GST and e-invoicing, out of the books

A return is a view, not a second set of numbers

When the return is prepared somewhere other than where the invoices live, the two can drift — and the drift is discovered at a filing deadline, by whoever signs. Every GST figure in Forsja is computed from the invoices, credit notes and supplier bills already posted to the ledger. There is nothing to reconcile because there is only one set of documents.

It also runs one way only. An issued invoice cannot be edited — a number that has been reported must not quietly become a different number — so a correction is a credit note, and the credit note appears in its own section of the return.

The place of supply decides the tax, when the invoice is issued

CGST and SGST within a state, IGST across them, zero-rated for exports. That decision is made once, when the invoice is raised, from the seller’s state and the buyer’s — and never restated afterwards. A registered buyer makes it B2B. An unregistered buyer in another state above ₹2.5 lakh makes it B2CL, below it B2CS. A buyer outside India makes it an export.

GSTR-1, in the sections the portal expects

Six of them, filled from the documents rather than assembled by hand: B2B, B2CL, B2CS, exports, credit notes, and an HSN summary rolled up from the lines. Each invoice lands in exactly one, decided by the classification above, so the total of the sections is the total of what was invoiced.

GSTR-3B, with credit set off in the statutory order

Credit of a head is applied against the same head first, and IGST credit spills over to CGST and then SGST — the order the statute sets out.

Cross-utilisation beyond that is deliberately not done. It is a judgement your chartered accountant makes with the whole position in view, and software that makes it silently is making a tax decision on your behalf that you will be the one to defend.

e-invoice and e-way bill payloads

Both are built in the NIC schema from the posted invoice, with the supply type set correctly — B2B, or exports with or without payment of tax.

What Forsja does not do is transmit them. Reaching the IRP needs a GSP connection registered in your name, and a page that implied otherwise would be found out on the first deadline. The payload is ready; the pipe is yours.

TDS: two details that are expensive to get wrong

Tax is deducted on the value excluding GST where GST is shown separately on the invoice, per CBDT circular 23/2017 — not on the invoice total.

And the threshold is tested against the year’s aggregate for that supplier and section, not against the payment in front of you. Test it per payment and a supplier paid in instalments never crosses it, and the shortfall surfaces in an assessment years later. A supplier with no PAN is deducted at 20%.

Common questions

Does Forsja file my GST returns for me?

No. It builds GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B from the invoices already posted, sectioned and totalled the way the portal expects, so the return can be reviewed and filed. Filing happens on the GST portal or through your GSP. Any software that claims to file for you still relies on a GSP, and the distinction matters on a deadline.

Does it send e-invoices to the IRP automatically?

It builds the payload in the NIC schema, with the supply type set correctly for B2B or for exports with or without payment of tax. Transmitting it to the IRP needs a GSP connection, which is your registration, not ours. The same is true of the e-way bill payload.

What happens when an invoice has to change after it is filed?

A credit note, never an edit. An issued invoice is immutable in Forsja — a number that has been reported cannot quietly become a different number — and credit notes appear in their own GSTR-1 section.

How is TDS handled?

On the value excluding GST where GST is shown separately, per CBDT circular 23/2017, and the threshold is tested against the year aggregate for that supplier and section rather than the single payment — otherwise a supplier paid in instalments never crosses it. A supplier with no PAN is deducted at 20%.

Does it handle exports and zero-rated supply?

Yes. A buyer outside India makes the supply an export, classified as with or without payment of tax depending on whether IGST was charged — the LUT case being the second. There is a fuller explanation on the exporters page.