GOODS & SERVICE TAX - An Overview

Launched on July 1 2017, the Goods & Services Tax (GST) applies to all Indian service providers (including freelancers), traders and manufacturers. A variety of Central taxes like Service Tax, Excise Duty, CST and state taxes like Entertainment Tax, Luxury Tax, Octroi, VAT are absorbed in one tax – GST, implemented on 01.07.2017. GST is to be charged at every step of the supply chain, with full set-off benefits available. The procedure for GST is entirely online and requires no manual intervention.

Every product goes through multiple stages along the supply chain, which includes the purchasing of raw materials, manufacturing, sale to the wholesaler, selling to the retailer and then the final sale to the consumer. Interestingly, GST will be levied on all of these 3 stages. Let’s say if a product is produced in West Bengal but is being consumed in Uttar Pradesh, the entire revenue will go to Uttar Pradesh.

Also, taxpayers with a turnover of less than Rs.1.5 crore can choose composition scheme to get rid of tedious GST formalities and pay GST at a fixed rate of turnover.

What are the components of GST?

GST will have 3 tax components, which includes a central component (Central Goods and Services Tax or CGST) and a state component (State Goods and Services Tax or SGST) where centre and state will levy GST on all entities, i.e. when a transaction happens within a state. Inter-state transactions will attract the Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST), to be levied by the centre, i.e. when a transaction happens one state to another.

Types of GST Registration?

The types of GST registration varies depending on the kind of business undertaken and the supply location of goods or services.

Normal scheme

This category applies to taxpayers operating a business in India. Taxpayers registering under the normal scheme do not require a deposit and are also provided with unlimited validity date.

Non-resident taxable person

The category applies to individuals located outside of India. The taxpayers should supply goods or services to residents in India. The registration remains active for a period of 3 years.

Casual taxable person

Any taxpayer establishing a stall or a seasonal shop has to register under the casual taxable person scheme. To register as a casual taxable person, the taxpayer shall pay a deposit equal to the amount of GST liability. The registration remains active for a period of 3 months.

Composition scheme

An entity should enrol under the GST composition scheme to register as a composition taxpayer. Any taxpayer whose turnover is less than rs. 1.5 Crore can avail this facility. Entities enrolled under this scheme can pay a flat GST rate. However, they will not be allowed to claim input tax credit.

Who needs a GST Registration?

Every business or corporation that are involved in the buying and selling and good of services have to register for GST. It is mandatory for companies whose turnover is more than Rs.20 lakhs (for supply of services) and Rs. 40 lakhs (for supply of goods) yearly to register for a GST.

All businesses making interstate outward supplies of goods have to register for a GST too. The same applies to businesses making taxable supplies on behalf of other taxable persons, example Agents and Brokers.

Also, as per the recent notification, e-commerce sellers/aggregators need not register if total sales are less than Rs.20 lakhs.

Businesses are required to register for GST if they fall into one of the following criteria.

Aggregate turnover

Any service provider who provides a service value of more than Rs. 20 Lakhs aggregate in a year is required to obtain GST registration. In the special category states, this limit is Rs. 10 lakhs. Any entity engaged in the exclusive supply of goods whose aggregate turnover crosses Rs.40 lakhs is required to obtain GST registration.

Inter-state business

An entity shall register for GST if they supply goods inter state, i.e., from one state to another irrespective of their aggregate turnover. Inter state service providers need to obtain GST registration only if their annual turnover exceeds Rs. 20 lakhs. (In special category states, this limit is Rs. 10 lakhs).

E-commerce platform

Any individual supplying goods or services through an e-commerce platform shall apply for GST registration. The individual shall register irrespective of the turnover. Hence, sellers on Flipkart, Amazon and other e-commerce platforms must obtain registration to commence activity.

Casual taxable persons

Any individual undertaking supply of goods, services seasonally or intermittently through a temporary stall or shop must apply for GST. The individual shall apply irrespective of the annual aggregate turnover.

Voluntary registration

Any entity can obtain GST registration voluntarily. Earlier, any entity who obtained GST voluntarily could not surrender the registration for up to a year. However, after revisions, voluntary GST registration can be surrendered by the applicant at any time.

What are the GST tax rates?

• Items that are considered basic necessities come under exempt list i.e. they are not taxed.
• Household necessities and life-saving drugs etc. are taxed at 5%.
• Products like computers and processed food are taxed at 12%.
• Hair oil, toothpaste and soaps, capital goods, industrial intermediaries and services are taxed at 18%.
• Luxury items are taxed at 28%.

You can see the tax rates for all the products here: https://cbec-gst.gov.in/gst-goods-services-rates.html

What is the input tax credit?

