GST without tears!

03rd July 2017
GST without tears!

Software developers , hardware vendors and industry associations have come together to assist  Indian small business navigate the GST jungle
Bangalore, July 3 2017:  Finally the Goods and Services Tax regime is here. With over 50 million Micro, small and medium enterprises , required to take the digital route to taxation in the future,  many Indian, hardware and software providers have come out with  GST-friendly  solutions  for this sector. They range from  a complete hardware-n-software combo  to dedicated software tools to industry -specific solutions.
Here is a checklist to what's on offer:
Hardware-software combos:
Dell
 has launched its  GST ready range of Vostro notebooks at prices starting at Rs 25,490.  Customers have the choice of  availing a GST-ready Accounting Package from Busy and a Canon Color All-In-One Printer by paying an additional Rs  2999
 Lenovo has rolled  out of a comprehensive range of GST-ready solutions across its notebook, desktop,  tablets and all-in-one PCs starting at Rs  19,999/- (plus tax. The company has tied up with  three solution providers: IDOS, Marg and WeP Digital. Businesses that are currently evaluating the need to purchase computing devices can review all offerings available and select what is best suited to their needs. 
|HP India  has joined  KPMG  to launch a comprehensive and affordable invoicing platform – “GST solution” to help transition traders and Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The solution comprises of hardware from HP, GST invoicing software by KPMG, cloud storage for storing invoice data, uninterrupted GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) access, e-sign, GST registration and migration services.
iBall  has announced GST ready Windows 10 laptops for facilitating businesses to adopt GST in an extremely affordable and easy way. The company has collaborated with Indian software brand Marg, to offer free GST software for 6 months on the existing range of iBall CompBook laptops. available at  Rs 9,999, 12,999 and 14,299.

Software suites
Zoho   offers its GST-compliant finance suite, Zoho Finance Plus at the compelling price of Rs 2,999 per organisation per month, which includes 10 users.  The suite offers an end-to-end integrated cloud platform for businesses to manage their finances and operations, including filing of GST returns. It includes: Zoho Books,  an  accounting and invoicing software  or Zoho Invoice, the customizable, yet simple invoicing software for freelancers or businesses to get paid on time, Zoho Expense, an expense reporting solution tailor-made for businesses to automate their employee expense reimbursements, Zoho Subscriptions, a solution for subscription-based businesses to automate their recurring billing and Zoho Inventory, the order management and fulfillment solution for retailers in India.
Tally Solutions, has launched  oTally.ERP 9 Release 6, its GST ready accounting and compliance software. A beta version of the software is available to download for free atwww.tallysolutions.com/gst for users to experience. The product will be free for existing customers. For new users, the cost  is Rs 18,000  for a single user edition and Rs 54,000+applicable taxes for an unlimited multi-user edition.
StoreHippo, a flexible e-commerce platform  favoured by small enterprises,  has undertaken an overhaul of its tax engine. With this, the platform can now take care of the GST calculations for their merchants. It  covers different components such as CGST, SGST and inter-state IGST, alongside marketplaces where various sellers and buyers come from different states.
Leading global professional services organization EY has  launche DigiGST, an intelligent tax automation tool for GST, hosted on Microsoft Azure. It integrates services of both Application Service Provider (ASP) and GST Suvidha Provider (GSP). Thwe tool offers 24/7 and 365 days monitoring and control of data security by two ISO 27001 certified EY Security Operations Centres (SOCs) in Chennai and Trivandrum.
 PwC India has launched a customised software solution  to help companies in India in end-to-end automation of GST  compliance. This software will help automate month-end tax compliances and reporting for companies with options for interfacing with multiple enterprise resource planning (ERP) environments.
 Thomson Reuters has joined with  NSDL e-Governance (NSDL e-Gov), one of the pioneers of e-governance in the country, to offer an integrated GST  proposition for large and mid-sized corporations in India.  This offering will combine Thomson Reuters global ONESOURC Determination solution (which has been customized for IndiaGST) with NSDL e-Gov’s ASP compliance platform, which will be linked to NSDL e-Gov’s GSP solution.  The  offering will be an added service on NSDL e-Gov’s existing GSTSuvidha Provider portal.

Industry-specific solution
All India Gems and Jewellery Trade Federation(GJF),
  thw  national nodal trade body for the promotion and growth of trade in gems and jewellery across India,  has launched Adhigam software to assist jewellers migrating to new GST Tax regime. GJF  has started  preparing the  G&J industry on GST with seminars and webinars  starting in Mumbai.
 For the pharma trade, hCue, the digital healthcare platform, has launched hCue PharmaSmart, a highly intelligent, cloud PoS Software,  designed to assist small and medium businesses (SMB), retail pharmacy shops and chains in the country, to migrate to GST. Even during times of internet outage, pharmacies can continue their work seamlessly with multiple devices and all the information is synchronized back to the cloud once internet connectivity is restored. hCue PharmaSmart will be available over its website.   hCue has also launched a GST ready mobile billing app available for iPad and Android mobiles and tablets.
Amazon.in  has announced the setting up of 16 ‘GST Cafés’ across 11 cities to help  its sellers understand the nuances of GST and transition seamlessly through the entire process. These cafés, will be available for a duration of two weeks to train and empower sellers on the implications of the new GST tax. These support centers are set up at various Amazon Service Provider and Amazon partner sites across the country will help sellers address their queries on GST compliance and stay relevant for the upcoming GST regime. The ‘GST Cafés’ in Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore will specifically have an experienced Charted Accountant to assist sellers . The cafés in other cities will be operated by qualified Amazon.in Service Provider or Account Managers
Retailers Association of India (RAI) has tied-up with Reliance Jio-GST for introducing a simple secure tax compliance solution for implementation of  GST by retailers. Jio-GST solution will assist retailers to maintain records, file tax returns and to comply with the provisions of GST law. The mobile-first tax solution available for Rs 1,999.

Finally, a startup, born out of the need for GST guidance: GSTSTAR, is a  new age solution provider, offers products and services on GST compliance and facilitates businesses in understanding GST better. This Bangalore -based company, was founded by Infosys veterans Shailesh Agrawal and Balaji G S Rao  mentored by two other Infosys leaders V Balakrishnan and T V Mohandas Pai. Their flagship is  GSTSTAR is a comprehensive GST solution developed by Clonect Solutions.