I) GST Registration Online in Chennai is the biggest tax reform in India, tremendously improving ease of doing business and increasing the taxpayer base in India by bringing in millions of small businesses in India. By abolishing and subsuming multiple taxes into a single system, tax complexities would be reduced while tax base is increased substantially.

Under the new GST regime, all entities involved in buying or selling goods or providing services or both are required to register for GST. Entities without GST Registration Online in Chennai would not be allowed to collect GST from a customer or claim an input tax credit for GST paid and/or could be penalised. Further, registration under GST is mandatory once an entity crosses the minimum threshold turnover of starts a new business that is expected to cross the prescribed turnover

II)GST Turnover Limit

There are various types of GST Registration Online in Chennai and some types of entities like casual taxable persons, non-resident taxable persons or persons supplying through eCommerce operators are required to mandatorily obtain GST Registration Online in Chennai irrespective of turnover limit. The GST turnover limit for regular GST registration for service providers and goods supplier is provided below.

Service Providers: Any person or entity who provides service of more than Rs.20 lakhs in aggregate turnover in a year is required to obtain GST registration. In special category states, the GST turnover limit for service providers has been fixed at Rs.10 lakhs.

Goods Suppliers: As per notification No.10/2019 any person who is engaged in the exclusive supply of goods whose aggregate turnover crosses Rs.40 lakhs in a year is required to obtain GST registration. To be eligible for the Rs.40 lakhs turnover limit, the supplier must satisfy the following conditions:

Should not be providing any services.

The supplier should not be engaged in making intra-state (supplying goods within the same state) supplies in the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim, Telangana, Tripur and Uttarakhand.

Should not be involved in the supply of ice cream, pan masala or tobacco.

If the above conditions are not met, the supplier of goods would be required to obtain GST registration when the turnover crosses Rs.20 lakhs and Rs.10 lakhs in special category states.

Special Category States: Under GST, the following are listed as special category states – Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu and Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, Tripura, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

Aggregate Turnover: Aggregate turnover = (Taxable supplies + Exempt Supplies + Exports + Inter-State Supplies) – (Taxes + Value of Inward Supplies + Value of Supplies Taxable under Reverse Charge + Value of Non-Taxable Supplies).

Aggregate turnover is calculated based on the PAN. Hence, even if one person has multiple places of business, it must be summed to arrive at the aggregate turnover.

III) Voluntary GST Registration

Any person or entity irrespective of business turnover can obtain GST Registration Online in Chennai at any-time. Hence, GST registration is obtained by many businesses in spite of not reaching the aggregate turnover limit. Some of the main reasons for obtaining voluntary GST registration are:

To improve the business credibility

To satisfy the requirements of B2B customers

To claim input tax credit benefits

All non-resident taxable persons are required to obtain GST Registration Online in Chennai, irrespective of aggregate annual turnover or any other criteria. Further, the GST Act and Rules specify that all non-resident taxable persons must obtain GST Registration Online in Chennai five days prior to the commencement of business. Hence, it is important for foreign businesses supplying goods and services to India to obtain GST Registration at the earliest.

II) Procedure for Applying for GST Registration

Prior to beginning the process for applying for GST Registration Online in Chennai, foreign businesses or foreign applicants must identify a person in India to act as its authorized representative for GST compliance and obtain PAN in India for the foreign entity (optional). As per GST rules, the application for GST registration made by a non-resident taxable person should be signed by his authorised signatory who shall be a person resident in India having a valid PAN.

Hence, once the authorised signatory is engaged, Indian GST registration process can be started for non-resident taxable persons. To apply for GST registration as a non-resident taxable person, the application must be submitted in FORM GST REG-09. GST registration is PAN based for regular taxpayers. However, in the case of non-resident taxable persons, the GST registration application can be submitted with a tax identification number or a unique number on the basis of which the entity is identified by the Government of that country or its PAN, if available.

GST Registration – Documents Required
IN CASE OF a SOLE PROPRIETORSHIP FIRM

Photo, PAN Card

Address Proof of the Proprietor

Bank Statement, EB Card and Rental Agreement

IN CASE OF PARTNERSHIP FIRM

Photo, PAN Card with the deed.

Partnership registration certificate & partners id, photo & address proof

Bank Statement, EB Card and Rental Agreement

IN CASE OF PRIVATE LIMITED OR ONE PERSON COMPANY

PAN Card of Company, COI, MOA & AOA of Company

Board Resolution with Director’s ID, photo and address proof

Bank Statement, EB Card and Rental Agreement

PAN Card of Company, COI of Company

Deed + Partner’s ID, photo and address proof

Bank Statement, EB Card and Rental Agreement

GST Registration Procedure – OIDAR Service Providers

In case of a non-resident taxable person supplying online information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) services to a non-taxable online recipient, then application in FORM GST REG-10 must be submitted electronically.

