Given how there is a new tax system in place, you ought to familiarize yourself with it if you are a vendor or business owner. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a single unified tax that consumers have to pay the central government on taxable goods and services. The GST Act was passed to replace the old tax structure that was plagued with double taxation or the cascading effect of indirect taxes like Value Added Tax (VAT), Excise Duty, Entertainment Tax, and so on. In this article, we will quickly run through the process of making a GST payment online.
Primary Types of GST
Before we get to making GST payments online, you need to know the types of GST you will be dealing with:
Integrated GST (IGST)
Whenever you carry out a transaction between states, you will have to pay this tax to the central government.
Central GST (CGST)
When you conduct transactions within the same state, you will have to pay this tax to the central government.
State GST (SGST)
When you conduct transactions within the same state, you will have to pay this tax to the state government.
Are you required to make a GST payment?
Before you proceed to make your GST payments and figure out the process and the best methods for the same, you need to find out which situations call for a GST payment online. Here are those scenarios:
- If you complete your registration online and make supplies of taxable goods and services
- If you have registered your business to the Goods and Services Tax under the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM)
- You will be liable to make a GST payment on the off-chance that you are an E-commerce operator and supply goods and services of various categories.
- If you are registered under the GST tax and deduct TDS, you will be required to make a GST payment online.
- If you happen to be an E-commerce operator and are registered under GST and are planning to collect TCS, you are required to pay GST.
What are the Modes of Payment I can use?
You can use the following payment methods to make your GST payments online:
Using Credit Ledger for Payment
If you qualify for the credit ledger, you can claim Input Tax Credit to make your GST payments online. Keep in mind that the Input Tax Credit will cover only your GST payments, not your penalties, late fees, and interest.
Using Cash Ledger for Payment
You may make your GST payments online or offline using cash ledger. Either way, you need to ensure that the GST portal generates your challan.
How should I go about making a GST payment Online?
The process of making a GST payment online is simple and straight forward. It involves the following steps:
- You need to visit the official GST site and enter your essential details like your username, password, and the captcha code you see, and then, log in to your account on the GST portal online.
- Once this is complete, you need to visit the ‘Services’ tab, head to payments, and click on the ‘Create Challan’ option.
- Be sure to enter the amount that you are liable to pay and click on the payment method of your choice. You will find a variety of payment options to choose from, such as over the counter, Netbanking, Debit Card, Credit Card, and NEFT/RTGS. Now, you will need to submit all the vital details and click on the option that says ‘Generate Challan.’
- After this, you will get a summary of the challan that contains all your vital information. Hit the MAKE PAYMENT button to make your GST payment online.
- When the payment goes through, you will receive a challan that lists out all the tax-related details. The challan for this payment will be transferred to your cash ledger account.
There you have it – an easy-to-use, step-by-step guide to handling your GST payments online. It is advisable to dive deeper and find out about the GST portal in detail before you make your GST payments on the portal.