GST places lot of importance on compliance wherein Invoice-wise details of all B2B supplies would need to be uploaded on the GSTN Portal. Further, there are requirements to capture and report additional nomenclature/ tax fields on invoices in accounting and reports. This requires a robust IT System which needs to be geared up for effective input of the data and timely generation of reports as per the requirements under the GST rules.

The GST Network that is developing the technology infrastructure for the implementation of GST has appointed several companies as GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs) to help the taxpayers and businesses in compliance. Few of the major companies include Tally, TCS, Deloitte, Mastek etc.

Presented below is essential information regarding how to gear up for GST in a bid to make compliance easy for the business:

I. The Tax Payer/ Business should do the following activities for a hassle free adoption of the GST:

• Procure an I.T. Software from any of the appointed GSP for generation/ compilation of the requisite information for timely compliance under GST
• Collect the GSTIN and other details of all your B2B customers, vendors & suppliers and feed this information in the software to prepare for effective compliance under GST
• Identify the HSN Code of all the products bought and sold and enter the same in the system before GST implementation to avoid last minute rush
• Ensure you share your GST ID with all your vendors/ suppliers and educate them to feed your details in their system to ensure that you are able to get the Input Credit from the appointed date itself
• Make necessary changes in the Invoice Format in accordance with requirements of the GST Law
• Train your accounts team and acquaint them with the accounting and process related requirements under the GST. If required ask your Tax Consultant to take a training session for your team

II. The following are the requirements for migration of existing input credit of tax under the old regime of excise, VAT and service tax:

a) The requirement for claiming Input Tax Credit under the GST Law are as below:

• The taxpayer should have an original Invoice/ Debit Note issued by a registered supplier
• He has received such Goods or Services or Both
• The tax charged in respect of such supplies has been paid to the government (either by cash or by utilisation of eligible Input Credit)
• He has duly furnished his return under the erstwhile VAT/ Service Tax Act
  
  

b) GST Law allows claiming the Input Credit of Tax brought forward from the old regime as on the appointed date, as Input Credit under the GST Act. Following issues must be ensured for seamless migration of the Input Credit of the old regime to the GST:

• The taxpayer must get himself registered under the GST within one month of the appointed date to claim the benefit of the Input Credit of Taxes in respect of the inputs held in stock and inputs contained in semi-finished and finished goods held in stock as on the appointed date
• The taxpayer must furnish proof of old return filled under the old regime. We strongly recommend that the taxpayer must make sure that all input taxes paid are included in his last return and by doing so, he will be claiming the credit of the same under the new regime

III. The list of information to be collected from customers, vendors and suppliers: 

• Legal Name of the Entity- As given under the GST Registration
• PAN of the Legal Entity- As per PAN Card
• GSTIN (15 Digit Registration Number) - Please provide State wise GSTIN Details obtained along with a copy of the ARN Receipt (before the appointed date) and Provisional Registration Certificate (after the appointed date)
• HSN/ SAC Code of Goods and Services- Please provide details of HSN Code for Goods supplied and SAC Code for services provided to us so that the same can also be configured in the IT System

IV. The following is a list of particulars to be included in an Tax Invoice to be issued under GST:

• Name, address and GSTIN of the supplier
• A consecutive serial number, 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 un-registered 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
• Total value of supply of goods or services or both
• 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 reverse charge basis
• Signature or digital signature of the supplier or his authorised representative

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