GST_Guide__Online_Sellers

SS Digital India

6 hours ago

Transcript

00:00Hey there, online sellers. You know how GST can sometimes feel like you're trying to solve a

00:05puzzle in the dark, right? Well, what if I told you that a few tiny, common slip-ups in that puzzle

00:10are actually costing you cold, hard cash? Today, we're going to shine a light on those pitfalls

00:15and flip the script so your GST filing starts working for you, not against you.

00:20So let me ask you straight up, is your GST filing actually costing you money? I mean,

00:26really think about it. It's so easy to think you've got it all under control,

00:30but even the smallest, most innocent-looking mistakes can snowball into penalties, missed

00:34credits, and a whole lot of stress you just don't need. But hey, that's exactly why you're here,

00:39right? We're about to break down the top 10 most common and, yeah, most costly errors that trip

00:45up online sellers just like you. Stick with me, and by the end of this, you'll have a crystal clear

00:50guide to filing with absolute confidence. All right, first things first. We're starting with

00:56the absolute bedrock of your GST, reporting your sales. This is ground zero, and it's where some

01:02of the biggest, most fundamental mistakes get made. Okay, mistake number one. This is a classic,

01:08and I see it all the time. You look at your bank statement, see the payout from your marketplace,

01:13and you report that number, right? Wrong. See, the marketplaces take their cut, their fees,

01:19shipping costs, that little thing called TCS, before that money ever lands in your account.

01:25But here's the kicker. The taxman wants GST on the full price your customer actually paid.

01:30And this right here just lays it all out. Let's say a customer pays 10,000 rupees for your product.

01:36After all the deductions, maybe you only see 8,500. It's so tempting to just report what you received,

01:42but that's the mistake. You have to report the full gross value of 10,000.

01:46So what's the golden rule here? Simple. Always, always go to your marketplace's gross sales report.

01:52That's your source of truth for GST. All right, next up is mistake number two,

01:57messing up the type of tax you apply. It's all about location, location, location.

02:02If you're selling to someone in your own state, you charge two taxes, CGST and SGST. But if you're

02:08selling to a customer in another state, that's just one tax, IGST. Sounds simple,

02:14but you'd be surprised how often this gets mixed up.

02:17So check out this example. Let's say you're based in Rajasthan and you get an order from someone in

02:22Maharashtra. That's a classic interstate sale. You absolutely have to charge IGST on that bill.

02:28If you accidentally charge CGST and SGST, you're going to have a compliance headache later.

02:33The bottom line is super simple. It's not about where you are. It's about where your customer is.

02:38Ah, returns. The joy of e-commerce, right? We all deal with them. But here's the thing.

02:44If a customer returns an item and you don't properly account for it in your GST filing,

02:49you've basically just paid tax on a sale that never really happened. You pay tax on money you

02:53had to give back. You've got to claim that tax back. So what's the right way to handle it?

02:59Well, just ignoring it is definitely the wrong way. The correct official procedure is to issue

03:04something called a credit note and then report that note in your GSTR 1 filing. That's how you tell

03:09the government, hey, this sale was reversed. It reduces your total sales number. And most

03:14importantly, make sure you're not paying tax on ghost sales. Okay. So we've covered the money

03:18going out for taxes. Now let's get to the fun part, getting some of that money back in the form

03:24of tax credits. This is part two. And trust me, this is where a lot of sellers are unknowingly just

03:29leaving free money on the table. Now, this next one is a huge deal. It's called input tax credit

03:35or ITC. Think about all the stuff you buy for your business, packaging materials,

03:40marketing services, whatever. You paid GST on that, right? That GST is your credit,

03:45but here's the crucial mistake. You can't just claim it because you have an invoice in your hand.

