The indirect tax system in India has undergone a major change in July 2017 with the introduction of GST, replacing the erstwhile systems of excise, VAT, Service Tax, etc. The new regime aims at greater transparency and fairness across the range of goods and service providers, however it also introduces significantly higher compliance requirements in the form of multiple returns every month, multiple tax payments every month and constant reconciliation of tax credits being claimed by each entity. With this change, many small and large businesses in India are at a loss to understand the transition and fulfil their tax liabilities correctly. All GST filings are necessarily required to be done online. The following are some of the issues being faced by businesses in meeting GST requirements:
The number of returns to be filed has also increased to 3 per month, which when added to the annual return takes the total number of returns to 37 in a year.
The reduction in thresholds means that many small manufacturers previously not under excise regulations are now required to register under GST.
Since this is a pan-India single tax regime, therefore there are three categories of filing – central, state and interstate. The entity filing GST returns need to be clear about the category of filing required, the specific tax rate (there are three different slabs), and also the correct time for the monthly returns.
Because of these changes several businesses are opting for professional indirect tax services, instead of placing the responsibility on their own teams. A good GST services provider understands the system and challenges well and ensures that the transition to the new tax regime is seamless.
SMC has successfully assisted all its clients in transitioning to the new system and is helping them on a periodic basis in meeting the legal requirements around GST. Our team is involved in every step of the process and in several cases, eliminates the need for our clients to hire more employees to keep up with the additional GST workload.
We help clients to identify their status as liable for obtaining GST registration or not by checking their aggregate turnover with the GST registration threshold limits and help them avoid penalties for non-registration under GST. We assist clients in obtaining GST registration by preparing all the documents required for GST Registration and following the GST Registration Process, applying for changes in the details in the GST registration certificate that are incorrect, applying for temporary user ID for those unregistered under GST laws. We support clients to file for registration at each place of operations of the business in different states. We help clients check their GST ARN status from the GSTN System portal. We aid clients in obtaining GSTIN and related login credentials. We help to find out the eligibility of the client under the GST composition scheme. We assist the clients in registering as a normal taxpayer, composition scheme taxpayer, casual taxable person, non-resident taxable person, input service distributor, tax deductor at source, tax collector at source or any other under the GST laws.
As a part of our GST Compliance Services, our consultants provide the necessary support to the clients in the classification of their items related to goods and services under the precise HSN or SAC code depending on whether the transaction is related to goods or services respectively. We apply the relevant provisions related to CGST, SGST, or IGST based on the classification of client’s transactions under inter-state or intra-state supply. We use our experience and knowledge in GST consulting to classify the client’s business transactions based on the place of supply (destination) to determine the correct types of GST applicable to the transaction such as CGST, SGST, or IGST.
We study the accounting data of clients to check for any necessary GST compliance as per the GST laws. We assist clients in maintaining books of accounts as per the requirements of the GST Act. We commit ourselves to understand the operations and business of the clients to get better insights on the applicability of GST laws and fulfill the requirements of the law.
Our GST compliance services include expert advice to clients on the applicability of GST on its various transactions and assess the potential impact in different business sectors to find out the GST liability amount. We understand the business of the clients, regulatory requirements and provide them a customized GST Compliance Checklist that they have to follow every month to remain compliant with the requirements of the GST Act.
We provide on-call advisory services regarding any queries and issues under the GST laws. We also address the queries of our clients’ customers and suppliers. Our team assists the clients on an ongoing inquiry or investigation initiated in regards to GST compliance from the government or relevant departments. We also assist the clients in selecting the right GST Compliance Software.
Our GST advisors determine the actual period of supply to find out the exact tax period in which GST would be applicable and when the dues are required to be paid. We sit along with the internal accounting team to identify the invoices available for an input tax credit with respect to the relevant provisions. We intimate the clients about payment of taxes as per their liability.
We also verify the data and calculate the GST liability of the client to prepare and file monthly GST returns, or quarterly GST returns if opted for in GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B, quarterly in CMP-08 for taxpayers registered under composition scheme under section 10 of the CGST Act, and annual GST returns in GSTR-4. We also file:
Monthly returns for the non-resident foreign taxable person in GSTR-5
Returns for an input service distributor to distribute the eligible tax credit to its branches in GSTR-6
Monthly return for government authorities deducting TDS in GSTR-7
Monthly return in GSTR-8 for supplies effected through e-commerce operators and the amount of tax collected at source by them.
GSTR-9 annual return for normal taxpayers
GSTR-9A annual tax return for a taxpayer registered under composition levy anytime during the year.
GSTR-9C annual certified reconciliation statement
GSTR-10 for those taxpayers who have canceled their GST Registration
GSTR-11 for taxpayers having UIN and claiming a refund
Our GST consultants are also involved in designing the format of tax invoices, credit notes, debit notes, bill of supply, export documentation, etc. containing all the relevant details as per the provisions of GST laws. We also engage ourselves in the thorough review of all invoices and GST documents prepared by the client to ensure that the client issues a GST Compliant Invoice and avoids the possibility of errors and penalties under GST Laws.
We also handle the monthly reconciliations where our team determines input tax credit based on taxes paid for the inputs, input services, and capital goods as per the invoices raised and purchases made.
We help clients in determining the applicability of reverse charge mechanism and the reversals of the input tax credit as availed under the GST laws.
We assist the clients in preparation and filing of online application along with the relevant documents against which refund is to be claimed. We also engage in following up with the department for the finalization of refund claims. We ensure the refund of Input Tax Credit (ITC) on Export of Goods or Services, the refund of ITC on Inverted Duty Structure, and refund of ITC on Deemed Exports.
Our GST professionals also conduct an anti-profiteering study. We assess the clients’ books of accounts as per the anti-profiteering rules and relevant orders of the National Anti-Profiteering Authority and relevant notifications issued under GST laws to check the applicability of the provisions of anti-profiteering on the client.
We help clients in preparing and filing E-Way Bills on the GST portal or any other permit document or certificate for the movement of goods.
