GST refers to the Goods and Services Tax, which is a uniform tax imposed in respect of supply of goods and services all over India. When implemented in 2017, it replaced various indirect taxes such as VAT, service tax, and excise duty, thereby bringing together one unifying taxation structure, aimed at bringing order into indirect tax structure and easy doing of business across India. A business is required to have only one registration for all indirect taxes under GST.
GST registration is mandatory for businesses/services with annual turnover above a certain limit, which is ₹40/20 lakhs in most states. In northeastern and hilly states, the limit is lower.
The online GST registration is a swift and streamlined process. The business would want to directly go to the official GST portal, which would initiate the GST registration process of following a sequence of easy steps that would complete their registration.
Other benefits of GST registration: In essence, GST brings in the business benefits as well as consumer benefits.
GST is a single indirect tax system. It has radically changed the conducts of doing business in India, simplifying the tax structure, so that it would eliminate the cascading effects of taxes and ensure free movement of goods and services across the state border. Whether one is running a small small-scale business or managing a large company, it becomes necessary to understand the system of GST, so that the corporation is in full compliance and utilizes the tax benefits optimally.
Businesses must charge and pay GST when selling commodities or supplying services. A GST is one indirect tax that replaces a myriad of taxes charged at different centers, such as VAT, excise duty, and service tax. It makes the business life much easier to comprehend and abide by.
In the GST regime, different tax regimes have been categorized for businesses based on their turnover and other criterias. Depending on this classification, a business is required to register for GST and would undergo a different norm of compliance, for instance, GST invoices issued, returns filed, and taxes paid.
GST is vital since it enhances the tax structure by reducing tax burdens. Most importantly, it brings transparency into the system. For businesses, GST is obligatory in the sense that there will be input tax credits, which, in the entire tax liability, reduce the total to be paid. The most important aspect of this is the point that GST registration is compulsory, especially for businesses with some minimum of turnover. This means if any business operates legally, then they have to apply for GST to be valid.
A firm must get registered for GST if its turnover crosses the prescribed threshold limit by the government, which is ₹20 lakh in most cases or ₹10 lakh in special category states. Once a firm gets registered under the GST act, they are liable to recover GST on the products they sell and collect the tax from the customers and can take ITC on their purchases in return.
Under GST for services, businesses providing services are allowed to recover GST, which they need to pass on in the form of tax to the government. Tax rates would differ with the kind of service provided, though generally would fall under the 18% rate, though some services are taxed at much lower rates (5% or 12%) or are exempt from GST altogether.
In GST, services are classified into different categories under which a different rate of GST may be present. But every service does have CGST, SGST, or IGST, depending upon whether it is an intra-state service or inter-state service.
Services fall broadly under the GST Service Codes (GSTSC). These categories can be used to identify the tax rate that may apply to a particular service.
Just like any good-selling business, service providing businesses also need to register for GST if their turnover surpasses the prescribed threshold. Under this, the threshold for service providers is set at ₹20 lakh (₹10 lakh in special category states). Registration for such service providers with turnover over this threshold is necessary to ensure compliance with the GST Act.
Registered businesses must file periodic GST returns. The filing frequency depends on turnover and typically includes sales, purchases, input tax credit, and tax liability details.
A registered taxpayer submits GST returns online through the following process. Login to the GST Portal by using their GSTIN and password. Go to 'Services' menu and select the type of return you want to file. Enter Sales, Purchases, and other transaction details Verify your data Submit your return and pay any outstanding amount, if any.The portal would automatically generate an ARN for further tracking.
If you require professional assistance in online GST registration, filing GST returns, or are looking for more information on whether your business is mandatorily required to be GST registered, just call us — we will guide you step by step along the GST journey.