03:50Nope. That credit has to show up in your GSTR 2B form on the GST portal first. And this is exactly

03:57what I'm talking about. The old way was just using your purchase invoice. The new correct way

04:03is waiting for it to appear in your GSTR 2B. Why? Because that GSTR 2B is the government's

04:09official record. It only shows up there after your supplier has done their part and filed their

04:14taxes. So the rule is simple. If it's not in GSTR 2B, you can't claim it, period. Always check

04:21that form first. Hey, remember that TCS we talked about earlier? The little bit of tax the marketplace

04:26collects on every sale? Well, that money doesn't just disappear into thin air. It gets deposited into

04:32your account on the GST portal in something called the electronic cash ledger. It's literally your

04:37money sitting there waiting for you to use it to pay your taxes. It's like finding money in your

04:41pocket, but you won't believe how many sellers just forget it's even there. Okay, let's dive into

04:45something a little more advanced, the reverse charge mechanism or RCM. It sounds complicated,

04:51but the idea is simple. For some services, think legal advice or services from an unregistered person,

04:56the roles are flipped. Instead of the supplier paying GSTR, you, the buyer, have to pay it directly

05:02to the government. And the number one mistake people make, they try to claim the credit for it

05:05before they've even paid the tax. You absolutely have to think of this as a two-step dance. Step one,

05:12you take the tax amount, say it's 18,000 rupees, and you pay it to the government from your own cash.

05:18Step two, then and only then can you turn around and claim that same 18,000 rupees back as an input tax

05:25credit. It's a loop. You have to pay it out before you can claim it back in. All right, we're heading

05:31into the home stretch. Part three is all about what I call the fatal filing errors. These are the

05:37procedural slip-ups that aren't just about losing a bit of money. These are the mistakes that can get you

05:42a notice from the tax department and cause some major league headaches. This one is non-negotiable.

05:48You have two main returns. GSTR 1, which is the detailed list of every single sale you made.

05:54And then there's GSTR 3B, which is the summary you use to actually pay your tax.

05:59These two reports need to be identical twins. The numbers have to match perfectly,

06:03down to the very last pace. And let me be crystal clear about this. A mismatch between your GSTR 1

06:08and GSTR 3B is basically like sending the GST department a personal invitation to send you a

06:14notice. It's a huge red flag for their automated systems. So please, before you hit that submit button,

06:19double-check and triple-check that these two forms are in perfect sync.

06:22Look, we're all human. Sometimes you file late. It happens. But here's the trap. You can't just pay

06:28the tax you owe and call it a day. The system automatically tax on late fees and interest

06:33for every single day you're delayed. And yeah, you have to pay those too. And believe me,

06:38those fees are no joke. They add up shockingly fast. We're talking 200 rupees a day in late fees.

06:44That's 100 for CGST and another 100 for SGST. It can quickly turn a minor oversight into a major

06:51expense. The cheapest way to file your taxes? On time. Always.

06:55And for our last big mistake, please, please remember that selling online is a different

07:01ballgame from running a brick and mortar store. There are specific rules for e-commerce, and this

07:06one is the most important. For offline businesses, there's a turnover limit before you need to register

07:11for GST. For online sellers, that limit is zero. From your very first sale, your very first repeat,

07:17you need a GST registration. There are no exceptions to this rule.

07:21Whew! Okay, I know that was a ton of information, but don't worry. We're going to wrap this all up

07:26with a simple, powerful tool you can use every single time you file. Let's put it all together

07:30in your new error-free checklist. This is it. This is your game plan. Let's run through it.

07:361. Match your sales to the gross marketplace reports. 2. Reconcile with GSTR 2B before you

07:43claim any ITC. 3. Claim that TCS credit. It's your money. 4. Always check the customer's state to

07:51apply the right tax. 5. Track every single return and issue a credit note. 6. Follow the two-step pay

07:58then claim rule for RCM. 7. Make sure GSTR 1 and 3B are perfect matches. And finally,

08:06use the correct HSN code and GST rate for your products. Got it? And that really brings us to

08:12the big picture, doesn't it? You've poured your heart and soul into creating an amazing product

08:16and a beautiful storefront that customers love. So the question I want to leave you with is this.

08:21Are your finances as professional as your storefront? Nailing your GST is a massive,

08:26massive step in making sure the answer to that question is a resounding yes.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended