The Goods and Services Tax is a unified, multi-stage, and consumption-based tax levied on the supply of goods or services, combining all stages such as manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services. It functions at a national level in order to replace most of the national and state tax systems like VAT, service tax, excise duty, etc. It removes the cascading effect of tax-on-tax, earlier prevalent. It is applicable to you if you are into manufacturing, trading, e-commerce or providing services, and your annual turnover exceeds a prescribed limit.

You can enrol for GST via the common portal of the Goods and Services Tax. ClearTax can also help you with your enrollment. For more details, click here

Yes, a person with multiple business verticals in a state may obtain a separate registration for each business vertical (in each state).

• Cascading tax effect (the tax-on-tax effect) does not exist
• It is easier to avail the input tax credit
• Return filing and compliance are consolidated
• Increased efficiency in logistics
• Subsumed a variety of indirect taxes
• Higher threshold for GST registration
• Composition scheme for small businesses
• Unorganised sectors brought under regulation
• Simpler online procedure

Small businesses and taxpayers with a turnover of less than Rs.1.5 crore (Rs.75 lakh for special category states) can opt for the composition scheme where they will be taxed at a nominal rate of 0.5% or 1% (for manufacturers) CGST and SGST each (rates as per the latest proposed changes in the Goods and Services Tax bills). Composition levy is available to only small businesses dealing in goods. It is not available to interstate sellers, e-commerce traders and operators, and service providers.

The input tax credit refers to the amount of tax on purchases that you can reduce at the time of paying tax on sales. One of the fundamental features of the Goods and Services Tax is the seamless flow of input credit across the chain (from the time the goods are manufactured until it is consumed) and country.

GST replaced all the taxes currently levied and collected by the centre (such as Central Excise Duty and CVD) and by the state (such as VAT and CST) on businesses.

The HSN code stands for “Harmonised System of Nomenclature”. This system has been introduced for the systematic classification of goods all over the world. The HSN code is a 6-digit uniform code that classifies 5000+ products and is accepted worldwide. It was developed by the World Customs Organization (WCO), and it came into effect from 1988.

• ClearTax GST, with its powerful billing, vendor data mismatch reconciliation mechanism, validation engines and return filing process, serves as a single platform for all GST compliance.
• You can create 100% GST complaint bills or bulk import sales and purchase data from your accounting software such as Tally in excel format.
• Its data validation engine ensures that you are notified when your data seems to be not in line with pre-set rules and reduces the chances of any errors.
• You can also collaborate with your accountant and other colleagues in real-time.

The software is hosted on the cloud and accessible from anywhere at any time. You just need to sign up using your email ID and choose the type of plan you want to subscribe for. As soon as your subscription is activated, you will be able to get started. You just need an internet connection. Also, the software works both online and offline. If you work offline, the data will automatically sync as you get connected to the internet once again. Recently, we developed a desktop application, which allows direct import of data from the Tally software in the required format.

Data security is a top priority of ClearTax as a tax company. We have taken all industry safety measures to make sure that your data remains safe both while in transit as well as when at our platforms:

• ClearTax encrypts sensitive data using industry-leading methods. Even when data is transmitted over public networks, we make sure that it flows in encrypted form
• We use standard, well-reviewed cryptographic protocols and message formats (such as SSL and PGP) when transferring data
• We ensure that cryptographic keys are at least 128-bit long (AES). Asymmetric keys must be at least 2048-bit long (RSA)
• We also install security updates and patches on our servers and equipment regularly. The security settings of applications and devices are tuned to ensure appropriate levels of protection as well

You can use our Desktop App. If you are a licensed Tally user, you can continue using it for your accounting needs, whereas to ensure a smooth GST compliance you can use the ClearTax GST software.You can import the data through two routes:

• Manual: Export all your sales data and purchase data into excel files from Tally. Go to the ‘GST returns’ filing feature of ClearTax GST and click on ‘Import’. Browse your excel file and import all the data into ClearTax GST.
• Automatic data integration using the Desktop App: We offer API enabled integration between Tally and the ClearTax GST software. You just have to download the app. Once implemented, it will be reflected under ‘Utilities’ as ClearTax integration. The app allows a smooth integration of data between Tally and the ClearTax GST software, i.e. you will be able to push data to the ClearTax GST platform from Tally in a click of a button.

You can bulk import all your sales and purchase data into the ClearTax GST platform in two ways.

• Import data using the ‘ClearTax Standard’ template
• Import data using a ‘Customised Template’ such as for the e-commerce sales or different accounting/billing softwares
• Templates are excel formats designed to capture your sales and purchase data. You can download ‘ClearTax Standard’ template and fill out all the sales details in the format and upload it
• Or You can upload your original excel sheet and then map all the column headings to the heading scheme followed by ClearTax. Once the data is imported, you can view all the invoices at a glance. The software will automatically process the data and prepare GST returns for you.

A business, not opting into the Quarterly Return and Monthly Payment of taxes (QRMP), will be required to furnish two returns monthly and one annual return. That means any business will require to file twenty-five returns in a financial year. The taxpayers opting into the QRMP scheme can file only 8-9 returns every year, consisting of four GSTR-1, four GSTR-3B and one annual return, if applicable, filed.However, there are separate returns for a taxpayer registered under the composition scheme and as an Input Service Distributor, and a person liable to deduct or collect the tax (TDS/TCS).