GST HELPDESK: Small firms

How will firms with a turnover of less than Rs 20 lakh p.a. be treated under GST? Is it mandatory for every trader to get their GST registration done? How will those who have not got their business digitised get evaluated under GST? Raji Venu, Anna Nagar

The threshold limit for registration under GST is Rs 20 lakh turnover in a FY. Hence it is not mandatory for dealers outside this bracket to get registered. However, they can get themselves registered voluntarily. Dealers dealing with B2C has no implication as they will neither pay tax nor will be taking credit. But, persons dealing with B2B will face a challenge as the registered person buying from an unregistered dealer must pay GST under reverse charge and must comply with certain cumbersome documentation. A Registered person who is not maintaining computerised accounts will find it very difficult as the uploading of returns in the GST portal is very elaborate and would require a spreadsheet template to be filled and uploaded.