GST Advisory

GST Advisory is a guidance provided by a government or regulatory body on the implementation and compliance with the Goods and Service tax system. It can be in written form through documents or guidelines or question-answers forms or through interactive channels like webinars, conferences, etc.

It is provided by government agencies, professionals or private consulting firms. They have expertise in laws, processes, rules and regulations with best practices that help to understand the obligations with compliance of the GST system.

The services include information on GST filing, compliance and registration with assistance in claiming GST credits and resolving issues or disputes raised on GST.

GST Advisory on New E-Invoice Portal

The Goods and Services Tax Network has issued an advisory dated 25 February 2023 on the New E-Invoice Portal.

• The four new Invoice reporting portals (IRPs) i.e., GST Portal Advisory have been launched in addition to the NIC-IRP.
• The beta launch of a new e-invoice portal is a user-friendly format where taxpayers can identify comprehensive information on e-invoice compliance.
• It provides facilities like checking enablement status, self-enable for invoicing, searching for IRNs, links to IRP portals and all the material information in a location.
• Taxpayers can log in to the new e-invoice website with their GSTN username and password on the GST Advisory portal and then select services as per their respective GSTIN profiles.
• The taxpayers can note the reference site for all master data, news and updates, releases, etc.
• The facility of Grievance Redressal Portal is a help desk for e-invoice issues for supporting taxpayers with IRP issues.

Impact of GST

The implementation of the Goods and services tax GST has affected all sectors of the economy. It has successfully implemented a ‘One Nation, One Tax’ policy. The impact on the Indian economy can be derived from short-term effects and future effects.

The three types of GST are given below:

• Central Goods and services tax: GST advisory for CGST is levied by the central government in inter-state sales of goods and services.
• State Goods and services tax: SGST is levied by the state government in intra-state sales of goods and services.
• Integrated Goods and services tax: IGST is levied by both central and state governments on the supply of goods and services from one state to another.

The impact of GST on the Indian economy is as follows:

Simple Tax Regime

Earlier multiple taxes like VAT, customs, excise duty, etc are levied. After GST, tax has been made simpler and under one tax.

Funds are Increased

There is an increase in funds resulting from production. There is a reduction in the taxable amount.

Increase in Exports

The decrease in custom duty paid has led to an increase in exports which saves money on the production of goods.

Cascading Effect of Tax is Removed

The burden of tax in the old tax system has been removed from the GST tax regime. The different tax has been made into a single tax rate.

Role of GST Advisory Services

The role of advisory services on GST are as follows:

Smooth Implementation of GST

It provides assistance in the registration process and guidance in the recovery of tax from customers.

Training in GST

Training is provided for finance, taxation, legal, sales and marketing departments.

Functionary Advisory

The examination of an existing IT system for providing taxation triggers and mapping for customers' business transactions.

Tax Efficiency

It advises the relevant cost system used for additional savings. Timely precautions must be adopted.

Impact Assessment on Business

The changes in tax rates on onward supplies. There can be changes in the time and place of supply of goods and services.

Guidelines on Security of IT-Enabled Services

The Directorate General of systems and data management has issued DG systems GST advisory 07/2021 for initiatives for Information Technology (IT) for improved tax administration.

1. Cybersecurity is most important in a digitally connected world. There are emerging cases of threats at a fast pace. The data exchange with various private stakeholders cannot be changed. There are several initiatives taken for achieving the goal of transparency and digital administration.
2. The guidelines on procurement and use of IT-enabled services for ensuring quality and data security
3. The process for procuring IT services for applications where the functions are not as per DGS then it is undertaken as per the manual for procurement of consultancy services, 2017 and GFR 2017.
4. The eligibility criteria are given by GST advisory for the participation of vendors and ensuring that:
• The procurement process for selection is fair, equitable, competitive and cost-saving as per the guidelines.
• The tender is issued from time to time as per the guidelines with procurement through GEM on e-Procure Portal.
• Delegation of Financial Powers complies which depends on the financial value of the procurement and approval is obtained.
• There should be defined metrics for the maintenance and enhancement of the application.
• RFP specifying that the vendor is responsible for getting the security audit completed as per CERT-IN.
• The provisions of ‘Make in India’ as per government guidelines for the participation of MSME or Startups are followed.
5. Maintenance of the website of Directorates
• The GST advisory has provided that the websites hosted on the NIC data center or on the Cloud Infrastructure of MeitY impaneled Cloud service providers only.
• The design of the website was undertaken as per ‘The guidelines for Indian Government Websites (GIGW) formulated by the National Informatics center.
6. Quality and Security Assurance

   The seller should meet the criteria of quality and data security practices as follows:

   • ISO 9000/9001 It is a certification for quality. It provides a set of generic requirements related to the processes of development and production for achieving customer satisfaction.
   • ISO/IEC 27001 It is a management system that is intended to bring information security.

ICES Advisory 2022

The GST advisory and compliance has issued a notification on changes in the system with respect to AD code registration in exports

The changes made by a number of CBIC advisory 10/2022 dated ICES advisory 06/2022 are given in the following points:

• AD code with an associated bank account is required to get registered in the system at only one port. The AD code is available at the location of customs.
• The new AD code registration is the same to be registered through online request at ICEGATE. The option to add or modify the AD code and account against an IEC is disabled.
• There is no requirement for separate registration at other ports for filing documents.
• The ICES advisory 13/2022 states that there can be multiple AD codes associated with registered against an IEC.

Features of Form GSTR-2B

The input tax credit (ITC) from regular taxpayers and non-resident taxable persons is available in GSTR-2B. The features of GSTR-2B are given as follows:

• Form GSTR-2B has made section-wise availability of GST Advisory on 2B.
• Obtaining section-wise details or downloading ITC
• The text search option is available for all the records.
• For the GST login, the user ID and password are required to file Form GSTR-2B.
• There is an option to view, filter and sort data.
• When a file has more than 1000 records then a full download of the GSTR-2B option is available.
• An email is sent to the taxpayer about the generation of GSTR 2B.
• The documents filed by suppliers or Input service distributors are reflected.