GST Registration Online in Chennai

GST Registration for Non-Resident Taxable Person

A non-resident taxable person under GST is any person or business or not-for-profit who occasionally undertakes transactions involving the supply of goods or services or both, whether as principal or agent or in any other capacity, but who has no fixed place of business or residence in India. Hence, any foreign person or foreign business or organisation supplying goods or services to India would be a non-resident taxable person – requiring compliance with all GST regulations in India.

Documents Required for GST Registration

The following documents must be provided by the non-resident taxable person during the GST registration process:

Proof of Principal Place of Business

For own premises – Any document in support of the ownership of the premises like Latest Property Tax Receipt or Municipal Khata copy or copy of Electricity Bill.

For Rented or Leased premises – A copy of the valid Rent / Lease Agreement with any document in support of the ownership of the premises of the Lessor like latest Property Tax Receipt or Municipal Khata copy or copy of Electricity Bill.

For premises not covered above – A copy of the Consent Letter with any document in support of the ownership of the premises of the Consenter like Municipal Khata copy or Electricity Bill copy. For shared properties also, the same documents may be uploaded.

Identity Proof

Scanned copy of the passport of the Non -resident taxable person with VISA details. In case of a business entity incorporated or established outside India, the application for registration shall be submitted along with its tax identification number or a unique number on the basis of which the entity is identified by the Government of that country, or it’s PAN, if available.

In case of Company/Society/LLP/FCNR/ etc. person who is holding power of attorney with an authorisation letter.

Scanned copy of Certificate of Incorporation, if the Company is registered outside India or in India.

Scanned copy of the License is issued by the foreign country, if available.

Scanned copy of Clearance certificate issued by Government of India, if available.

Bank Account Proof

Scanned copy of the first page of Bank passbook / one page of Bank Statement Opening page of the Bank Passbook held in the name of the business – containing the Account Number, Name of the Account Holder, MICR and IFSC and Branch details.

Authorisation for Authorised Representative in India

Non-resident taxable persons are required to appoint an authorised representative in India. An authorisation or copy of Resolution of the Managing Committee or Board of Directors authorising the authorised representative must be provided

*Important Instructions for Non-Resident Taxpayers

Name of Applicant must be entered as per the passport.

It is mandatory for the applicant to apply for GST registration on the common portal by filing form GST REG-09 at least five days before commencement of the business.

Tax identification number / unique number (number through which the entity is identified by the respective Government) or PAN (if applicable) is necessary to be submitted along with the application, in case of a business entity incorporated or

established outside India.

The applicant must be duly signed or verified through EVC.

In case of NRI, in order to obtain GST registration, following a two-step procedure needs to be followed:

Further, in the case of foreign entity, application for GST registration is to be submitted along with tax identification number or unique number or PAN (if applicable).

A non-resident taxable person is required to deposit the advance tax. Such advance payment of tax would be based on self-estimation. Advance tax deposit is mandatory to be submitted along with the application.

*Final Registration

Final registration of Non-resident taxable person would be carried out in the same line as of the resident taxpayer in India. The procedure for the same is narrated below:

The applicant is required to submit, electronically, an application in FORM GST REG-26. The applicant is required to submit all the information related to tax and GST within three months from the provisional registration.

If the information provided is accurate and complete, then, final GST registration will be issued to the applicant in FORM GST REG-06. However, if the information provided is incorrect or incomplete, the officer would issue a show-cause notice to the applicant in FORM GST REG-27.

If the applicant is not able to give an appropriate reply to the show cause notice issued and after giving the appropriate opportunity of being heard to the applicant and on the satisfaction of the officer, the provisional registration granted to the applicant would be cancelled through FORM GST REG-28.

However, if the applicant is able to give an appropriate reply to the show cause notice issued and the said reply is acceptable to the officer, the show cause notice would be nullified by issuing an order in FORM GST REG-20.

The application for registration of the non-resident should be duly signed by the authorised signatory of the applicant. The said authorised signatory should be a person resident in India, and he would have a valid PAN.

*A streamlined GST invoicing solutions can help you easily boost sales, reduce outstanding receivables, get deeper insights into the business and reduce the complexities associated with GST return filing

I)GST Invoice Format

Under GST rules and regulations, all invoices issued by businesses under GST must contain the following information:

Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier

A consecutive serial number not exceeding sixteen characters, in one or multiple series, containing alphabets or numerals or special characters hyphen or dash and slash symbolised as “-” and “/” respectively, and any combination thereof, unique for a financial year.

