GST (Goods and Service Tax) have been implemented across India from 1st July 2017. Any representative or business entity that is enrolled under any previous tax administration is required to get enrolled under GST. After the implementation of GST most of the indirect tax have come to an end, some of which are central excise duty, Service tax, Central sales tax, purchase tax, entertainment tax and tax on lotteries. The current threshold limit by GST council is Rs. 10 Lakhs for North–Eastern States and for the rest of India the threshold limit is Rs. 20 Lakhs.
GST has removed most of the indirect taxes and combined them in different tax slabs under the GST regime. Through this, GST has removed the difficulties in business activities by providing a hassle-free system for carrying out businesses. GST is not an alien concept, it is already in practice in almost 160 countries around the world. It is expected that it will boost up the GDP of the country to about 1-2% and will reduce the cost of input by 10%. Basic Customs Duty, property tax, alcohol, tobacco, and petroleum are kept away from the purview of GST. A person without GST registration can neither collect GST from his customers nor claim Input Tax Credit under GST for taxes paid by him/her.
Documents Required for Registration
There are different documents required for different business, the various documents which are required for GST registration are further categorised as follows
For Private Limited Company:
- Certificate of incorporation.
- Memorandum of Articles.
- Articles of Association.
- PAN of the company.
- List of directors.
- Board Resolution.
- Address proof of directors.
- Identity proof of directors.
For Limited Liability Partnership:
- LLP Agreement.
- Certificate of Incorporation.
- List of partners.
- PAN of the LLP.
- Address proof of partners.
- Identity proof of partners.
For Proprietorship:
- Address proof of Proprietor.
- Pan of Proprietor.
GST Registration Process
GST registration process is simple. GST registration process is done online and the portal is approved by the central government. The government also ensures that they will appoint GST Suvidha Providers (GSP) to help businesses and business entities with the GST registration process.
Here is a step by step mechanism for the GST registration process in India
- Every existing taxpayer under any tax regime is required to have GST registration by going through the GST website.
- Click on the new user login and then select the check box to give your consent to the terms and condition.
- Enter your details as provided by the VAT department such as provisional ID, temporary password and then press login.
- Enter your mail ID and contact numbers, then press continue.
- You will receive a one-time password (OTP) on your e-mail and mobile number. Enter the OTP in the required field and click on continue.
- Enter username and password for any future login. Enter some security question which will help you in case you forget the password.
- You will be required to visit GST portal again and click on existing user login. Now, log-in with your credentials (username and password).
- After logging to your account, you must fill some detail, upload required documents then click on save and continue.
- Fill the details about the proprietors and partners of your firm.
- Fill in the details of the Authorized Signatory.
- After entering the details, upload the required document, then click ‘Save’ and continue.
- Fill details about the principal place of your business.
- Enter the commodity details, then save and continue.
- Fill the details about the bank account and upload the required documents.
- Click on verification button and submit Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). Please note that DSC is mandatory in case of LLP and companies.
- Click ‘Submit’ to save and update the information and document provided.
- Proceed and then click ‘Sign’ from the pop-up window.
- If your submission is successful then it will show a message on the screen.
Please note that the success message is displayed after the validation of DSC pin. You will receive the acknowledgment mail and message in the next 15 minutes on your mail and mobile number. Application Reference Number (ARN) will be sent to the registered e-mail address and mobile number.
How to Check GST Registration Status
The data of everyone who have signed the enrollment form will be migrated to the new GST System. The following steps will check the progress of the GST registration
- Go to GST registration portal.
- Click on existing user login button.
- Enter the credentials (username and password).
- A welcome page will be displayed then click on the continue button.
- In the dashboard click on “my saved application” icon. Here, the status of the application will be displayed where one can check the status of his/her GST registration.
Audit
The audit is the examination of records maintained by the taxable person to verify or check whether the information given is correct or not. It can be done by tax authorities or by the taxpayer himself. Tax authorities can conduct an audit if it is authorized by the commissioner of CGST or SGST. Every registered taxable person whose turnover during the financial year exceeds the limit of Rs. 1 crore must get his/her account done by a CA or CMA.
Assessment
Assessment helps in the determination of tax liability under GST. The various assessment covered under this are
- Provisional Assessment: If the assessee is unable to determine value or rate of tax, then he/she can request the officer for provisional assessment to determine the value. The officer can allow the assessee to pay tax on a provisional basis.
- Self- Assessment: Every registered taxable person shall assess the taxes which they are supposed to pay and are required to furnish tax return for each tax period.
- Summary Assessment: This assessment is done in special cases like, when assessing officer believes that there is any delay in showing tax liability by the assessee which can harm the interest of the revenue. He/she can also pass the summary assessment to the joint or additional commissioner.
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Best Judgement Assessment:
- Assessment for unregistered persons: This is for those individuals who fail to obtain registration although he is liable to do so. The officer will assess the tax liability of such persons and after that, the taxable person will receive a show cause notice and opportunity of being heard.
- Assessment of non-filers of returns: The assigned officer will assess the tax liability of the registered taxable person who doesn’t file his/her return after getting notice to the best of his judgement.
- Scrutiny Assessment: Under this, the assigned officer scrutinizes the return to check the correctness of the return which is filed. The officer will ask for explanations if any discrepancies will be noticed by him in the return.
Provision for Demand and Recovery
It is possible that the taxable person may have made some errors while filing ITR as GST is new and it’s payable on a self-assessment basis. Some of the errors which are likely to arise are that he may have received the wrong refund of tax or input tax credit or he may not have paid the tax correctly. In such cases, demand and recovery provisions become applicable upon which the assigned officer will issue a cause notice along with the demand for payment of tax.
GST Basics
Classification of GST
GST Benefits
