A freelancer is a self-employed person who offers his services to clients, websites, or companies by sitting in the comfort of their home. With more and more growth of the Internet in India number of freelancers, bloggers, independent professionals are on a steep rise. While the freelancing industry gives us great earning opportunities, taxation is always a sore issue. Here is the complete process of GST registration for freelancers
What is GST?
GST (Goods and Services Tax) is a sort of indirect tax that is applicable in the whole country. It replaces previously existed many types of indirect taxes.
Types of GST
There are four types of GST in India
- Central Goods and Services Tax
- State Goods and Services Tax
- Union Territory Goods and Services Act
- The integrated goods and services Tax
GST Registration for Freelances
With time more and more people are getting to know about freelancing and it becomes a massive industry of India, which generates good revenue. As per goods and services tax laws, any person supplying goods and services subject to the basic exemption limit is required to get himself registered under GST. Small or big business, GST has touched every sector of the country’s economy, and Freelancers too are not free from GST, but there are some conditions in which freelancer GST registration is applicable
Are you a freelancer or thinking about starting to build your career as a freelancer? Here are a few things you should know about the GST registration for freelancers.
Is GST required for Freelancers?
Here is the answer to is GST required for freelancers.
- There will be GST on freelancers if he provides services for clients outside of India. Even if he has a single client outside the state, he will be ineligible for the basic exemption limit of 40 lakhs.
- There will be GST on freelancer if he is living in eastern states and services he provides generate 20 lakhs in a financial year.
- There will be GST on freelancers if work generates 40 lakhs or more in a financial year and he lives in non-eastern states.
- GST registration for freelancers will be a must if he is involved in OIDAR services (Online Information and Database access And Retrieval services) which includes online gaming service, advertising on Internet, selling E-books, music, soft wares.
So now you get an answer to the question is GST required for freelancers, next thing is what if you ignore government rules?
What happens if you are not registered under Freelancer GST registration
- Gst registration for GST on freelancers is required because no company will appoint you as a freelance worker. After all, you didn’t have freelancer GST registration.
- According to GST law, if someone avails any services from a service provider who is not registered under GST, recipient of such services shall be liable to pay the imposed GST to the government on the behalf of an unregistered service provider which makes it important for the GST registration for freelancers.
Is there any penalty for non-registration?
Yes, there is a penalty if you don’t register yourself for GST and it applies to you according to conditions mentioned by the government about GST freelancers.
- Penalty up to 10,000 INR or amount of tax evaded
- 100 per day for not filing a return
- You can also know how much do you have to make to file taxes.
How will the Freelancer be taxed under GST?
According to GST freelancers rules, you are liable to pay GST tax at 18% (9% CGST and 9% SGST/UGST) on services with full Input Tax Credit. A full input tax credit means the GST paid on any input service can be adjusted against the output tax liability.
- Central GST and State GST to be levied if the service provider and client are from the same state (9% CGST and 9% SGST) for GST freelancers.
- Integrated GST for GST freelancer to be levied if the service provider and client are from different states (18% IGST)
Freelancer GST Registration
You can register yourself through the GST portal for GST freelancer. You will need a PAN number for registration. After filling that form you will get a temporary reference number (TRN), after getting TRN number you have to complete part B of the application form within 15 days otherwise your TRN number will get expired. You can use your issued TRN number for login. After entering the portal, you have to complete the application. Enter the SAC (Service Accounting Code) of service you are providing.
Compliance’s after GST registration for Freelancers
Once you get yourself registered under GST freelancer after knowing is GST required for freelancers, you will need to comply with some things every month
- You must issue a tax invoice for every payment received
- Must upload each Invoice issued by you to the government
- You are required to file three monthly returns (GST-1, GSTR-2, and GSTR-3)
- You have to pay all the tax dues before the 20th of the following month
What is the GST E-invoice?
An electronic invoice to be generated by the taxpayer and he needs to report it to the GST system.
- The E-invoice contains a unique identifier called an invoice reference number (IRN). This IRN will be assigned to individual E-invoices by the invoice registration portal (IRP)
- You don’t need to issue E-invoice through the GST portal. It can be generated through billing. Accounting, ERP software
How to create E-Invoice
- Generate Invoice from regular accounting software
- Generate JSON file of the invoices from the Accounting/ Invoicing software
- Upload the JSON file in IRP (invoice Registration Portal)
- IRP will generate IRN and validate the IRN of JSON if already uploaded by the supplier. IRP will add its digital signature on the invoice data as well as QR code to the JSON
- The registered Invoice will be sent to the seller and buyer on their mail ids as provided in the Invoice.
What should the Invoice contain?
- Invoice reference number, code for invoice type, invoice date.
- The legal name of a supplier which appears in PAN, GST number, Address, State name, Pin code
- The legal name of the buyer, GST number, State code, Address, State name
- Payment mode, Account number, IFSC code, Pin code
Can you cancel E-invoice?
The E-Invoice mechanism enables invoices to be cancelled. Cancellation should be reported to IRN within 24 hours. Any cancellation after 24hrs could not be possible on IRN.