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GST Checklist for Businesses

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Shailesh Agarwal, CEO, GSTSTAROne Nation, One Tax - The Goods And Services Tax’s (GST) Implementation Has Changed The Landscape Of Indian Economy And Tax Administration. With This A Comprehensive Tax Has Been Levied On Manufacture, Sale And Consumption Of Goods And Services. This Change Is Expected To Facilitate Improved Tax Collection, Economic Growth, And A Business Friendly Environment Among Others. Most Importantly, It Is Expected To Bring Transparency In Tax Administration Making It Corruption-Free. But It’s Implementation Is Marred With Hurdles And Challenges, Making It Imperative That Businesses Take Cognizance Of Their Situation And Gear Up.

GST Is Way More Than A Tax Issue Or Tax Reform. It Ushers In New Opportunities For Businesses As It Is About Demand, Business And Market Of Goods. For A Seamless And Smooth Transition To GST, Businesses Need To Adopt A Proactive Approach And Should Follow The Following Checklist.

1.GST Migration: Every Company Big Or Small Needs To Complete The GST Migration Task On The Government Portal, Post Which A GSTIN Will Be Given. This GSTIN Is The
Identification Number And It Comes With A GSTIN User name. Now The Important Thing To Note Here Is The Mobile Number You Use For This Migration Process. For Every Return You File, You Will Get A One-Time Password (OTP) On Your Registered Mobile Number, Without Which You Will Not Be Able To Complete The Registration.

2. Invoice Preparation: You Will Need A Tool In Place Using Which You Can Generate Invoices In The Goods And Services Tax Network (GSTN) Acceptable Format. The Invoices Can Be Prepared Offline And Uploaded Once A Month On The Government Portal. If Your Invoices Are Done Every Day In The Right Format, Uploading Them Will Not Be Time Consuming.

3. ERP Provider: This Task Of Making Accurate Invoices In The Format As Directed By The GST Council Will Be Tedious Manually. The Invoices In GST Regime Require GSTIN, HSN Code, Tax Rate Etc. For Small Scale Enterprises, This Task Can Be Executed Manually But Bigger Ones Will Face Difficulties. So, It Is Good To Contact An ERP Service Provider And Automate Invoice Uploading.

4. Application Service Provider: If You Are Worried About This Whole New Tax System In Place And Need To Be Perfect, Then Having Services Of An Application Service Provider (ASP) Or GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) Will Be Helpful. These Service Providers Will Help You In Filing The GST Returns And Ensure Smooth Compliance.

5. Choosing ASP Or GSP: Anything New Especially Tax Related Can Become A Cause Of Worry, So It Is Best To Take Expert Help In Such A Scenario. GST Is No Rocket Science, But Lack Of Information And Knowledge Can Make It Difficult. There Are A Lot Of Provisions In This New Law, Which One Will Need To Understand, So To Avoid Such Difficulty, Seeking The Expert Guidance Of An ASP Or GSP Will Be Helpful. It Is Important So That Your Business Continues Undisrupted.

But The Time To Act Is Now. With Date With GST Finalized, If Businesses Fail To Comply, They Will Be Penalized. So, Now Is The Time To Adopt A Pro Active Approach, Seek The Right Consultation And Benefit With A Seamless Transition.