#GST

I have been getting 5-6 calls a week from small business owners confused about GST on rent. Let me clear this up once and for all. THE BASIC RULE (post July 2022 amendment) If you are a REGISTERED business and you take a property on rent — you must pay GST under Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) even... Show more

Three years into running my SaaS startup, I got a GST scrutiny notice. Nobody tells you how stressful this is when you are building a company. I want to share what happened so other founders know what to expect. THE NOTICE Got a DRC-01 notice (demand notice) claiming I had not paid GST on certain r... Show more

The GST Composition Scheme was designed to simplify compliance for small businesses. Five years in, let me give you an honest assessment of whether it still makes sense. WHAT IS THE COMPOSITION SCHEME? Instead of filing monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, pay a fixed percentage of turnover as GST and file... Show more

I file GSTR-3B for 80+ clients every month. After years of doing this, I can tell you the errors that consistently lead to notices from the department. Avoid these and you will avoid 90% of GST issues. ERROR 1: ITC CLAIMED EXCEEDS GSTR-2B This is the biggest trigger. If your GSTR-3B ITC claim is hi... Show more

GSTR-9 (Annual Return) is due by December 31 every year. After reviewing hundreds of GSTR-9 filings, here are the errors that I see most frequently — and how to fix them. THE BASICS GSTR-9 is mandatory for all regular GST taxpayers. Composition dealers file GSTR-9A instead. Taxpayers with turnover... Show more

Works contract is one of the trickiest areas in GST. The classification determines the rate, the ITC eligibility, and even whether composition scheme applies. After handling multiple GST audits in the construction sector, here is a practical explainer. WHAT IS WORKS CONTRACT UNDER GST? Schedule II... Show more

If you import goods into India — whether raw materials for manufacturing or finished goods for trading — you need to understand the multiple layers of customs duty that apply. I have seen importers pay lakhs extra because they did not understand the structure. THE BASIC STRUCTURE OF CUSTOMS DUTY Wh... Show more

The GST Composition Scheme was designed to simplify compliance for small businesses. Five years in, let me give you an honest assessment of whether it still makes sense. WHAT IS THE COMPOSITION SCHEME? Instead of filing monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, pay a fixed percentage of turnover as GST and file... Show more

If you sell on Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho or any e-commerce platform in India, there is a GST compliance layer that most small sellers completely miss — TCS (Tax Collected at Source) by the e-commerce operator. WHAT IS TCS UNDER GST? Under Section 52 of CGST Act, every e-commerce operator must collec... Show more

Three years into running my SaaS startup, I got a GST scrutiny notice. Nobody tells you how stressful this is when you are building a company. I want to share what happened so other founders know what to expect. THE NOTICE Got a DRC-01 notice (demand notice) claiming I had not paid GST on certain r... Show more

I have been getting 5-6 calls a week from small business owners confused about GST on rent. Let me clear this up once and for all. THE BASIC RULE (post July 2022 amendment) If you are a REGISTERED business and you take a property on rent — you must pay GST under Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM) even... Show more