Question 1

Which GST office handles Puthagaram businesses?

Accepted Answer

Businesses in Puthagaram (PIN 600099) generally fall under the CGST Chennai North Commissionerate, with state-jurisdiction cases handled by the Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes Department. Your exact division and range can be confirmed from your GSTIN on the GST portal. We regularly appear before this jurisdiction for registrations, clarifications and hearings, so we know the local practice and documentation preferences.

Question 2

What is the process for e-invoice setup?

Accepted Answer

The process runs in clear stages: Applicability check; IRP registration; Software configuration; Testing and training. A senior consultant reviews your file at each stage rather than passing it to a data-entry desk, and you receive a confirmation with the filed documents once it is complete. You always know which stage your work is at — we update you on WhatsApp instead of leaving you to follow up.

Question 3

Can I run different invoice series for different branches or types of sales?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The rules expressly permit one or multiple series of invoice numbers, so you can run separate series for each branch, counter or category, for example RET/001 for retail billing and EXP/001 for exports, under the same GSTIN. Each series must independently be consecutive and unique within the financial year, and all series must be reported in the documents table of GSTR-1. For businesses under the e-invoicing mandate, the IRP validates that a document number is not repeated within the year for the GSTIN, so overlapping series will cause IRN rejections. We help Puthagaram businesses design clean series structures; call +91 - 9600 606 444.

Question 4

Do I need to generate e-invoices for my retail B2C sales too?

Accepted Answer

No. The e-invoice mandate covers B2B supplies, supplies to SEZs, exports and credit or debit notes for such transactions. B2C invoices are not reported to the IRP at present. However, taxpayers with aggregate turnover above Rs.500 crore must print a dynamic QR code on B2C invoices to enable digital payment, which is a separate requirement from e-invoicing. So a retailer in Puthagaram with Rs.8 crore turnover generates IRNs only for its B2B and export invoices while billing walk-in customers normally. Configuring your billing software to segregate the two flows avoids accidental non-compliance.

Question 5

What is the penalty if I am covered by e-invoicing but do not generate IRNs?

Accepted Answer

The consequences are serious. An invoice issued without an IRN by a mandated taxpayer is not a valid tax invoice, which exposes you to penalty under Section 122 of Rs.10,000 or the tax due, whichever is higher, per invoice for non-issuance, and Rs.25,000 per invoice for an incorrect invoice. Goods moving on such invoices can be detained, and, most damaging commercially, your B2B customers may lose their input tax credit and will quickly stop buying from you. Large buyers now routinely verify IRNs before releasing payments. If you have crossed Rs.5 crore and have not started, regularise immediately rather than waiting for a notice.

Question 6

Are any businesses exempt from e-invoicing even above Rs.5 crore turnover?

Accepted Answer

Yes. CBIC has exempted certain categories irrespective of turnover: banks, insurers and other financial institutions including NBFCs, goods transport agencies transporting goods by road, suppliers of passenger transportation services, admission to cinema exhibitions in multiplexes, SEZ units, and government departments and local authorities. Note that SEZ developers are covered by the mandate even though SEZ units are exempt. If you fall in an exempt category you should still verify vendor e-invoices you receive, because your ITC depends on their compliance. When in doubt about applicability, call +91 - 9600 606 444 for a quick assessment of your registrations.

Question 7

Is e-invoicing compulsory for my business, and at what turnover?

Accepted Answer

E-invoicing is mandatory for registered businesses whose aggregate turnover has exceeded Rs.5 crore in any financial year from 2017-18 onwards, for their B2B supplies and exports. The Rs.5 crore limit applies from 1 August 2023. Once you cross the threshold in any year, the mandate applies from the start of the next financial year and continues permanently, even if turnover later falls. Note that turnover is computed PAN-wide across all GSTINs, not branch-wise. If your books show you crossing Rs.5 crore this year, plan the IRP setup in advance rather than scrambling in April.

Question 8

How do I register on the Invoice Registration Portal and set up e-invoicing?

Accepted Answer

Registration is done on the e-invoice portal einvoice1.gst.gov.in using your GSTIN; the system verifies you through an OTP sent to your GST-registered mobile and email, after which you create IRP login credentials. Businesses already registered on the e-way bill portal can use the same credentials. You then choose how invoices will be reported: direct portal entry, the free offline utility, or API integration through your accounting software such as Tally or a GSP. ChennaiGST handles the complete setup including software configuration and staff training for businesses in Puthagaram for Rs.1,999; call +91 - 9600 606 444 to schedule it.

Question 9

We execute contracts for government departments in Puthagaram. Is there still a concessional GST rate?

