Tally walking hand-in-hand with GSTPs for a compliant India

Tally Solutions,Pvt Ltd participated in the “National Conclave on GST” organized by ICAI (The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India) on 1^st and 2^nd June at Hotel Le Meridian in New Delhi. As the country approaches the first anniversary of GST in a month’s time, it was an ideal platform to reflect on the experiences of the past 1 year and what to expect in the next few months.

Recently at the 27^th GST Council Meet, the government had approved of a simplified and semi-automatic invoice matching system, which is expected to work in favour of the small businesses. The new system will put to rest the earlier concerns on timely ITC and restriction on the cash flow, which will not affect the day-to-day business operations.

Rakesh Agarwal, Product Management Head at Tally Solutions was part of the conclave and addressed the gathering on the importance of technology to ensure effective compliance and increase the adoption numbers by the small tax player. He also said, “After a lot of speculation, the government has made a decision on the simplified return filing process. Our experience from the past 1 year shows that earlier the awareness and education on a return filing model begins, the better it is for the whole economy to move to new process with minimum disruptions. A key component of the new process is that the buyer is eligible for ITC on the basis of the invoices uploaded by the seller. In such a model, it becomes extremely critical for businesses to adopt a technologically robust and reliable software.”

Another key area discussed in the conclave was the mandatory implementation of e-way bill in the country, from 3^rd June onwards. To ensure businesses can transition easily to the new law, Tally’s most recent release, Tally.ERP 9 Release 6.4 makes it very simple to generate and manage e-way bills. The solution is flexible and accommodates various exceptional circumstances that different businesses might find themselves in, while complying with the new reform.

To emphasise on the importance of CAs and GSTPs in the new tax era, Tally has launched initiatives like the GST Pro Programme and have taken measures to build the CA community. The GST Pro Programme targets the growing GSTP community, with an aim to build a powerful network of GST Consultants and extend the benefits of this network to businesses across the country. Currently there are approximately 5000 GSTPs part of this programme. The CA community has a dedicated website with approximately 6000 registered CAs. As part of this community, CAs can participate in discussions around GST and be updated on latest developments. They have access to exclusive articles and videos of eminent CA and industry leaders.

Rakesh added, “Thanks to institutions like ICAI who have worked endlessly, the initial months of uncertainty have given way to a confident business owner and tax practitioner who is well versed with different GST returns. Going forward, it will become even more critical for all businesses to automate their book of accounts for a simple and care-free filing experience. We have participated in approximately 22 ICAI events in the last one year and are working very closely with ICAI and the CA community to understand their needs and requirements. Our future line of products will continue to be focussed on them.”

The 2-day conclave addressed concepts related to Place of Supply, Input Tax Credit, Compliance under GSTN and E-way Bill.