Switching to GST must have resulted in a lot of savings for you in terms of taxes. While savings mean more disposable income for you, you also need to manage your finances.
The good news is that just like how you can pay taxes like GST online, you can also manage your finances online!
How To Manage Your Finances Online?
Here are some basic ways in which you can manage your finances online:
Budgeting
The starting point for managing your finances would be your cash flow. To determine your cash flow, you need to enter your monthly income and expenditure in an online personal budgeting software. This allows you to track your monthly income and expenses to find out if you are deviating from the budget or not. When you are in charge of your cash flow, then you can start investing.
Credit Score
Your credit score determines the amount of loan that banks and financial institutions will sanction to you. The higher your credit score, the better chances you have of a higher loan amount and a competitive rate of interest. To keep a good credit score, you need to ensure that you pay off your credit card bills on time as well as EMIs for home loans. You can get your credit score from reputed credit rating agencies like CRISIL for free.
Debt Optimization
Ensuring that you reduce your burden of debt is also part of smart financial management. You can use software to track your loans and pay off the expensive loans first to reduce your interest burden.
Financial Goals
There are online tools that enable you to set your financial goals. You can keep updating the site with your latest expenditure to see how much more you need to invest to reach your financial goals like retirement, higher education for children, and more.
Investment Performance
You can create your portfolio online through specialized software, which takes into account your risk profile. There are funds recommended, including the proportion that you need to invest in. These funds are well researched to make your investing easy.
Insurance
Your insurance requirement keeps changing with the stage of life that you are in. If you are in the early stages of your career with a young family, then you need higher insurance cover to protect your dependents in your absence. There are online tools that help you calculate your insurance requirements. You can purchase insurance policies online.
Taxes
You can estimate your tax liability by entering all the information regarding your income at the online tax portal of the income tax department. Once you know your tax liability, you can make payments online. You can e-verify your return, and the return will be processed automatically.
Online Banking
Making payments is easy, with most suppliers and vendors providing online payment facilities. This helps you in keeping track of your expenses better.
Investment Instructions
You can invest in the schemes chosen by you by choosing the online payment facility. You can give instructions to the bank for systematic investments and also systematic withdrawals.
If you own a business, you need to pay GST depending on your turnover. After applying for your GST registration, you need to track your application.
Do You Need to Register For GST?
You are liable to pay GST if you were paying indirect taxes before GST came into force, have a turnover higher than Rs. 20 lacs, or are an e-commerce aggregator, supplier’s agent, or a supplier to whom the reverse charge is applicable.
How Do I Register for GST?
The documents you would need for GST would be your PAN card, Aadhar card, business registration proof, address proof, bank account statement, and letter of authorization.
You need to complete GST REG-01 by providing your mobile number, PAN, and email ID and submit it. The Application Reference Number or ARN is then generated.
GST REG-03 needs to be filled up for additional information. You should receive the certificate of registration in 3 working days.
How Do I Track My GST Registration?
When it comes to gst tracking, you need to go to the gst.gov.in website and click on Services followed by Registration. The next step would be selecting the ‘track application status.’
What is the CGST Amendment Act 2018?
The following are the highlights of the cgst amendment act 2018 which will be effective from February 1, 2019:
Definitions
Adjudicating authority has been redefined by removing the ‘Central Board of Excise and Customs’ and replacing it with the ‘Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.’ There are certain definitions which have been removed in its entirety.
Scope of Supply
Clauses 1(b) relating to the import of services, 1(c) relating to consideration have been replaced. Clause 1(A) has been a new insertion.
Levy and Collection
Section 9(4)has been amended to use the reverse charge basis for tax for specified goods and services instead of all purchases from unregistered suppliers earlier.
Composition Levy
The turnover threshold has been increased to Rs. 1.5 crores from 1 crore earlier under Section 10.
Time Supply of Goods
Under Section 12 (2)(a) relating to the supply of goods, sub-section 1 of section 31 has been deleted.
Time Supply of Services
Subsection (2) of section 31 under Section 13 has been omitted.
Eligibility and Conditions for Taking the Input Tax Credit
Input tax credit for ‘bill-to-ship-to’ categories of products has been incorporated under Section 16.
Apportionment of Credit and Block Credits
The range of goods and services that can avail input tax credit has been expanded under Section 17.
Manner of Distribution of Credit by Input Service Distributor
Duty or tax under entry 92A has been added under clause (c) of Section 20
Person Liable for Registration
The registration threshold has been increased to Rs. 20 lacs from Rs. 10 lacs in certain states like Arunachal Pradesh under Section 22.
Compulsory Registration in Certain Cases
It was amended to include tax at source under Section 52 in the case of e-commerce operators.
Profit by Registering for GST
Registering for GST is quick and efficient, but you should have the required documents ready while applying for the registration. You must also update yourself on the changes in the CGST Act 2018. Take your business to the next level with GST!
