GST — registration, returns and credit
The compliance that recurs every month rather than once a year — registration thresholds and the compulsory cases, the return calendar and what being late now costs, and why input tax credit turns on GSTR-2B rather than on your invoice.
10 articles · written and reviewed by CA K Sanjay Bhargav, Chartered Accountant
Cornerstone guide
GSTR-9 and 9C for FY 2025-26: Who Files, and by When
Due 31 December 2026. The turnover thresholds, who is outside it entirely, the late fee slab, and the IMS change that moved Table 8A this year.
Cornerstone guide
GST Notices: From ASMT-10 to a Demand, and How to Reply
GST demands rarely arrive without warning. There is a sequence — automated mismatch intimation, scrutiny, pre-notice intimation, then the show-cause. Each rung has its own reply window, and answering early is far cheaper than defending late.
Cornerstone guide
Can't File an Old GST Return? The Three-Year Bar
Non-filing used to mean an accumulating late fee. It can now mean the return becomes permanently unfilable — with the liability still outstanding and no clean route to regularise it.
57th GST Council on 7 October 2026: What Is on the Table
The first full sitting in a year, and the first since GST 2.0 finished the rate work. The agenda is plumbing: who gets registered how fast, what credit is blocked, how refunds move, and whether credit can follow a business across state lines. What is confirmed, what is reported, and what to do on the day.
GST Notice Only Uploaded on the Portal: Is That Valid Service?
An ex parte order for a notice that only ever existed on a portal tab you did not open. Three High Courts this summer held that is not service at all. The Supreme Court has issued notice on the same question. What that does to your order, your appeal clock, and when the ground is already gone.
GSTR-9 for FY 2025-26: Table 8A Is Built From Your IMS Actions
Every earlier annual return let you treat Table 8A as a given. This year it is the sum of what you accepted, or failed to reject, in IMS across twelve months. Where the credit went missing, how to get it back before the last GSTR-3B that can carry it, and why December is too late.
RREP or REP: Which GST Rate Your Project Falls Into
Every other GST question on a project — credit, the 80% condition, the reversal at completion — assumes you already know which bucket you are in. This is that decision.
GST Composition Scheme: When It Helps and When It Costs
The scheme is usually explained as a lower rate with less paperwork. The decision that actually matters is who your customers are — because a composition dealer selling to registered businesses is structurally more expensive than a regular one.
GST Registration: The Process, and the 30-Day Trap
Applying late is usually treated as a paperwork delay. It is not — missing the 30-day window from becoming liable permanently forfeits input tax credit on the stock you are holding when you register.
Input Tax Credit: Why GSTR-2B Decides What You Can Claim
Holding a tax invoice and having paid your supplier does not make the credit yours. Since January 2022, appearance in GSTR-2B is a statutory condition — and three further rules can take credit away after you have claimed it.
Other topics
- Tax notices and assessments
- Business tax, audit and filing
- Foreign income, RSUs and ESOPs
- NRI money, property and repatriation
- Foreign-owned companies in India
- Bank finance and company compliance
- Internal controls, IT audit and data protection
- Service exports, GCCs and professionals
- Manufacturing and industry
- Real estate, JDAs and development
- The Income-tax Act 2025 transition
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