GST: What is the procedure to be followed in case of a sale return?

Is it necessary for all commission agents to register under GST irrespective of the turnover, according to the Section 24? If not, request you to explain which type of agents should compulsorily register?

The Central Goods and Services Tax Act defines an agent as a person, including a factor, broker etc, who carries on the business of supply or receipt of goods or services or both on behalf of another.

According to the registration provisions under the GST law, certain persons are mandatorily required to take registration even though their annual aggregate turnover may be below the prescribed general threshold limit of Rs 20 lakh. Such a list of persons who are mandatorily required to obtain registration under GST law also includes an agent who undertakes taxable supply of goods or services or both on behalf of other taxable persons.

We run a small business with a turnover of Rs 42 lakh. Can you please help me understand sale value, maximum retail price (MRP) and transactional value for GST with an example?

Under GST law, tax in respect of all supplies is required to be paid according to the transaction value, which is defined to mean the “price actually paid or payable for goods/ services between unrelated parties”. There is no concept under the GST law for levy of tax based on the retail sale price of the goods and accordingly, there is no differentiation in valuation provisions which are applicable to MRP-based goods and others.

As a result, if you are dealing in MRP goods, you should be required to determine the transaction value of the goods and charge-applicable GST based on such transaction value. For instance, suppose you are selling a packet of food item with MRP of Rs 100, in a retail sale transaction without any discount. Assuming the GST rate applicable for the food item is 18 per cent, you should be required to indicate Rs 84.75 as the transaction value (or taxable value) of the food item on the tax invoice and Rs 15.25 as total GST (which may have to be further bifurcated into Central Tax or State Tax if it’s a local transaction).

What is the procedure to be followed in case of a sale return?

GST law recognises the concept of sales return and stipulates specific provisions for treatment of such transactions. At the time of undertaking a sale transaction, the supplier must issue a tax invoice charging applicable GST. If due to any issue, the goods are returned by the customer to the supplier, the customer should be required to send the goods back under the cover of a delivery challan. In respect of such sales return, the supplier should be eligible to issue a credit note for claiming tax adjustment. However, such credit note should be issued by September 30 of the next financial year (succeeding the financial year in which the sale was undertaken) or before filing of the GST annual return, whichever is earlier.

Upon issuance of a credit note, the customer should be required to reverse the input tax credit availed at the time of purchase of goods being returned.

Amit Bhagat

We have submitted details of the Cenvat credit we intended to carry forward from the previous regime to GST in the Tran-1. However, after submission of the details, we have realised that we have carried forward less Cenvat credit than what we were entitled to. Please suggest what can we do.

For the purpose of carrying forward the Cenvat credit and input tax credit pertaining to pre-GST laws, a person migrating its pre-GST registration to GST is required to submit the details of eligible tax of eligible duties in prescribed form GST Tran-1.

Earlier, there was no provision enabling a registered person to revise the details already submitted in GST Tran-1. However, recently the government has permitted one-time revision of GST Trans-1. Accordingly, you should now be able to revise the GST Tran-1 submitted earlier, and claim additional eligible Cenvat credit.

Do note that the due date for the submission of the revised details in GST Trans-1 is October 31, 2017.