Input tax credit lets you reduce your tax you have already paid on Purchase and pay the remaining liability amount at the time of GST Return filing GSTR3B.

You pay taxes on the purchase when a product is purchased from a registered seller, and when you sell the product, you too collect the tax. With input credit, you can adjust the taxes paid at the time of purchase with the amount of tax on sales (output tax) and pay the balance liability of tax, i.e. tax on sale minus tax on the purchase.

What is a GST Return?

A GST Return is a document containing details of income that is required to be filed as per the law with the tax authorities. Under the GST law, a taxpayer has to submit two returns on a monthly basis and one such return annually. All returns have to be filed online. Please note that there is no provision for revising the returns. All invoices for the previous tax period that went unreported must be included in the current month.

Under GST, a registered dealer has to file GST returns that include: Purchases & Sales.

GST filings as per the CGST Act subject to changes by CBIC Notifications

Return Form	Decription	Frequency	Due date
GSTR-2	Details of outward supplies of taxable goods and/or services affected.	Monthly	11th* of the next month with effect from October 2018 until September 2020. *Previously, the due date was 10th of the next month.
		Quarterly (If opted)	End of the month succeeding the quarter.
GSTR-3B	Simple return in which summary of outward supplies along with input tax credit is declared and payment of tax is affected by the taxpayer..	Monthly	Staggered^ from the month of January 2020 onwards* *Previously 20th of the next month for all taxpayers.

What is GSTIN?

GSTIN is a unique identification number given to each GST taxpayer. To verify a GSTIN number a person who has a GST number can log onto the GST portal.

What is the GSTN (Goods and Service Tax Network)?

The Goods and Service Tax Network (or GSTN) is section 8 (non-profit), non-government, private limited company. GSTN is a one-stop solution for all your indirect tax requirements. GSTN is responsible for maintaining Indirect Taxation platform for GST to help you prepare, file, rectify returns and make payments of your indirect tax liabilities.

List of documents required for GST registration

The list of documents required for registration of GST for various business are as follows: Proprietorship

• PAN Card
• Address Card
• Photo
• Business Premises Address Proof
  • If Own, Electricity Bill/Property Tax Receipt/NOC
  • If Rented, Rental Agreement (Compulsory)/Electricity Bill/Property Tax Receipt

Companies & Firms

• Company Pan Card
• Regitered Certificate for Company/Partnership
• Authorisation Letter / Board Resolution
• All Directors/Partners Aadhar Card
• All Directors/Partners Pan Card/li>
• All Directors/Partners Photo Card
• Digital Signature
• Business Premises Address Proof
  • If Own, Electricity Bill/Property Tax Receipt/NOC
  • If Rented, Rental Agreement (Compulsory)/Electricity Bill/Property Tax Receipt

Preparation of GST application

One of our GST representatives will collect all the required documents and process the GST application through the iCFO platform.

Application Filing
Once all the documents are collected, the application will be processed and filed. Then immediately the ARN number will be issued.

GST Registration Certificate
The GST registration certificate and GSTIN will be issued upon verification of GST application and other mandatory documents by the GST officer. Be aware that no hard copies of the certificate will be issued and the GST registration certificate can be downloaded from the GST Portal.

Penalties For Failure To GST Registration
As per the Section 122 of the CGST act, in India, there is a direct penalty for all those taxable persons who fail to register for GST.

Voluntary Registration Under GST (for Companies With A Turnover Below Rs.20 Lakhs)
Any small business with turnover less than 20 lakh can voluntarily register for GST even though it is not compulsory by law. Voluntary GST registration has its own advantages and some of them are:

• Take input credit: In GST, there is a flow of input credit right from manufacturers of the goods till the consumers, across the country. Input credit means a taxpayer while paying tax on output can deduct the tax that has already been paid on inputs and pay only the remaining amount. Voluntarily registered businesses can increase their margins and profits through this.
• Do inter-state selling with no restrictions: SMEs can increase the scope of their businesses and find prospective customers and explore online platforms
• Register on e-commerce websites: SMEs can widen their market by registering through e-commerce sites.
• Have a competitive advantage compared to other businesses.

GST Return Filing

A GST Return Filing is a return document that contains details of the income of the taxpayer. It has to be filed with the GST administrative authority. The document is used tax authorities to calculate the tax liability of a GST taxpayer. A GST Return Filing form has to include the following details.

• Output GST (On sales)
• Sales
• Input tax credit (GST paid on purchases)
• Purchases

For filing a GST Return, you need to have GST compliant sales and purchase invoices attached.

FAQ's on GST Registration - Goods & Service Tax Registration Online