Date of its issue

Name, address and GSTIN or UIN, if registered, of the recipient

Name and address of the recipient and the address of delivery, along with the name of State and its code, if such recipient is unregistered and where the value of taxable supply is fifty thousand rupees or more;

HSN code of goods or Accounting Code of services;

Description of goods or services;

Quantity in case of goods and unit or Unique Quantity Code thereof

The total value of the supply of goods or services or both

The taxable value of supply of goods or services or both taking into account discount or abatement, if any

Rate of tax (central tax, State tax, integrated tax, Union territory tax or cess)

Amount of tax charged in respect of taxable goods or services (central tax, State tax, integrated tax, Union territory tax or cess)

Place of supply along with the name of State, in case of a supply in the course of inter-State trade or commerce

Address of delivery where the same is different from the place of supply

Whether the tax is payable on a reverse charge basis; and

II)When should an invoice be issued?

GST invoice should be issued when payment for goods or services is received or reasonably assured or if the goods or services have been supplied. If goods or services are supplied and payment is not received, then invoice must be issued within 30 days – irrespective of the status of the receivable.

It is important to note that the supplier becomes liable for remittance of GST to the government on the issuance of tax invoice, even if payment is not received from the customer. Hence, if payment is not reasonably assured, and goods or services have not been delivered, an estimate can be issued by the supplier.

III)Procedure for issuing GST invoice

All GST invoices must be prepared in triplicate in case of a supply of goods. The original copy should be marked as ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT. The duplicate copy should be marked as a DUPLICATE FOR TRANSPORTER, and the triplicate copy should be marked as TRIPLICATE FOR SUPPLIER.

In case of a supply of services, the invoice should be prepared in duplicate. The original copy should be marked as ORIGINAL FOR RECIPIENT, and the duplicate copy should be marked as a DUPLICATE FOR SUPPLIER.

Filing

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is applicable in India from 1st July 2017. Under the new GST regime, nearly 1.4 crore businesses in India have obtained GST registration. All entities having GST registration are required to file GST returns every month. GST return filing is mandatory for all entities having GST registration, irrespective of business activity or sales or profitability during the return filing period. Hence, even a dormant business that obtained GST registration must file GST return.

*Who should file GST Return?

GST registration holders are required to file GSTR-3B return every month providing details of sales and purchases made in a month to the Government. GSTR-3B return is due on the 20th of each month.

In addition to GSTR-3B return, businesses registered under GST must file GSTR-1 return. GSTR-1 return must be filed every month by businesses having annual revenue of over Rs.1.5 crores. In case a business has a yearly revenue of less than Rs.1.5 crores, GST return should be filed every quarter.

Annual GST return must be filed by all GST entities having GST registration. The due date for filing GST annual return for FY 2017-18 is 31st December 2019. The due date for filing GST annual return for FY2018-19 is 31st March 2020.

*GST Return Due Dates

The following are upcoming GST return due dates:

November GSTR-3B will be due on the 20th of December 2019.

November GSTR-1 return for persons having annual revenue of more than Rs.1.5 crores will be due on 11th December 2019.

October – December GSTR-1 return for persons having annual revenue of less than Rs.1.5 crores will be due on 31st January 2020.

Keep watching this page for the latest updates to GST return due dates.

*Penalty for Late Filing GST Return

Failure to file GST returns on time can lead to penalties and cancellation of GST registration. If GST return is continuously not submitted for six months, then the GST registration would be cancelled, and the person would not be able to obtain another GST registration – unless all the late filing penalty is paid.

The penalty for late filing GST return is different for persons having NIL return and persons having turnover. In case a person has no business, NIL GST return must be filed. Failure to file NIL GST return can lead to a penalty of Rs.20 per day for each of the GSTR-3B return and GSTR-1 return. So, failure to file NIL GST return can result in a penalty of Rs.40 per day or Rs.1200 per month.

In case a person has business activity during the period for which GST return is late-filed, then a penalty of Rs.50 per day will be applicable for late GSTR-3B return and Rs.50 per for GSTR-1 return. Hence, a penalty of more than Rs.3000 per month would be applicable.

In addition to the above late filing fees, the person would also have to pay interest at the rate of 18% on GST payment remitted late to the Government.

