Communication between Taxpayers on GST Portal

Communication between taxpayers functionality enables the supplier and the recipient to communicate with each other on the GST portal directly.

What is ‘communication between taxpayers’ and its purpose?

This facility enables suppliers and the recipient to communicate with each other on the GST portal by sending/receiving notifications. A taxpayer will receive an alert for the new notifications. Direct communication helps to reduce the scope of deficiencies and brings transparency in the system. This facility is not available for taxpayers registered under TDS, TCS and non-resident taxpayers.

For example, purchaser X wants to claim ITC on goods purchased from Y, but Y has not yet uploaded his invoice in GSTR-1. In this case, X can send a notification to Y requesting to upload the invoice using this facility.

Salient features of the communication between taxpayers facility

Below are some of the features of ‘communication between taxpayers’ facility:

1. Enables communication between suppliers and recipients by way of sending notifications.
2. A taxpayer can read and reply to the notification received.
3. He can send a new notification to the supplier or recipient. An alert will also be given to the recipient/supplier on logging into the GST portal.
4. An email or SMS is triggered with each notification sent to the counterparty.
5. The recipient can upload the details of missing documents and send a notification to the supplier. The supplier can then add those invoices in Form GSTR-1.
6. A taxpayer can send up to 100 notifications to a single GSTIN for a particular tax period.
7. The functionality to upload and download the documents will be made available soon.

Step by step process to use the ‘communication between taxpayers’ facility

Send notification to the supplier

Step 1: Visit the GST portal. Navigate to Services>User services>’Communication between taxpayers’ option.

Step 2: The ‘Communication between taxpayers’ page is displayed. It has four tabs:

• Inbox – It shows new notifications received and reply received from supplier or recipient.
• +Compose- Using this option, a taxpayer can send a new notification to a supplier or recipient.
• Outbox- It shows notification or reply sent to a supplier/recipient.
• Download CSV template- This will allow the taxpayer to download the CSV template to upload the notifications at one go.

Step 3: Click on the compose option to send a new notification to the buyer. Send a new notification page will be displayed. From the ‘notification to’ drop-down list, select the option buyer. Then, enter the supplier GSTIN. This will auto-populate the field ‘trade name/legal name’.

Now, enter the subject (the maximum length allowed is up to 50 characters).

Step 4: Select the action required under the document details section, as shown below:

Purpose of choosing each action is as follows:

• File Missing Document – Buyer can inform the Supplier to upload the required missing documents.
• Rejected-Amendment Required – Buyer can inform the counterparty to amend the invoice, debit note or a credit note.
• Rejected-Wrongly sent to me – Buyer can inform the counterparty that the document’s supply is ‘wrongly sent to me’.
• Re-Uploaded document – Taxpayer can inform the Supplier to delete or re-upload the uploaded document.
• Payment made – Recipient can inform the Supplier that the payment has been made.
• Others – Any other information can be added.

In case a supplier is sending a notification to the buyer, then the following options are available under the ‘Action required’ tab:

• Payment not received- Supplier can select this option to inform the buyer that the payment is not yet received.
• Others- Any other information can be added.

Step 5: Click on the plus icon to add document details. After adding the details, the ‘save’ button will be displayed. Click on the ‘save’ button to save the details.

After adding the details, select rate from the rate drop-down list and enter the taxable value. The tax amount will be auto-calculated based on rate and taxable value provided.

Step 6: Now, the buyer can add a remark for the supplier under the remarks section.

Step 7: Click on the send button. A taxpayer will receive a message- ‘Your notification has been successfully sent to counterparty’. Click OK.

Note: In case of changes required, he can click on the ‘reset’ button to change the details.

B. View notification received from supplier:

Step 1: The supplier will get a new notification update in the inbox tab. The supplier should click on the inbox tab to view the new notifications received.

The new notification received will be displayed in bold letters at the top. Click on ‘view’ to see the details.

C. Reply to notification from supplier:

Step 1: Click on the ‘reply/take action’ button on the details page to reply to the notification.

Step 2: Select the action taken from the drop-down list and then add the supplier remarks.

Step 3: Click on send. A message will be displayed- ‘Reply has been successfully sent’.

How to upload the missing document directly to GSTR-1?

Follow the below steps to upload the missing documents directly in Form GSTR-1:

1. Select the check box under the Upload to GSTR-1 field. Select the Action Taken by the supplier from the drop-down list and then enter the details.

Note: A supplier can only upload documents which are not filed to Form GSTR-1. Enter the remarks in the Supplier Remarks section. Then, click the ‘UPLOAD TO GSTR-1’ button.

A message will be received- ‘Document upload request is successful’. Click on ‘OK’.

Frequently Asked Questions on the ‘communication between taxpayers’ facility

Can all taxpayers use the ‘communication between taxpayers’ facility?

All taxpayers registered under GST can use this functionality except those registered as TDS, TCS and NRTP.

Does a supplier/recipient receive an alert when the notification sent is received by the counterparty?

The counterparty will receive an alert. However, the sender of notification can see the notifications sent in his outbox.

How many notifications can be sent to the same GSTIN in a financial year?

A maximum of 100 notifications can be sent to the same GSTIN in a financial year with the same tax period.

Can a taxpayer upload/download the documents in CSV format while sending notifications?

This functionality is not available as of now.

How many documents can be manually added through UI or screen for a particular notification?

50 documents can be manually added through UI or screen for a particular notification.