Goods and Service Tax (GST) is considered an indirect as well as a comprehensive tax on the supply of goods and services. The GST reform is widely regarded as one of the largest tax reforms in the country. Like many campaigns that the government has launched, GST is one such improvement that is assumed to bring about development and growth in the nation.
Benefits of GST in India:
Like all reforms have their own merits and demerits, GST does too. The merits of GST are for businesses, government, consumers as well as the economy as a whole. The primary benefits of GST in India are as follows.
- Elimination of the Cascading Impact of Taxes:
GST is called as a ‘comprehensive tax’ primarily because it was brought into effect to bring all the indirect taxes under one roof. It removed the earlier indirect taxes such as VAT, CST, CAD, service tax, etc. The cascading effect here implies tax on tax. Earlier, the goods were taxed at each stage of production until it was sold to the customer. This implied that the consumer would have to bear the inflationary prices.
Now, an input tax credit structure will be present which would make sure that there is no slumping of taxes. This would imply that the GST would be charged only on the value of the goods or services. Hence, the price of goods and services will be reduced in the long run which is the primary benefit of GST in India. This how the cascading effect would be mitigated.
- Ease of Operation for Business
On account of so many indirect taxes, operating an enterprise in India was not smooth, efficient or easy. Standardization is one of the chief benefits of GST in India. It operates uniformly everywhere in the country. Therefore, it becomes easier and a lot more efficient to operate businesses in India. Moreover, the hassle-free and quick flow of goods facilitates better transport.
- Reduction in Tax Evasion
With the implementation of GST, the effectiveness of Input Tax Credit has significantly increased. This incentivizes the seller to avail more benefits after revealing his transaction. Hence, the benefit of GST in India is that the economic rationale for evading tax comes down, resulting in more transparency and also serves as a self-policing mechanism.
- Online Payment of GST
One of the most prominent benefits of GST in India is the convenience of being able to pay GST online, especially for small businesses. This online method is much more efficient and quick for everyone rather than an offline payment.
- Ease of Administration and Higher Revenue
The indirect tax structure was very complicated since there were numerous indirect taxes at different levels. With the introduction of GST, the structure has now become a lot more simple and efficient allowing for much better administration. Moreover, in the earlier structure, the expense of the government for collecting the taxes was also high. The benefit of GST in India is that it will reduce these costs for the government.
- Transparency
The complex earlier structure prevented transparency in the system. However, the standardization and uniformity of GST ensure that there is a transparent environment. This proves to be beneficial because it would help build a strong business sector. This would lead to an increase the investment in India.
All of the above-stated benefits of the GST in India ensure that this one nation, one tax system leads to the improvisation of the country’s global competitiveness.
What is GSTR9?
The GSTR9 is a document that has to be filed annually by the registered taxpayer. In Form GSTR9, one needs to declare the consolidated details of GST payable, outward supplies, inward supplies, and ITC claimed for the previous financial year. This form contains critical information relating to your GST, therefore, understanding this return fully is crucial.
The aggregate turnover of your business must be more than Rs. 20 Lakh. Numerous small taxpayers operate their enterprise from various registrations but do not prepare different books of accounts. They do not possess trial balances split in accordance with the GSTIN regulations and are facing a huge difficulty in making and reconciling their GSTR9.
Filing of GSTR9
Annual returns in Form GSTR9 cannot be revised or edited after it is filed. Hence, you must take the utmost care and keep it ready in excel format. In order to avoid the penalty of Rs. 200 per day for not filing it on time, one must file it on time. A specific process must be followed for the filing of GSTR9. The procedure is as follows:
- Log in to the GST portal and click the option of ‘Annual return’ under the head of ‘Services’. The financial year will be showcased on the screen. Click the option of ‘search’ thereafter.
- After you click on ‘Prepare online’, the questions are asked to you. However, if you are not eligible to file this return, then it won’t allow you to click on the yes option. Therefore, the system automatically explains to you how you must go about it.
- You can then download the PDF of the summary of GSTR9, GSTR-3B Summary, and GSTR-1 Summary easily.
- The next step is to fill in the details very crucially in the tables. If the data differs a lot from the computed value, the system will warn you.
- Once you have completed filling the details, you can preview the draft form of the GSTR9.
- In case you have any late fees to be paid, you must do that first. If not, then a confirmation box will be shown.
- After you have checked all the details, the last step is to file the GSTR9.