* Composition Scheme Return Filing

All persons registered under the Composition Scheme are required to file FORM GSTR-4A every quarter through the GST Common Portal or through a GST Facilitation Centre. GST return for those enrolled under Composition Scheme is due on the 18th of the month, succeeding a quarter. Hence, GST return for composition scheme would be due on April 18th, July 18th, October 18th and January 18th. The GST return filed by a Composition Scheme supplier must include details of:

Invoice wise inter-State and intra-State inward supplies received from registered and unregistered persons

Consolidated details of outward supplies made

Also, if a registered person opted to pay tax under composition scheme from the beginning of a financial year, then the taxpayer must file monthly GST returns on the 10th, 15th and 20th of each month and monthly returns till the due date of furnishing the return for the month of September of the succeeding financial year or furnishing of annual return of the preceding financial year, whichever is earlier. Hence, even if a taxable person under GST opted for a composition scheme from April onwards, the taxpayer must continue filing monthly GST returns until September.

*Composition Scheme – GST Payment Due Date

While filing the GST composition return, the taxpayer is also required to discharge liability towards tax, interest, penalty, fees or any other amount payable under GST by debiting the electronic cash ledger. GST composition is levied at the following rates:

Manufacturers, other than manufacturers of such goods as may be notified by the Government – 1%.

Suppliers making supplies – 2.5%

Any other supplier eligible for composition levy – 0.5%

It’s important to note that any taxpayer who has opted for the GST composition scheme will not be eligible to avail input tax credit on receipt of invoices or debit notes from the supplier for the period prior to opting for the composition scheme

I)GST has been implemented in India from 1st July, 2017. Under the new GST regime, over 1.3 crore business in India have been registered and issued GST registration. All entities having GST registration are required to file GST annual returns, as per the GST return due date schedule mentioned below. GST annual return filing is mandatory for all entities having GST registration, irrespective of business activity or sales or profitability during the return filing period. Hence, even a dormant business that obtained GST registration must file GST return.

GST registration holder who obtained the registration anytime before 1st April 2018 are required to file GST annual return for the financial year 2017-18 on or before 30th June 2019. Before filing GST annual return the taxpayer must have filed all GSTR-1 or GSTR-3B or GSTR-4 return for the period of July to March 2018. In case there are overdue GST returns for the above-mentioned period, the GST registration holder will not be allowed to file GST annual return.

II) GST Annual Return Types

GST Annual Return Filing can be divided into three types based on the form to be filed as under:

GSTR-9: All entities having GST registration are required to file GST annual return in form

GSTR-9.

GSTR-9A: GST registered taxpayers who have opted for the GST Composition Scheme under Goods and Services Tax (GST) are required to file GSTR-9A.

GSTR-9C: Form GSTR 9C is meant for filing the reconciliation statement of taxpayers pertaining to a particular financial year. The form is a statement of reconciliation between the Annual Returns in GSTR-9 and the figures mentioned in the Audited Financial Statements of the taxpayer.

GSTR 9C is applicable to taxpayers who are required to obtain an annual GST audit of their accounts. GSTR-9C must be prepared and certified by a Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant. GST audit is applicable for person having GST registration with an annual aggregate turnover of above Rs. 2 crores in a particular financial year.

III) GST Annual Return Due Date

The due dates of filing of Form GSTR-9 (Annual Return) and Form GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement) for Financial Year 2017-18 to 31st December 2019 and for Financial Year 2018-19 to 31st March 2020. The Government has also decided to simplify these forms by making various fields of these forms as optional.

8) GST Input Tax Credit Reconciliation

GST is an indirect tax levied on goods and services based on the principle of value addition. Hence, the levy of tax is based on the value added at each stage of the supply chain till the product or service reaches the ultimate consumer. In such a tax system, to negate the cascading effect of the tax, there exists a means to set of taxes paid on procurement of raw materials, consumables, plant and machinery, equipment, services, etc.that are used for the manufacturing or supply of goods and services. This element used to offset the tax liability is called an input tax credit.

Eligibility for Claiming Input Tax Credit

Input tax credit can be claimed only by a person having GST registration and based on proper documentation and filing of GSTR-2 returns. The following documentary requirements must be satisfied by a taxpayer for claiming input tax credit.

An invoice issued by the Supplier as per the GST Rules for Invoice; or

A debit note issued by a supplier; or

A bill of entry or any similar document; or

An ISD invoice or ISD credit note or any document issued by an Input Service Distributor.

In addition, the following conditions are also applicable for claiming input tax credit:

The taxpayer is in possession of a tax invoice or debit note issued by a registered supplier or other tax paying documents.

The taxpayer has received the goods and/or services.

The tax charged in respect of the supply has been actually paid to the account of the appropriate Government, in cash or through utilisation of available input tax credit.

