Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a consumption tax that applies to the supply of goods and services. The tax came into existence from 1 July 2017 by the Indian government. The GST helps in reducing existing multiple taxes implemented by the central and state governments.

There are four types of GST implemented by government; State Goods and Services Tax (SGST), Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST), Union Territory Goods and Services Tax (UTGST), and Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST).

Advantages of GST:
1. GST reduces the cascading effect of tax
2. Higher threshold limit for registration
3. Composition scheme for small businesses
4. Easy and Simple registration procedure
5. Reduced number of compliances
6. Defined treatment for E-commerce platform operators
7. Improved efficiency in tax payment
8. Regulation of Unorganized sector

IGST means Integrated Goods and Service Tax, IGST is a tax implemented on all Inter-State supplies of goods and services. IGST will apply to every goods and service supplied.

Central Goods and Service Tax i.e. CGST is a tax that is collected to the Central Government for supplies of goods or services within the state.

State Goods and Service Tax i.e. SGST is a tax that is collected to State Government for supplies of goods or services within the state.

No. Each individual who is responsible to pay tax has to take registration separately for each of the States where he has a business entity and is responsible to pay GST according to the government rule.

No, if your two businesses are within the same state then you need only one GST registration for both of them. According to the GST norms, if you are handling two businesses in different states under the same PAN it is mandatory to obtain different GST registration. If you take separate registration for different businesses, it will increase your administration costs like the number of filing of returns. But with the separate GST number, it will be easy to maintain your financial statements for both the business entities separately and your business verticals will be treated as two different entities, thus while you transfer any goods from one branch to another branch, you have to pay the GST.

Yes. As per norms of GST every person should have a Permanent Account Number (PAN) issued under the Income Tax Act, for getting eligibility of registration. But PAN is not mandatory for a non- resident taxable person, they can register based on any other document prescribed.

No, the business operator has to take separate registration in every state from where he makes supplies of goods and services and has to pay the corresponding tax

If registration is refused, then the applicant will be informed about the reasons for refusal through a speaking order. The applicant has the right to appeal against the decision proposed by the Authority. As per GST norms, any rejection of the application by one authority shall be deemed to be a rejection of the application by the other tax authority.

All registered business operators have to file monthly, quarterly, or annual GST Returns according to the type of business they owned.

GST Return is a document that contains every data related to GST invoices, payments, and receipts for a specified period. A taxpayer is responsible to declare all transactions related to the revenue of the business, according to that the authorities will summarize the amount of tax to be paid by the business. Business owners can file their GST through the online portal provided by GSTN. While filing GST returns, the registered dealer must have the following details for the specified period such as Total Sales, Total purchases, Output GST (GST paid by customers.), ITC GST paid by the business for purchases. Status of the filed GST return can be checked online.

Yes, Filing GST return is mandatory for every taxpayer. Even if there is no transaction, you must file a Nil GST return.

Every person with a business of threshold turnover limit has to register under GST and as well as they have filed the GST return accordingly. Hence every taxpayer has to file the GST return if they are registered under GST. Regular taxpayers can file their GST return monthly and dealers registered under Composition Scheme can file GST returns quarterly basis. Every non-resident taxable persons shall file one return monthly. If you filed your GST return late, then you have to pay additional penalty charges also with the existing rate. Due to technical issues and amendment of GST clauses, the CBIC has reduced the penalty amount for the late filing.

Every supplier or distributor of goods or services is liable to pay GST. However, in some cases like imports and other supplies, the liability may be cast on the recipient under the reverse charge mechanism. Further, in some cases, the liability to pay is on the third-party agents such as in case of e-commerce operator responsible for TCS or Government Department responsible for TDS.