New GST rules have run GSPs in troubled waters; deadline might be missed

Ever since new rules and revisions have been added by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, technology implementation has been adversely affected, with less time available for software testing and security compliance, three GST Suvidha Providers (GSPs) told ET requesting anonymity.

These GSPs are private companies, a total of 34 that have been selected by GSTN to help businesses of all sizes comply with GST.

GSTN is a private company set up to provide IT infrastructure and services to state and central governments, taxpayers and other stakeholders to ease the transition to GST.

During a review meeting that was held last Friday in Gurugram, some GSPs have even urged the GSTN to push the deadline by which business taxpayers have to file invoices by at least a month. This would allow GSPs to carry out testing and security compliance as per new rules.

As per a senior GSTN official, the backbone required for uploading invoices would come into effect from July 1 and taxpayers would need to file their returns and pay July taxes only by August 10, by when the system would be ready.

"In case few GSPs are not ready, their customers can use the GSTN's offline tool to upload invoices," said Prakash Kumar, chief executive of GSTN. "Taxpayers having small number of business to business invoices, like retailers and small traders, can do the data entry on GSTN portal itself and they will also not require the services of GSPs," he added.

A service provider said that their concern is with application security, since they would not have much time to test the same in case dates are not deferred.