In today’s fast changing business world, enterprises are under growing pressure to handle a lot of complexity, ranging from regulatory requirements, cybersecurity concerns to internal accountability and strategic clarity.Most companies struggle with three main challenges:●      Setting up a system where everyone knows their roles.●      Identifying and managing risks early●      Staying complaint with laws and regulationsThese need to come together in one key framework: GRC- Governance, Risk, and Compliance. This guide will help you understand what GRC is, how it works, and why it’s essential for modern businesses.What is GRC?GRC is a way to manage your organisation’s decision making, risk handling and compliance requirements, all in one place. With a proper GRC framework, companies can:●      Set clear roles and ethical standards.●      Spot and reduce risk early.●      Stay on top of changing regulations.When governance, risk, and compliance are connected, companies make better decisions, reduce uncertainty, and operate more confidently.A good GRC strategy usually aims to:●      Build accountability across teams●      Identify and manage risks across department●      Keep the company complaint through process and controls.Let’s look at each component more carefully. Governance: Setting Direction and ResponsibilityThe G in GRC stands for Governance. It is about how decisions are made and tracked in an enterprise.A good governance setup:●      Aligns leadership with company’s goals.●      Make roles and responsibility clear.●      Encourage transparency and ethical decision-making.Key elements of governance include:●      Clarity: Everyone knows their role●      Transparency: Actions and Policies are visible to stakeholders.●      Ethics: Decisions are made with honesty and fairness.Governance is not just for leadership, it should be part of everyday work, tools and documents.Risk Management: Staying Ahead of ProblemsThe R in GRC stands for Risk Management. It helps companies identify possible issues, understand their impact, and prepare before they cause trouble.Risk management involves:Identify - Spot risks earlyAssess - Understand how likely and serious they areRespond - Take steps to reduce or avoid them.Types of risks include:●      Operational: Process failure, delayed actions●      Financial: Fines, fraud, market issues●      Strategic: Bad decisions or unclear goal●      Security: Data leaks, hacking●      Compliance: Missed deadlines or incorrect fillings.Today, many companies use dashboards and alerts to track and act quickly.Compliance: Meeting Legal and Regulatory ExpectationsThe C in GRC refers to Compliance. It means following all the legal rules, regulations, and internal policies.As rules keep changing and checks get stricter, companies must:●      Keep track of every compliance task.●      Make sure responsibility is assigned.●      Get alerts if something is delayed.To be compliant:●      Know the relevant laws.●      Do internal checks regularly.●      Train employees in policies and processes.●      Keep documentation audit ready.●      Have clear escalation paths for delayed actions.Strong compliance not only avoids penalties, it builds trust with regulators, customers, and investors.GRC FrameworkMain parts of a GRC framework:●      Policy Management: Central place for policies and access based on roles.●      Risk Registers: Real-time list of risk and their owners●      Compliance Calendars: Auto-generated tasks linked to laws●      Monitoring and Escalation: Alerts when things go off-track●      Reporting: Dashboard and Audit-ready reportsThis helps create a culture of ownership and preparedness.GRC Audit: Making sure It’s WorkingA GRC audit checks how well your governance, risk, and compliance setup is working.It includesDefining scope: What is being reviewed?Reviewing processes: Are they being followed as defined?Finding gaps: What’s missing or broken?Suggesting improvements: What can be fixed or done better?Audit helps ensure that GRC is not just on paper, it actually works in practice.GRC Across Different IndustriesGRC ComponentBFSIHealthcareE-CommerceGovernanceCredit policies, auditsPatient care rulesTransparent PricingRiskMarket risk, fraudMedication errorsFraud detectionComplianceRegulatory filingsBio-waste rules, data privacyConsumer data protectionGRC needs may vary by sector, but the basics are the same: good governance, early risk identification, and strict compliance.Steps to Start a GRC StrategyStarting GRC doesn’t have to be hard.

Managing finance effectively and efficiently is critical for growth-phase organisations and startups. It is a business process that requires the full-time attention of experienced professionals. However, many businesses cannot afford experienced finance experts as CFOs in the conventional sense. Hence, digital CFOs are becoming a potent alternative. This article discusses the difference between digital CFOs and traditional CFOs and how the new breed of finance managers in their virtual avatars can help your business.  Who is a Traditional CFO?Traditional CFOs are in-house, full-time senior executives who handle the strategic finances in business organisations. They are part of the organisational structure and often directly report to boards of directors on everything related to financial management. The Roles and Responsibilities of Traditional CFOs are: Revenue forecast and budgeting - This involves preparing short, medium and long-term revenue projections, and aligning the company's strategic financial roadmap with those projections.  Risk assessment and management - Identifying financial and non-financial risks, planning risk mitigation strategies, and exercising controls.Statutory financial reporting—Every limited liability company is required to prepare and publish financial reports as part of regulatory compliance.

