The most awaited and new tax system of India i.e., GST came into existence on 1st July 2017. After this, most of the businesses were able to continue smoothly as they adopted GST Compliance. But there are many businesses still that are not very sure about various compliances which can lead to heavy fines and penalties.
Rules are laid down by the GST committee for the way we maintain our records, how we raise invoices and how we report our purchases and sales, and ultimately, the way we pay our taxes and file returns. You are GST compliant If your business is adhering to all these above regulations. So here, we have come up with complete details about how to make your business GST compliant and let your company run towards success.
The various steps that let your business fall under GST compliance are as follows:
1. Figure out if you are liable to compulsorily register under GST
As per the GST registration guidelines, you need to register under GST if your annual turnover is exceeding 10 lakhs in special category states and 40 lakhs in other states. It is mandatory to get the registration done if you fall under the below suppliers’ categories:
- Casual taxable persons
- Interstate suppliers
- Persons that are taxable under the reverse change basis.
- If required to deduct TDS or TCS under GST
- Distributors under input service
- Non-resident people who are taxable.
- Principal or agent who is making sales on behalf of some other person.
- People who are involved in supplying goods via e-commerce operators are further liable for tax collection at the source.
- All the e-commerce operators provide a place where the suppliers can deal with any supplies.
- The service providers online who provide service from outside country to people in India who are not registered.
2. Get GST Registered
Once you get clarity on whether you should get registered or not under GST, you can proceed further.
If you are liable to register, you will have to start the registration based upon the taxation laws. You need to follow the below-mentioned steps:
- You need to access the GST and get yourself enrolled by validating the mobile number and e-mail id. The portal is highly user-friendly, and you will be able to get registered easily.
- Once the enrolment is done, a provisional registration certificate will be allotted in the Form GST REG-25. Keep in mind that even in any case if you have got the registration done multiple times on a single PAN, still you will get one registration certificate under GST. If in case you are supplying services in many states, then it is required to take registration separately for all states.
3. Raising Invoices Under GST
A GST-compliant invoice is to be issued by the registered business under GST. GST draft rules specify the Some fields specified by the rules are to be provided at the time of issuing an invoice.
There are about 16 fields that must be included; suppliers are free to choose a format of the invoice and affix their logo, so long as it includes the relevant fields.
A lot of confusion about how the GST requires invoices to be ‘uploaded’ is there. However, no pdfs or jpegs are required to be uploaded. A registered supplier must update details of the invoice issued by him on the GSTN portal. The issued invoices should be electronically indexed through the common portal.
Information about the buyer and seller of an invoice on the GST portal is captured. Through this information, GSTN auto-populates purchases made by a registrant.
This is the first critical step towards GST compliance by providing invoice details. It links with purchases in the buyer’s profile and allows him to claim the benefit of taxes paid on purchases against his total tax outgo.
4. Classifying Transactions
Using HSN/SAC code mapping, you must classify all transactions under GST as either “goods” or “services.” Some of these classifications have changed from the old valued added tax (VAT) laws. For example, restaurants classified as “goods” under state VAT laws are now classified as “services” under GST.
Besides, GST has adopted the integrated GST (IGST) model, which classifies transactions into two categories: interstate transactions and intrastate transactions. You should take into account frequent changes in tax rates and exemptions and reclassify items and redefine tax rates as needed.
5. Filing GST Returns
Filing timely returns with the correct information is a very important aspect of compliance under GST and ensures a good GST rating. Returns are to be filed in the subsequent months on a monthly/quarterly/annual basis; incomplete data may result in invalid returns.
6. Systems Transition and Preparedness:
Check to see the GST compliance of the system you have in place and if it can be updated as per current changes. Its laws are expected to undergo many more changes before it stabilizes, hence pay attention to software support.
You must have a clear understanding of the applicable provisions of place and time of supply, as provisions differ with industry, commodities, and location. This can be done with proper accounting software like Profitbooks.
Once you follow all the above-mentioned steps for the GST compliance checklist, you will get compliant with the rules and conduct the business smoothly without any issues and concerns.
GST laws will not just reform your taxation but affect almost every aspect of your business operations. As a business owner, it is important to understand GST, its implications, and to adopt a robust system that will help alleviate GST compliance worries.
Be proactive and face the challenges head-on rather than react to problems arising from noncompliance, and you will likely be much better off.
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