Are you a businessman who hasn't registered for GST yet? Here's what you need to do

Who is liable to register for GST?

If you are an existing taxpayer, that is if you are paying the taxes for the list mentioned below, you are liable to register with the new tax regime.

>Central excise

>Service tax

>Value Added Tax (VAT)

>Entry Tax

>Luxury Tax

>Entertainment tax exclusive of tax levied by local bodies

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Apart from the above list, another set of taxpayers is required to enroll with GST.

>If you have an annual income of Rs 20 lakhs you are liable to enroll with GST. If your business is in a special category state (North-eastern states, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand) and earns at least 10 lakhs in a year, you will have to register as well.

>If you are an agent to a supplier(s)

>If you own an e-commerce business

>If you are a supplier associated with an e-commerce firm

>If you share information online and have access to the database

>If your business includes inter-state supply of goods

>If you are an input service distributor - an intermediary which manages the business of the manufacturer.

>If your business includes inter-country trade

>If you fall under the definition of a "casual taxable person" -  a person without a fixed place of business who at times supplies goods and services as a principal or agent to an area under the GST regime.

>If you fall under the definition of a "non-resident taxable person" - a person who does not reside in India but comes occasionally to make money.

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Here's what you need to register

>For existing taxpayers, the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) number is sufficient

>Valid e-mail ID, mobile number, a bank account with the IFSC Code, Permanent Account Number (PAN)

>If you are not an existing taxpayer but under the new regime, you are now a taxpayer; you will need to upload a set of documents (in PDF or JPEG format) onto the GST website.

>The documents will be: registration certificate of your business (in case of a partnership firm, the Partnership Deed of the firm will be required), authorization form, photographs of the business owners, authorized signatories, the first page of your passbook or a statement prescribed in the format below. (Tax authorities will validate your claim and bank account details.)

Bank Account Number of <name> < Account Number>

Address of Branch

Address of Account holder

(A mention of type of transactions you make in the business)

Transaction details.

With the checklist, you will now have to fill the forms. Here's how

>Log on to the GST website

>For part A of the form, you will have to provide your e-mail id, mobile number, bank account number with the IFSC code. You will have to verify it with the OTP which will be sent to the e-mail id and mobile number you have provided.

>With the OTP you have received, you will be allowed to fill part B. In part B, you will have to upload the above-mentioned documents.

>You will require a set of documents, according to your business. But if you are an existing taxpayer, you will be required to provide your Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) number and you will be automatically converted into a GST payer.

>After you have uploaded the form, you will receive an e-mail and a text with the reference number of your application to register with GST.

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How long will it take?

Once you receive your application number, it will take 3 days for approval if there no discrepancies in the details you have provided.

In case, the authorities find any loopholes or find the documents insufficient, you will be asked to make the required changes within a week and the authority will accept/reject your application in the subsequent week. If your application still gets rejected, you will have to re-do the process. It has to be done within 30 days.

How many times do you file for GST returns?

In an interview with Economic Times, Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia says that if your annual income is between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 75 lakh, you will not be required to furnish details of your invoices.

Such businesses will need to file only one return every three months, which is four returns in a year.

If a business chooses the composition scheme - a scheme brought out to help startups and SMEs - it will be required to deposit a major chunk of tax without disclosing details to the government. Only the turnover is required and requires to be filed quarterly

Many businesses will file a return every month and without disclosing invoices.

If your annual income is above Rs 75 lakh but you are B-to-C enterprise (business to consumer, mainly the retail sector), you file one return—GSTR1—between 1st and 10th of the next month, disclosing only total sales turnover.

The remaining, which do not come under this bracket will also file one return, but will be required to update it twice. Only these firms will have to disclose the transaction details.

For the firms who have to disclose their invoices, all you have to do is -

>Firstly, file the first return—GSTR-1—between the 1st and 10th of the next month by giving invoice details.

>The second return—GSTR-2- is only called a return, but isn't. All you have to do is confirm the information disclosed by your suppliers. It will not be filed by you. GSTR-2 will automatically compile all your suppliers' claims, what they have filed in their GSTR-1, and generate a consolidated version in your system. This information will carry the account of your business and will show the working of your business, so that you can claim your input tax credit -  a business can reduce the taxes it has paid on inputs from what it has to deposit on output.