Accepted Answer

No. The concessional 12 percent rate that earlier applied to most works contracts supplied to the Central and State Governments and local authorities was withdrawn with effect from 18 July 2022, and such contracts are now generally taxable at 18 percent. Contractors with pre-2022 agreements should check their price escalation clauses, because the rate change is a statutory variation. Remember also that government recipients deduct GST TDS at 2 percent on payments where the contract value exceeds Rs.2.5 lakh, which you must accept on the portal to receive credit. We advise government contractors in Puthagaram on both sides of this; call +91 - 9600 606 444.

Question 10

What is the difference between GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B?

Accepted Answer

GSTR-1 is a detailed invoice-wise statement of your sales, filed by the 11th of the next month. It does not involve any tax payment but it feeds your customers' GSTR-2B for input tax credit. GSTR-3B is a self-declared summary return, due on the 20th, where you report total sales, claim input tax credit and pay the net tax in cash or through credit. Both must match; mismatches between GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are a common trigger for notices from the department, which is why we reconcile them before every filing.

Question 11

We hire security guards from an agency. Should they charge GST or should we pay it ourselves?

Accepted Answer

Check the agency's constitution. Since 1 January 2019, security services by way of supply of security personnel provided by any person other than a body corporate to a registered person fall under reverse charge, so your business pays the 18 percent directly and claims credit. If the agency is a body corporate, such as a private limited company, it charges GST under forward charge on its invoice. Recipients registered under the composition scheme are excluded from this reverse charge entry. Businesses in Puthagaram commonly pay agencies' forward-charge invoices while also missing their own RCM cases, so an annual review of security and manpower bills is worthwhile.

Question 12

What falls under the 18 percent standard rate of GST now?

Accepted Answer

The 18 percent slab is the standard rate for most services and for goods that are neither essentials nor demerit items. Notably, several products that earlier suffered 28 percent moved down to 18 percent from 22 September 2025: air conditioners, televisions of all sizes, dishwashers, cement, small cars and motorcycles up to 350cc, and most auto parts. Apparel and footwear priced above Rs.2,500 per piece also fall at 18 percent. Most professional, business support and repair services billed by professional firms continue at 18 percent with full input tax credit.

Question 13

Is the late fee charged on delayed returns the same thing as a penalty?

Accepted Answer

No, they are legally distinct. Late fee under Section 47 is an automatic, fixed daily charge for filing a return after its due date, computed by the portal and payable in cash before the return is accepted; no officer discretion or notice is involved. Penalty, under provisions such as Sections 122 to 125, is imposed through adjudication for specified offences, requires a show cause notice and hearing, and can be contested or reduced. Interest under Section 50 is a third, separate levy compensating for delayed payment. A delayed return with tax due can therefore attract all three simultaneously, each on its own footing.

Question 14

Are any goods exempt from GST when transported by a GTA?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Transport by a GTA of agricultural produce, milk, salt and foodgrains including flours and pulses, organic manure, newspapers and magazines registered with the Registrar of Newspapers, relief materials for victims of calamities, and defence or military equipment is exempt regardless of freight value. Note that the older exemptions for small consignments, Rs.1,500 for a full truckload and Rs.750 for a single consignee, were withdrawn with effect from 18 July 2022, so ordinary cargo enjoys no value-based relief now. Transporters serving agricultural markets should describe the produce accurately on the consignment note to support the exemption.

Question 15

Which purchases commonly attract GST under reverse charge for a regular business?

Accepted Answer

Under Section 9(3), the recipient pays tax on notified supplies. The entries a typical business in Puthagaram encounters are: goods transport agency services, services of advocates and arbitral tribunals, sponsorship provided to companies and partnership firms, services of directors, security services from non-corporate providers, renting of passenger motor vehicles from non-corporate operators charging five percent, import of services, and renting of property from unregistered landlords in notified cases. Each month, scan your expense ledger for these heads, pay the tax in cash through GSTR-3B, and claim it back as ITC where eligible. Missed RCM is among the top audit findings; call +91 - 9600 606 444 for an RCM exposure review.

Question 16

What are the current GST rate slabs after the GST 2.0 changes?

Accepted Answer

From 22 September 2025, following the 56th GST Council meeting, India moved to a simplified two-slab structure: a merit rate of 5 percent and a standard rate of 18 percent. The earlier 12 percent and 28 percent slabs were abolished. A special 40 percent rate applies to a short list of luxury and demerit goods, while the concessional rates of 3 percent on gold and silver and 0.25 percent on rough diamonds continue. Businesses in Puthagaram should re-verify the rate on every product they sell, because hundreds of items changed slabs on that date.

Question 17

Which food items became completely tax-free under GST 2.0?

