New GST Enrolment Facility for Unregistered Suppliers Selling Goods Through E-Commerce Operators

Introduction

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has introduced a new enrolment facility for unregistered suppliers who sell goods through e-commerce operators (ECOs). This facility allows unregistered suppliers to obtain an enrolment number without having to register for GST, provided that they meet certain conditions.

Eligibility Conditions: To be eligible for enrolment, unregistered suppliers must:

• Only supply goods through ECOs.
• Only supply goods within one State/Union Territory (UT).
• Not make any inter-state supplies.
• Have a valid Permanent Account Number (PAN).

Enrolment Process To enrol, unregistered suppliers must visit the GST portal and follow the following steps:

1. Click on the "User Services" tab and select "Generate User Id for Unregistered Applicant".
2. Click "Yes" on the warning window.
3. Check the box next to "To apply as a supplier to e commerce operators".
4. Fill out the form that appears.
5. Upon successful validation of your PAN, an enrolment number will be generated.

Benefits of Enrolment Enrolled suppliers will be able to:

• Generate invoices for their supplies and collect GST from customers.
• View their GST liability and file GST returns.
• Claim input tax credit on their purchases.
• Avoid penalties for non-compliance with GST laws.

GSTN APIs for E-Commerce Operators In addition to the new enrolment facility for unregistered suppliers, GSTN has also provided APIs for ECOs to integrate with GSTN to obtain the details and facilitate the unregistered suppliers. These APIs are for validating the demographic details of the said suppliers and also for use in tracking and reporting supplies by such persons.

The following are the details of the APIs:

• Unregistered Applicants API: To get the details of an Unregistered Applicant by passing the enrolment ID in the GET request.
• Unregistered Applicants Validation API: To validate the Mobile Number and Email ID of an Enrolment ID.

To access and integrate the APIs successfully, ECOs should note the following:

• The APIs are not publicly available and ECOs need to contact a Goods and Services Tax Provider (GSP) to access them.
• To access the APIs, ECOs need to obtain an Authentication Token from the authentication API. The API specs are available on the GSTN developer portal under Public API à Authentication.
• To access the public APIs, ECOs need to obtain the authentication token by using the GSPs credentials.
• The API specs for the two eComm APIs are available on the GSTN developer portal under Public API eComm operators.
• The response of both APIs will be Base64 encoded, no encryption is used.

Benefits of Using the APIs Using the GSTN APIs can offer several benefits to ECOs, including:

• Reduced manual workload: The APIs can automate the process of validating the demographic details of unregistered suppliers and tracking and reporting their supplies. This can reduce the manual workload on ECOs and help them to save time and resources.
• Improved compliance: The APIs can help ECOs to comply with GST regulations more effectively. For example, ECOs can use the APIs to ensure that unregistered suppliers have a valid enrolment number before they start selling on their platform.
• Better customer service: The APIs can help ECOs to provide better customer service to their unregistered suppliers. For example, ECOs can use the APIs to provide their suppliers with real-time updates on their GST liability and returns.

Conclusion The new GST enrolment facility and APIs for unregistered suppliers are welcome steps that will simplify tax compliance for small businesses and individuals who sell goods through ECOs. If you are an unregistered supplier who meets the eligibility conditions, we encourage you to enrol for GST today. ECOs are also encouraged to contact a GSP to learn more about how they can access and use the APIs.

We recommend that you consult with your tax advisor/CA/ Tax Practitioner to ensure that you are complying with all GST laws and regulations applicable related to you.

More information on the new GST enrolment facility for unregistered suppliers is available on the GSTN portal at the following link:

• Facility of enrolment for supply of goods through e-commerce operators by GST un-registered suppliers.
• Facility for the e- commerce operators through whom unregistered suppliers of goods can supply goods.

If you have any issues with this blog or if you have any suggestions for improvement, please do not hesitate to contact us: pretaxessolutions@gmail.com.

Follow us for more updates on GST and other tax-related matters.