Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indirect tax (or consumption tax) used in India on the supply of goods and services. It is a comprehensive, multistage, destination-based tax: comprehensive because it has subsumed almost all the indirect taxes except a few state taxes. Multi-staged as it is, the GST is imposed at every step in the production process, but is meant to be refunded to all parties in the various stages of production other than the final consumer and as a destination-based tax, it is collected from point of consumption and not point of origin like previous taxes.
Goods and services are divided into five different tax slabs for collection of tax - 0%, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. However, petroleum products, alcoholic drinks, and electricity are not taxed under GST and instead are taxed separately by the individual state governments, as per the previous tax system.[citation needed] There is a special rate of 0.25% on rough precious and semi-precious stones and 3% on gold. In addition a cess of 22% or other rates on top of 28% GST applies on few items like aerated drinks, luxury cars and tobacco products. Pre-GST, the statutory tax rate for most goods was about 26.5%, Post-GST, most goods are expected to be in the 18% tax range.
The tax came into effect from 1 July 2017 through the implementation of the One Hundred and First Amendment of the Constitution of India by the Indian government. The GST replaced existing multiple taxes levied by the central and state governments.
The tax rates, rules and regulations are governed by the GST Council which consists of the finance ministers of the central government and all the states. The GST is meant to replace a slew of indirect taxes with a federated tax and is therefore expected to reshape the country's 2.4 trillion dollar economy, but its implementation has received criticism. Positive outcomes of the GST includes the travel time in interstate movement, which dropped by 20%, because of disbanding of interstate check posts.
- Individuals registered under the Pre-GST law (i.e., Excise, VAT, Service Tax etc.)
- Businesses with turnover above the threshold limit of Rs. 40 Lakhs* (Rs. 10 Lakhs for North-Eastern States, J&K, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand)
- Casual taxable person / Non-Resident taxable person
- Agents of a supplier & Input service distributor
- Those paying tax under the reverse charge mechanism
- Person who supplies via e-commerce aggregator
- Every e-commerce aggregator
- Person supplying online information and database access or retrieval services from a place outside India to a person in India, other than a registered taxable person
*CBIC has notified the increase in threshold turnover from Rs 20 lakhs to Rs 40 lakhs. The notification will come into effect from 1st April 2019.
- PAN of the Applicant
- Aadhaar card
- Proof of business registration or Incorporation certificate
- Identity and Address proof of Promoters/Director with Photographs
- Address proof of the place of business
- Bank Account statement/Cancelled cheque
- Digital Signature
- Letter of Authorization/Board Resolution for Authorized Signatory
The process takes 5 to 10 days to get completed if the Signatories Verify using Aadhar OTP and 20 to 25 days if AAdhar verification is not done.
On applying for GST Registration to us, our team contacts for required documents. After receiving the documents, all the documents are arranged as per the requirement of the department of taxation. We then process the registration steps online and the top is verified with the registered number. On successful application, an Aadhar Based verification link is generated by the department. Authorised Signatories need to verify their Aadhar number with top received on the registered number in aadhar. When OTP is successfully verified an ARN is generated for reference of the Registration.
Now It's time for the department to act within three days, within these days the superintendent of GST can either Approve or request clarification on the application. Our team will arrange a response to the request and reply to the department. After reviewing the application if the department is satisfied they Issue the Certificate of Registration.
An offender not paying tax or making short payments (genuine errors) has to pay a penalty of 10% of the tax amount due subject to a minimum of Rs.10,000.
The penalty will at 100% of the tax amount due when the offender has deliberately evaded paying taxes