Record of goods lost, stolen, gifts to be maintained in GST

GST is the biggest tax reform since Independence and is supposed to make it easier to do business

A record of goods lost, stolen or destroyed as well as those given as free sample and gifts will have to be maintained under the new goods and services tax regime, which kicks in from July 1.

Also, each volume of books of account will have to be maintained with serial numbers and any entry in registers, accounts and documents will not be erased, effaced or overwritten, say draft rules for maintaining record under the GST.

The rules, released by the CBEC, provide for maintaining separate account or records for each activity, including manufacturing, trading and provision of services.

"A true and correct account of the goods or services" with relevant documents, including invoices, bills of supply, delivery challans, credit notes, debit notes, receipt, payment and refund vouchers and e-way bills will have to be maintained under the new GST regime that is scheduled to kick in from July 1.

GST is being hailed as the biggest tax reform since Independence and is supposed to make it easier to do business by reducing compliance requirements.

The rules stipulate maintaining of accounts of stock for each commodity received and supplied with clear details of "the opening balance, receipt, supply, goods lost, stolen, destroyed, written off or disposed of by way of gift or free samples and balance of stock including raw materials, finished goods, scrap and wastage thereof".

Also, a separate account of advances received, paid and adjustments will have to be maintained. Alongside, details of tax payable, tax collected and paid, input tax, input tax credit claimed, together with a register of tax invoice, credit note, debit note, delivery challan issued or received during any tax period will have to be maintained.

Particulars including name and address of suppliers as well as those receiving the supplies will have to be kept, the rules said, adding that accounts have to be serially numbered.

"Any entry in registers, accounts and documents shall not be erased, effaced or overwritten, and all incorrect entries shall be scored out under attestation and thereafter correct entry shall be recorded," it said.

Where registers and other documents are maintained electronically, there must be a log of every entry edited or deleted.

"Unless proved otherwise, if any documents, registers, or any books of account belonging to a registered person are found at any premises other than those mentioned in the certificate of registration, they shall be presumed to be maintained by the said registered person ," the rules stated.

Manufacturers have to maintain monthly production accounts, showing the quantitative details of raw materials or services used in the manufacture and quantitative details of the goods so manufactured, including the waste and by-products thereof.

Service providers, on the other hand, will have to maintain the accounts showing the quantitative details of goods used in the provision of each service, details of input services utilised and the services supplied.

All physical records, including invoices, bills of supply, credit and debit notes, and delivery challans have to be preserved for a particular period to be provided in the GST laws.

A proper back-up of electronic records will have to be maintained and preserved in a manner that the information can be restored within reasonable period of time in the event of destruction of such records due to accidents or natural causes.