To curb tax evasion and ensure transparency, the government is working to make all pillars of GST more interconnected. One such measure was generating e-way bills using e-invoicing details such as the Invoice Reference Number (IRN).Read on to learn about the changes in the e-way bill, even though e-invoicing has been made mandatory for a different set of taxpayers.What is the link between e-way bills and e-invoices?An e-way bill has two parts:Part A contains invoice details such as the supplier and recipient's GSTIN, invoice number, delivery address, HSN codes, etc. Part B has transporter details such as transporter ID, vehicle number, etc. The taxpayer generates both parts from the e-way bill portal by manually updating the invoice and transporter details.With the implementation of e-invoicing, the process is partly automated. Details in e-way bills can be auto-populated from the e-invoicing portal, unlike the current system. Once the e-invoice is successfully validated, both parts A & B of the e-way are auto-populated, provided some optional details (transporter ID and mode of transport) in the e-invoice are updated. The motive behind these changes is to simplify creating e-way bills.Note: The existing users of the e-way bill portal can use the same credentials to log in to the e-invoice portal instead of getting a new registrationThere are facilities provided on the e-invoice portal for :Generation of an e-way bill using IRN: A user has to enter the IRN to generate an e-way bill on the e-invoice portal.Bulk generation of e-way bill: The government provides a bulk generation facility for businesses that conduct a large number of daily transactions.Print e-way bill: Under the e-way bill option, a user can select the print EWB option and then enter the e-way bill number.

Initially, GST intended to simplify tax estimation, reporting, claiming input tax credits, and other processes; however, many micro, small, and medium-scale businesses find it challenging to comply with the law and often receive tax demand notices. The most infamous among these notices is the tax demand under Section 74 of the CGST Act. A clear understanding of the legal ramifications under this section is essential for any entrepreneur and company. This article discusses show cause notice under section 74 of the CGST Act, its applicability, consequences and many more. Stay with us.What is Section 74 of the CGST Act? Non-payment of GST, misreporting or erroneous refund and excess appropriation of input tax credit can occur for various reasons, and an appropriate GST officer can issue show cause notices to the respective GSTIN holders. Sections under which show-cause notices can be issued are:Section 63 - For discrepancies in GST return Section 65 - short payment or non-payment detected during an audit Section 35 - failure to record transactions Section 52 - default in collecting tax at the source  However, Section 74 differs from the above sections.

After its introduction in 2017, the GST Act has undergone several rounds of review and reforms to address emerging business realities and reduce the burden of compliance on businesses of all sizes and industries. The decisions and amendments in the 53rd GST Council meeting, held on 22nd June 2024, are the latest additions to the simplification process. This article discusses the newly proposed Section 74A and its differences with erstwhile Sections 73 and 74. Stay with us. What is Section 74A of the CGST Act? Section 74A attempts to standardise the timeframe for issuing notice, tax demand, and penalty relief for any due tax liability irrespective of fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts. This section is applicable from FY 2024-25 and will supersede Sections 73 and 74. As per the newly introduced Section 74A, a proper GST officer:Can issue tax demand notice on nonpayment, short payment of tax, appropriation of excess tax refund or excess input tax credit, irrespective of an incident of fraud, wilful misstatement and suppression of facts. Cannot issue tax demand notice if the due tax liability is less than ₹1000.   Must issue notice within 42 months from the date of erroneous refund or excess input tax credit or due date of annual return in which suppression of facts, fraud or wilful misstatement occurred.Must submit material evidence to substantiate the claim of fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts. Mere assumption of wrongdoing will not be sufficient to issue notice related to fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of fact. The penalty structure as per the Section 74A:When not engaged in intentional wrongdoing, the taxpayer will need to pay 10% of the tax due as a penalty or ₹10000, whichever is the maximum. The taxpayer paying the tax due before issuance of the notice can get relief regarding the penalty.  When engaged in fraud, suppression of facts, or wilful misstatement, the taxpayer will need to pay a penalty equivalent to the tax dues.What is Section 73 of the CGST Act?  Section 73 concerns determining tax liability following an incident of nonpayment, short payment of tax, erroneous refund, or excess input tax credit received by a taxpayer.

While most of the country turned to their TV screens to learn about the personal income tax changes in the budget, there have been some benchmark amendments to the GST Act. One such move is the introduction of Section 74A in the GST covering demand. This would replace the current Sections 73 & 74, causing a significant change in how the GST demand procedure is conducted. Let's dive right in to learn about these changes in detail.What is Section 74A of the CGST Act?Section 74A of the CGST Act has been inserted to determine the tax liability and penalty in the following cases:General Cases (Earlier covered by Section 73)Cases containing Fraud, Willful Misstatement or Suppression of Facts (Earlier Covered by Section 74)The penalty is chargeable in both the above cases if:Tax is not paidTax is short-paidTax is erroneously refundedITC (Input Tax Credit is wrongly availed or utilisedChanges in GST Sections 73 and 74Sections 73 & 74 of the CGST Act will continue to determine the demand for cases up to Financial Year 2023-24. So, the new Section 74A of the CGST Act is applicable from the Financial Year 2024-25 onwards.To give you a hint, the most significant changes you will see in Section 74A of the CGST Act compared to Sections 73 & 74 are:New time-frames: The period for issuing notices has been increased to 42 months from 3 years.Proportional Penalties: Penalties have been set depending on the degree of error.

