With only a few months left before the implementation of GST, small business owners are engrossed in understanding the potential effects of GST on their business. It’s a well-known fact that SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) are the primary growth drivers of the economy and major contributors to the GDP. While some business owners have lauded the Government of India for implementing GST, others are not very convinced. To comprehend the overall effect of GST on your business, let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the new regime from a small-business perspective.
Positive impacts of GST on SMEs:
1. Launching a new business becomes easier
Under the previous tax regime, if your business had operations across multiple states, you would need to register for VAT with each state’s sales tax department in order to carry out business activities there.The fact that every state had different tax rules complicated the entire process, and business owners had to pay multiple procedural fees for VAT registration. Under GST, the registration is centralized and the rules are uniform for all the states across the country. All you have to do is complete and submit an online form to obtain a GSTIN (GST Identification Number). Launching a new business, and subsequently expanding it, will be comparatively easier under the GST regime.
2. The entire process of taxation becomes simpler
The prime reason GST is implemented is to remove cascading taxation. It reduces the complications caused by the overlap between Central taxes (Excise duty, customs duty, service tax, etc.) and State taxes (VAT, purchase tax, luxury tax, etc.), because it levies a uniform tax on goods and services all over India. The taxes on goods and services levied under VAT, purchase tax, and luxury tax will now be merged into one single tax with one common return. If you’ve spent a large portion of your time on managing multiple taxes, you can relax under the new regime because filing and paying taxes is easier with the GSTN portal.
A combined tax also means dealing with fewer tax authorities. Previously, business owners had to deal with many different tax authorities depending on the nature of their business and transactions. Under GST, you can be sure that the relevant authority is always either the Centre or the State government.
3. Reduced cost of logistics
The current tax regime has created a lot of hassles for the transportation sector. The long queues at checkpoints and inter-state entry points have caused vehicles to stand idle for long periods of time, adding to labor and fuel costs. Businesses transporting goods to other states have had a hard time filing paperwork and paying entry taxes at the inter-state borders, further delaying the delivery of goods.
Under GST, the current Central Sales Tax (CST) on interstate sales will be replaced with a combined tax called IGST, which is composed of CGST and SGST and collected by the Central Government. As the removal of border and check-post taxes makes state boundaries less significant under the GST regime, both the delay and the transportation cost will be reduced. This will increase inter-state business, facilitate faster movement of goods, and reduce maintenance costs.
4. The distinction between goods and services will be eliminated
Previously, businesses providing both goods and services had to calculate the VAT and service taxes individually. GST eases the process by removing the distinction between goods and services; tax will be calculated for the final total, not individual products or services. This will help SMEs take advantage of the tax incentives for payment on the procurement of input goods and services (like import, interstate and local purchases, and telephone services).
Currently, every invoice contains a long and confusing list of taxes levied on the goods and services involved in the transaction. GST will make invoicing simpler, as only one tax rate will need to be mentioned.
5. Increased threshold limits for new businesses
Under the current regime, businesses with a moderate annual turnover (Rs.5 lakh in some states and Rs.10 lakh in other states) are supposed to register and make payments for VAT. Under GST, this burden is eliminated for many businesses, since a business does not have to register or pay if its annual turnover is less than Rs.20 lakh (Rs.10 lakh in North Eastern states). Also, under the composition scheme, businesses with turnover between Rs.20-Rs.50 lakh will pay GST at a lower rate. This should have a positive effect on startups and other small businesses by relieving them from tax burdens.
Limitations of GST:
Though there are a lot of advantages to GST, SMEs may have reservations about transitioning to GST and getting used to the new tax regime within a short period of time. Their concerns might include increased compliance costs and numerous returns. Here are a few negative effects of GST that are likely to affect SMEs.
Negative impact of GST on SMEs:
1. Multiple registrations for Pan-India businesses
Under the new regime, a business will have to register online for GST in every state involved in its sales process. If your business delivers goods across 5 states, then you’ll have to register for GST in those 5 states to carry out your business activities. Since the entire registration process takes place online, small business owners who are not used to working online might not find the transition easy.
2. Returns must be filed on a monthly basis
Under GST, there will be around 36 returns in a fiscal year. GST returns will also require you to close your books on a monthly basis, which, realistically, will take a lot of time. The time that business owners spend filing these returns could instead be spent on other productive activities, like developing their business and acquiring clients.
To top it off, until you’ve filed the relevant returns, you cannot claim refunds and your customers cannot claim tax credit for the goods they bought from you. Should you miss a single return, you’ll be penalized Rs.100/- a day and your compliance rating on the GSTN portal will be reduced.
3. Cost of tax compliance is likely to increase
As mentioned above, consistently filing 3 returns a month, periodically reconciling your transactions, and uploading invoices regularly will give rise to the need for an accountant with technical expertise. Hiring an accountant and paying them, adds to the burden on small businesses. It’s tedious to maintain separate books of accounts for every state involved in the supply of goods/services and assess the records of various entities involved in every single transaction. To cope with the system, small businesses might use the services of licensed third parties that help firms comply with the GST regime. For this convenience, small businesses will have to dish out a sum ranging from Rs.1000-Rs.5000, depending on the kind of service that is rendered to them.
4. Registration will be mandatory for e-commerce suppliers and operators
Businesses carrying out activities related to e-commerce should register under GST irrespective of their annual turnover rate. Unlike other types of businesses, e-commerce firms will not be eligible for threshold exemptions or for the Composition Scheme (which allows firms to file their tax returns on a quarterly basis instead of 3 times a year and pay taxes at a much lower rate).
Also, e-commerce firms should register for GST in every single state where they supply goods.
Overall, GST simplifies the entire process of filing and paying taxes. It will also increase the competition between SMEs by unifying the Indian market. If you’re proactive and take care of your GST compliance measures beforehand, you can minimize the potential negative effects of the new regime on your business. In the long term, GST is expected to have a positive impact on SMEs and the Indian economy as a whole.
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