GST Tale of a Non-Resident Businessman in India🌏
Mr. Kamath, a savvy businessman from the UK 🌍, decided to test the waters in the Indian market by setting up a short-term stall at the upcoming Delhi Expo 2025 🏢.
But before he could land in India, he faced the big question: does he need GST registration to undertake sales? 🧾
𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐢𝐬 Mr.Kamath? 🤔
Per Section 2(77) of the GST Act, Mr.Kamath qualifies as a "non-resident taxable person"—someone who doesn’t reside or operate permanently in India but wants to do business here 🛬.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞: 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐇𝐨𝐰? 📝
Kamath couldn’t just start right away!
According to Sections 25 and 27, he needed to apply for GST registration at least five days before commencing business 🕔. This registration would last 90 days (or the duration he specified).
The twist?
Kamath had to deposit an estimated GST amount upfront 💸, even before making a single rupee! This would later be adjusted against his actual tax liability.
𝐍𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐆𝐒𝐓 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐬 📆
Per Section 39, he had to file monthly returns. Thankfully, Section 44 spared him from filing an annual return, but he still had to stay diligent with his monthly filings 📄.
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐜𝐤: 𝐍𝐨 𝐈𝐧𝐩𝐮𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐱 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐭 😱
Being business-savvy, Kamath planned to offset GST payable on sales with GST paid on expenses (like hotel 🏨 and stall rent).
However, Section 17(5)(f) shattered that idea--non-resident taxable persons like him aren’t allowed to claim input tax credits. All that GST on hotel bills? Unrecoverable! ❌
𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐓𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐭⏳
After wrapping up his business, Kamath realized he’d overpaid GST and was eager for a refund 💰. However, because he missed filing one required return, his refund was delayed.
Frustrated, he joked to the tax officer, “𝑳𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒔 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝑰 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒏 𝒃𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔!”
The officer replied with a smile, “𝙒𝙚𝙡𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙄𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙖, Mr. Kamath! 𝙃𝙚𝙧𝙚, 𝙥𝙖𝙥𝙚𝙧𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙞𝙨 𝙠𝙞𝙣𝙜.” 👑
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