Post-sale discounts are reductions in price given by a seller to their buyers either during the transaction, after the sale is completed, or upon the achievement of specific targets. This article will discuss how post-sale discounts impact the value of supply under GST.Treatment of Post-sale Discount under GSTSection 15(3) of the CGST Act 2017 specifies that a discount can be given before, after or during the time of supply.A discount, given before or during the time of supply, must be recorded in the invoice to reduce the value of the supply.If any discount is given after the supply is complete, then to reduce the discount from the value of the supply, the following conditions must be met:Any discount given was specified in terms or agreements entered into during or before the time of supply.Discounts shall be linked to specific invoicesThe recipient shall reverse input tax credit attributable to such discount.When a supplier provides a discount related to the volume purchased by the recipient, this activity shall be considered a separate supply of services. The recipient may invoice the discount amount and charge GST on such an invoice.Where the above conditions are not met, the supplier can issue a financial credit note without charging GST. Accordingly, the recipient may claim the entire input tax credit charged on the original invoice.Can Output Liability Arise on Post-sale Discount under GSTThe impact on output liability on account of post-sale discount is as follows:If a discount is given without any further actions required by the customer which are in line with terms decided at or before the time of supply, then such a discount will be reduced from the value of supply. The supplier will need to issue a credit note to reduce the output liability of the supplier.A discount linked to the performance condition of the customer, for example, achieving a purchase target, will be regarded as a separate transaction.

India exports a wide range of commodities, such as engineering goods, petroleum products, pharmaceuticals, and ready-made garments, to 200 countries. The export business was valued at over $430 billion in 2025. Overall, exports of goods and services account for 23% of the country’s GDP. The government introduced duty exemption and remission schemes to increase the overall growth in exports and foreign reserves.Objectives of the SchemeThe primary goal of any duty exemption and remission scheme was to eliminate or refund customs duty paid on goods ready for export. This improves profit margin for exporters, thereby encouraging domestic industrial production and job creation.

GSTN is scheduled to launch the new invoice management functionality IMS (Invoice Management System) on 1st October 2024 for ITC computation and claim process. This new feature will streamline many tasks for taxpayers, help reduce compliance errors, and change the future of GST compliance. It's natural for people to have questions. FAQs on IMS in GST answer all the queries from the industry leaders to our representatives about this eagerly expected feature. Basics of the Invoice Management System (IMS)  What is the Invoice Management System (IMS)?The Invoice Management System, or IMS, is a dashboard functionality within the GST portal that streamlines communication of invoices and CDNs saved/submitted/filed by suppliers. It facilitates recipients' checking of the status of invoices and CDNs and provides the option to accept, reject, or keep them pending for a period in a single window.When will IMS be made available to taxpayers?GSTN will launch the IMS facility on the 1st October portal. However, from 14th October 2024 onwards, users will be allowed to take action on invoices/CDNs.   Which records will be available in IMS for taking action?The IMS dashboard will make available the following records related to the invoices saved or filed by the suppliers through GSTR-1/1A/IFF.B2B - InvoicesB2B - Invoices (Amendments)B2B - Debit NotesB2B - Debit Notes (Amendments)B2B - Credit Notes B2B - Credit Notes (Amendments)Eco [9(5)] InvoicesEco [9(5)] Invoices (Amendments)However, invoices and CDNs that are not eligible for ITC because of the POS rules or as per Section 16(4) of the CGST Act will not appear on the IMS dashboard.

The newly introduced invoice management system (IMS) inside the GST portal requires taxpayers to act on invoices, choosing either accept, reject, or pending. Otherwise, the system considers an invoice 'deemed accepted', causing incorrect information to flow to GSTR-2B and leading to compliance issues.This article explains what a rejected invoice is in the IMS dashboard and how to check a rejected invoice in the Invoice Management System. What is a rejected invoice in the IMS dashboard?In IMS, a rejected invoice is an invoice that a recipient taxpayer has chosen to REJECT inside the IMS dashboard before the GSTR-2B gets generated because of discrepancies between a purchase order and an invoice. Other reasons behind the rejection of invoices can also exist, such as suppliers mistakenly entering invoices in the portal. Unless corrected, rejected invoices result in excess tax liability for suppliers or under-reporting of Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims for the buyer, as the invoice does not appear in GSTR-2B. So, suppliers need to view rejected invoices in the IMS dashboards and take the necessary actions.How to view rejected invoices in IMS?Once a buyer rejects an inward invoice, the portal reflects the same in the supplier's IMS dashboard. The supplier must make amendments in the GSTR-1 or through GSTR-1A and take other necessary steps to avoid excess tax liability, penalty, and compliance issues. It is equally important for buyers to keep track of invoices that they have rejected and check whether the supplier has modified their GSTR-1 or issued credit notes, etc. For suppliers: How to view rejected invoices in IMS Step 1: Enter the GST portal using login credentials. Step 2: Once logged in, navigate to the 'Services' tab and click 'Returns' from the drop-down menu.