What is Goods and Service tax?

The GST (Goods and Services Tax) Act is a comprehensive tax law in India that was enacted in 2017. The GST replaces multiple indirect taxes levied by the central and state governments and creates a single, unified tax system in the country. It is a consumption-based tax levied on the supply of goods and services, including imports, and it applies to all businesses with a turnover of more than 20 lakhs (10 lakhs for special category states). The GST is administered by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and is divided into five tax slabs: 0%, 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%.

This is one of the recent tax forms introduced in India and encompasses other forms of taxes levied as VAT, service tax, entertainment and luxury tax, and excise duty. It is mandatory for the person to register for the GST tax if their turnover is more than 20 lakhs and if they are a inter-state or e-commerce trader.

What are the features of Goods and Service Tax?

• The GST tax registration is mandatory for every person within the interstate
• The GST tax has an access to single tax across all the states in India
• This is mandatory if the person is setting up an ecommerce website in India
• Exemption limit is available for the intrastate traders and not the interstate traders

Why should you register for GST Tax?

• The person has a single access to paying the taxes in India
• Unified access to the tax will give a better access to doing the business with ease
• Only the people who make a higher turnover than the others are liable to pay the GST tax
• The indirect taxes in India become streamlined and can be unified on a single platform

Some things that you should know about GST Tax

Combination of taxes

The GST tax combines all the indirect taxes levied on the people within India. This helps in easy compliance of the taxes.

Increased tax base

Unification of the taxes has seen an increase in the tax base in India. All latest technologies hare being used for management of the tax.

Ease of business

By combining the taxes, people can now go about with the easy business norms and the intrastate traders have some basic exemptions, which is missing for the interstate traders.

Documents required

• Photograph of the person registering for the GST Tax
• Constitution of the tax payer, which includes registration certificate and partnership deed
• Proof for the place of business
• Bank account details of the person

Process of registration

• Submit the documents to the GST officer for verification
• The documents are verified for its authenticity
• GST registration certificate provided after verification