Accepted Answer

From 22 September 2025, UHT milk, pre-packaged and labelled paneer and chena, and all Indian breads including roti, chapati, paratha and khakhra attract nil GST. In the pharma space, thirty-three notified lifesaving drugs and medicines for cancer and rare diseases also moved to nil rate. Remember that selling nil-rated goods still has compliance effects: you issue a bill of supply instead of a tax invoice for such items, and input tax credit attributable to nil-rated supplies must be reversed proportionately under Rules 42 and 43. Grocery retailers in Puthagaram commonly need help splitting mixed billing correctly.

Question 18

What are the rules for numbering GST invoices?

Accepted Answer

The invoice serial number must be consecutive, must not exceed sixteen characters, and may contain alphabets, numerals and the special characters hyphen and slash, in one or multiple series. Each number must be unique for a financial year, so most businesses restart their series every April with a year prefix such as 2026-27/001. Gaps in a series invite questions during audit because officers may suspect unreported invoices, and cancelled invoice numbers should be retained in records with the cancelled copy. The document series you use must also be declared in Table 13 of GSTR-1 each period.

Question 19

Can I get e-invoice setup done online without visiting the office?

Accepted Answer

Yes, the entire process can be handled online. You share scanned documents on WhatsApp or email, we prepare and file everything on the GST portal, and you receive the acknowledgement and filed copies digitally. Businesses in Puthagaram regularly complete e-invoice setup with us without a single office visit. If a physical verification or personal hearing is required by the department, we guide you through it.

Question 20

Is there a GST consultant near Puthagaram for e invoice registration?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We serve Puthagaram and the surrounding areas from our office at Porur, Chennai - 600 116, Tamil Nadu, and most e-invoice setup work is completed online — you send documents on WhatsApp and we handle the portal work. If you prefer in-person help, we offer doorstep document pickup across Puthagaram and you are welcome to visit our office. Reach us on +91 - 9600 606 444 between 9 AM and 8 PM, Monday to Saturday.

Question 21

How long does e-invoice setup take in Puthagaram?

Accepted Answer

1-2 working days. That assumes your documents are complete and there is no departmental query. We start the same day we receive your papers and tell you the realistic completion date upfront rather than an optimistic one. Where the GST portal or the officer causes delay — clarifications, physical verification or system issues — we track it daily and keep you informed on WhatsApp.

Aspect	With ChennaiGST	DIY / Unattended
Keeping up with changes	Rate changes, portal updates and new thresholds such as the Rs.5 crore e-invoice limit are tracked by us and applied to your case proactively.	Changes are discovered after the fact — often through a rejected filing, a blocked e-way bill or a departmental letter.
Portal credentials and data	Logins handled by a small engaged team under strict confidentiality, with credentials stored securely and never passed onward.	Passwords circulating on chats with freelancers and part-timers, and no accountability for who has accessed your business data.
Registration and amendments	Query-resistant applications prepared correctly the first time, with supporting documents matched to what proper officers actually verify.	Repeated clarification memos and resubmissions, with weeks lost because a rent agreement or premises photograph did not meet expectations.
Annual return preparation	Monthly reconciliations roll naturally into GSTR-9, filed comfortably before 31 December with figures already agreed through the year.	Twelve months of unmatched data reconstructed in December, with differences discovered too late to be corrected cleanly.
Late fees and interest	Filings go in ahead of statutory dates, so the Rs.50-per-day late fee and 18 percent interest never arise.	Late fees accumulate silently every delayed day, and interest on unpaid tax runs at 18 percent per annum.
Record keeping	Every return, challan, acknowledgement and working paper archived in an organised folder, retrievable in minutes years later.	Documents scattered across email, downloads and old phones; assembling records for a bank or an audit takes days.

E-Invoice Setup in Puthagaram - Fast and Affordable

Get a Free GST Consultation

Trade Profile and GST Jurisdiction for Puthagaram

Why Puthagaram Businesses Choose ChennaiGST

Experience Across Trades and Sectors

E-Commerce Seller Reconciliation, Including TCS

Free Health Check of Your Past Filings

Zero Tolerance for Late Fees and Interest

Proactive Alerts Before Problems Become Notices

Deadline Tracking Done for You

Our E-Invoice Setup Process

Applicability check

IRP registration

Software configuration

Testing and training

Go-live and support

Documents Required for E-Invoice Setup

What E-Invoice Setup Costs in Puthagaram

What You Get

Confidence During Officer Interactions

A Professional Face on Every Invoice

Notices Answered Within the Time Limit

Books and Returns That Agree at Year End

Every Eligible Rupee of ITC Claimed

Lower Total Cost of Compliance

With ChennaiGST vs Doing It Yourself

GST Developments Worth Knowing — relevant to Puthagaram businesses

SGST and UTGST laws and the compensation cess ceilings approved

Multi-factor authentication made mandatory for e-way bill and e-invoice logins

Extruded savoury snacks at 12 per cent, car seats and railway air conditioners clarified

Frequently Asked Questions

Related GST Services & Nearby Areas

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