The taxpayer has filed the necessary GST filings.

Goods & Services Not Eligible for Input Tax Credit

Under GST, input tax credit is not available in respect of the following goods or services:

Motor vehicles, except when they are supplied in the course of business or used for providing taxable services like:

Transportation of passengers

Transportation of goods

Providing training on driving, fling, navigating such vehicles

Further supply of such vehicles or conveyance

Supply of goods and/or services in relation to food and beverages, outdoor catering, beauty treatment, health services, cosmetic and plastic surgery except where such inward supply of goods or services of a particular category is used by a registered taxable person for making an outward taxable supply of the same category of service

Membership of a club, health and fitness centre

Rent a cab, life insurance, health insurance, except where it is statutorily obligatory for an employer to provide such services

Travel benefits extended to employees on vacation such as leave or home travel concession

Goods and/or services received by the principal in the construction of immovable property, other than plant and machinery except where it is an input service for the supply of works contract service

Goods and services received by a taxable person for construction of immovable property on his own account, other than plant and machinery, even when used in the furtherance of business

Goods and services on which tax has been paid under composition scheme

Goods and services used for personal consumption

Goods lost, stolen, written off or disposed by way of gift or free samples

Tax paid after detection of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression

Tax paid for release of detained or seized goods

Tax paid for release of confiscated goods

Letter of Undertaking is commonly known as LUT. The Letter of Undertaking (LUT) is prescribed to be furnished in form GST RFD 11 under rule 96A, whereby the exporter declares that he/she would fulfil all the requirements prescribed under GST while exporting without making IGST payment.

All GST registered goods and service exporters are eligible to submit LUT except the exporters who have been prosecuted for any offence and the amount of tax evasion exceeds Rs.250 lakhs under the CGST Act or the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act,2017 or any of the existing laws. In such cases, where the exporter is not eligible to file LUT, they would have to furnish an export bond.

IndiaFilings can help you with GST LUT filing or export bond filing. Get in touch with our GST Experts to know more about exporting under LUT or export .

According to the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 any registered person exporting goods without payment of integrated tax is required to furnish a bond or a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) in FORM GST RFD-11.

All GST registered goods and services exporters are eligible to submit LUT except the exporters who have been prosecuted for any offence and the amount of tax evasion exceeds Rs.250 lakhs under the CGST Act or the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act,2017 or any of the existing laws.

Letter of Undertaking will be valid for a period of twelve months from the date of submission. If the exporter fails to comply with the conditions of the Letter of Undertaking, privileges could be revoked and the exporter would be required to furnish a bond. All exporters are required to submit a letter of undertaking or export bond under the new format specified under GST on or before 31st July 2017.

Export Bond for GST

Entities not eligible to submit a Letter of Undertaking (LUT) as per the conditions mentioned above would have to furnish an export bond along with bank guarantee. The bond should cover the amount of tax involved in the export based on estimated tax liability as assessed by the exporter himself. Export bond should be furnished on non-judicial stamp paper of the value as applicable in the State in which the bond is being furnished.

Also, exporters can furnish a running bond, so that export bond need not be executed for each and every export transaction. However, if the outstanding tax liability on exports exceeds the bond amount at any time, then the exporter must furnish a fresh bond to cover the additional liability.

A bank guarantee can be mandated along with export bond. The value of bank guarantee should normally not exceed 15% of the bond amount. However, based on the track record of the exporter, the bank guarantee required to be submitted with export bond can be waived off by the jurisdictional GST Commissioner.

GST eWay Bill is a document for tracking of goods in transit introduced under the Goods and Services Tax. Under GST, a taxable person registered under GST transporting goods with a value of over Rs.50,000 is required to possess an eWay Bill generated from the GST Portal

IE Code registration is mandatory for persons who are exporting or importing goods from India. It is issued by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) . All entities engaged in Import and Export of goods require the 10 digit Import Export Code. IE code has not to be renewed, it has lifetime validity. Exporters can’t enjoy any benefit of exports from DGFT, customs, Export Promotion Council and Importers are not allowed to proceed, without IE code.

It is mandatory to mention IE Code in the following instances

When importers clear customs when their goods arrive in India

When exporters export goods from India

When traders make a payment transfer to a foreign bank account

DOCUMENTS REQUIREMENTS:

A scanned or digital copy of valid Permanent Account Number (PAN).

Image file should consist of both side of PAN.

Scanned or digital photograph of applicant.

Scanned copy of Bank Certificate.

Scanned copy of PAN , applicant Photograph , Bank Certificate should in gif format.

Exporters are advised to used the compressed version of gif formats.

Other mandatory documents