banking. The detailed report of money deposited and balance utilized can be viewed in the Electronic Cash Ledger available on the GST Portal.

Balance from E-Cash Ledger is utilized for:

While filing the monthly GSTR-3B, in Table 6.1 Payment of Tax, the credit balance and cash balance is auto-populated for the payment of Output Tax Liability.

Example

GST on Sales = Rs.20,000
Late Fee Payable = Rs.5,000
Balance in E-Credit Ledger = Rs.35,000

Solution

  Pay from E-Credit Ledger Pay from E-Cash Ledger
Output GST INR 20,000 NIL
Late Fee Not Allowed Deposit Cash to pay Late Fee of INR 5,000

Balance in E-Credit Ledger = Rs.15,000
Balance in E-Cash Ledger = Amount Deposited – Rs.5,000

How can I deposit money in Electronic Cash Ledger under GST?

  1. Login to GST Portal

    Log in to your account on GST Portal

  2. Navigate to Create Challan

    Taxpayer should create a Challan to make the payment. Each Challan has a unique CIN i.e. Challan Identification Number. Go to Services > Payment > Create Challan

  3. Select the Major Head and Minor Head

    Enter the amounts under correct Major Head (IGST, CGST, SGST / UTGST, Cess) and Minor Head (Tax, Interest, Penalty, Fee, Others)

  4. Payment of Challan

    Pay the challan using the appropriate payment option – E-payment, OTC, NEFT / RTGS [Read more – GST Challan Payment : Process to pay GST online]

  5. E-Cash Ledger updated

    Once the payment is made, CIN i.e. Challan identification Number is communicated to the GST system and the E-Cash Ledger is updated with the funds under specific heads.
    Note: Funds of one head cannot be utilized for payment of liability under the other head.

FAQs

Can anyone else view my Electronic Cash Ledger?

The following persons can view the Electronic Cash Ledger:
1. Taxpayer
2. Authorised Signatory of taxpayer
3. GST Practitioner of taxpayer
4. Jurisdictional Officer of taxpayer

How can a taxpayer view details of transactions in the Electronic Cash Ledger for a specific period?

To view the details of the transactions, the taxpayer can view the Electronic Cash Ledger for the required duration. The option is available on the landing page of the Electronic Cash Ledger.
A maximum of 6 months transactions can be viewed at a time.

How can the cash available in the Electronic Cash Ledger be utilised?

The amount available in the Electronic Cash Ledger can be utilized for payment of any liability for the respective major and minor heads. For example, liability for the tax under SGST can be utilized from the available amount of cash available under SGST only.

Got Questions? Ask Away!

  1. Hey @SonalYadav

    The balance from e-Cash Ledger is utilized for:

    • Payment of Tax – If the balance in the E-Credit Ledger is insufficient to pay tax
    • Payment of Interest, Fee or Penalty – It should always be paid from e-cash ledger

    You can use the balance of e-Credit Ledger for payment of tax only. It cannot be used for payment of interest, fee, penalty etc. You can download Electronic Credit Ledger from the GST Portal.