Question 1

Which goods and services attract the new 40 percent GST rate?

Accepted Answer

The 40 percent rate is confined to luxury and demerit supplies. It covers aerated waters, caffeinated and other sugary carbonated beverages, large cars beyond the small-car specifications, motorcycles above 350cc, yachts, personal aircraft, and specified actionable claims such as betting, casinos and online money gaming. Pan masala and tobacco products continue under their earlier levy structure until the compensation cess obligations are discharged, after which they move to the 40 percent rate as notified. If your business deals in any of these lines, pricing and working capital need careful planning.

Question 2

My customer in Mumbai asked me to deliver goods directly to his buyer in Sithalapakkam. How do I bill this?

Accepted Answer

This is a bill-to ship-to transaction under Section 10(1)(b). When goods are delivered to a third party on the instruction of your customer, the law deems your customer's principal place of business as the place of supply, not the actual delivery point. So you invoice the Mumbai customer with IGST even though the goods physically moved within Tamil Nadu, and the Mumbai customer raises a second invoice on the ultimate recipient in Sithalapakkam. Only one e-way bill is needed for the movement, generated by either party with both invoice legs captured. Wrongly billing the delivery-point state is a classic error that misplaces the credit chain entirely.

Question 3

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 Sithalapakkam commonly need help splitting mixed billing correctly.

Question 4

Is GST payable on hostel or paying guest accommodation in Sithalapakkam?

Accepted Answer

A specific exemption effective 15 July 2024 covers accommodation services supplied at a value up to Rs.20,000 per person per month, provided the accommodation is supplied for a minimum continuous period of ninety days. Student hostels and working men's or women's PGs in Sithalapakkam charging within this limit for long stays are therefore exempt. Where the monthly charge exceeds Rs.20,000, or the stay is shorter than ninety days, the supply is taxable like ordinary accommodation. Operators should maintain stay records and agreements evidencing the duration, because the ninety-day condition is what officers test first during verification.

Question 5

What are OIDAR services under GST and who pays the tax on them?

Accepted Answer

OIDAR means Online Information Database Access or Retrieval services, delivered over the internet, such as cloud services, e-books, streaming, online advertising and automated e-learning. When a foreign OIDAR provider supplies these to unregistered persons in India, the foreign provider itself must take a simplified registration in Form REG-10 and file monthly return GSTR-5A. From 1 October 2023, the definition was widened, so almost every unregistered Indian recipient is covered. When the Indian recipient is GST-registered, the tax instead falls on the recipient under reverse charge as an import of services.

Question 6

Can I transfer cash ledger balance from one GSTIN to another GSTIN of the same PAN?

Accepted Answer

Yes, within limits. Under Section 49(10), unutilised IGST and CGST balances in the electronic cash ledger can be transferred through PMT-09 to the cash ledger of a distinct person, that is, another GSTIN registered on the same PAN in the same or another state. SGST balances cannot be moved across states in this manner. The transfer is not permitted if the transferring GSTIN has any unpaid liability standing in its electronic liability register. Multi-state businesses headquartered in Sithalapakkam use this to shift idle deposits to the branch that actually needs the cash, avoiding fresh working capital outflow.

Question 7

Is GST payable under reverse charge on payments made to our company directors?

Accepted Answer

It depends on the capacity in which the director is paid. CBIC Circular 140/10/2020 settles the position: remuneration to a whole-time or executive director who is an employee, paid as salary with TDS under Section 192, is outside GST entirely as an employer-employee transaction. In contrast, sitting fees, commission and professional charges paid to independent or non-executive directors, typically suffering TDS under Section 194J, are taxable and the company pays 18 percent under reverse charge, claiming ITC. Companies in Sithalapakkam should split their director payments ledger accordingly, issue self-invoices for the RCM portion, and keep board resolutions and TDS treatment consistent as supporting evidence.

Question 8

What is the difference between the electronic cash ledger and the electronic credit ledger?

Accepted Answer

The electronic cash ledger reflects actual money you have deposited through challans, plus TDS and TCS credits you have accepted; it can pay tax, interest, penalty, late fee and any other amount. The electronic credit ledger reflects input tax credit claimed through your returns, and it can be used only for paying output tax, never for interest, penalty or late fee. Both are visible under Services, then Ledgers, after login. Refund of an excess cash balance is possible, while credit is refundable only in specified cases such as exports and inverted duty structure.

Question 9

We hire cabs monthly for employee transport in Sithalapakkam. Who pays the GST?

Accepted Answer

If the cab operator is not a body corporate, charges 5 percent, and your business is a body corporate, the liability shifts to you under reverse charge. The entry covers renting of motor vehicles designed to carry passengers where the cost of fuel is included in the consideration. If the operator is itself a company, or bills at the higher rate with full ITC, 18 percent since the September 2025 rate rationalisation, forward charge applies and the operator collects the tax. Remember that even after paying RCM, the ITC on employee transport in vehicles seating up to thirteen is blocked under Section 17(5) unless providing the transport is obligatory for the employer under a law.

Question 10

Our company paid fees to a lawyer. Who pays the GST on this?

Accepted Answer

You do, as the recipient. Legal services supplied by an individual advocate, a firm of advocates or a senior advocate to a business entity are notified under Section 9(3), so the advocate does not charge GST and your business pays 18 percent under reverse charge in cash through GSTR-3B, claiming it back as ITC if otherwise eligible. Relief exists for small recipients: legal services to a business entity whose turnover is within the registration threshold are exempt. Since the advocate is usually unregistered, remember to raise a self-invoice and payment voucher for the transaction. Litigation-heavy businesses in Sithalapakkam should reconcile their legal expense ledger against RCM paid every quarter.

Question 11

How do I track the status of a grievance ticket or any ARN I have on the GST portal?

Accepted Answer

For grievance tickets, open selfservice.gstsystem.in and use Check Status by entering the ticket reference number; the screen shows whether it is open, under processing or resolved, with the resolution comments. For applications filed on the main portal, log in and use Services, then Track Application Status, choosing the module and entering the ARN, or open My Applications to see every application with its case detail folder, notices and replies in one place. Diarise every ARN the day it is generated, because reply windows run from portal timestamps. ChennaiGST maintains an ARN tracker for every client engagement.

Question 12

My customer says he cannot claim ITC because of my late filing. Is that correct?

Accepted Answer

Yes, he is right. A buyer can claim input tax credit only for invoices appearing in his GSTR-2B, which is generated from suppliers' GSTR-1 and IFF filings. If you file GSTR-1 after the 11th, your invoices miss that month's GSTR-2B and your customer's credit gets pushed to the next month, straining his working capital. Repeated delays lead buyers to withhold the GST portion of payments or move to more compliant vendors. Timely GSTR-1 filing is therefore a commercial necessity, not just a legal one. ChennaiGST ensures clients in Sithalapakkam never face this complaint.

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