Another exciting year comes to an end. It is the time again to revisit how the year 2022 treated us and more importantly what we were able to achieve for our clients, our users, and our partners.
It’s been 5 years since GST was introduced and 2022 was the year of ITC (Input Tax Credit). Some major changes such as ITC disclosure in GSTR 3B, stricter rules for GST compliance etc. were brought into effect through the year 2022. There were two GST Council meetings this year and several changes were announced. These are getting notified and implemented in GST system steadily. You may read my coverage on Top GST Law Updates in 2022 here.
As businesses are coming to normalcy after two tough years of pandemic, their needs and expectations from GST are no longer limited to just compliance, but what value can be derived from it.
Catering to law updates and client expectations, a lot happened at IRIS GST. Here is a snapshot of Year 2022 at IRIS GST
A Year of Recognition, Rejuvenation and Resilience
1. A brand refresh
Our core values of dealing with clients, for that matter with everyone, in a transparent and responsible manner and innovating for a transparent tomorrow are the driving forces that push each one of us to do better every time. And now our visual identity i.e., our logo also reflects our values. We refreshed our brand identity to align it with our core values and vision for the future.
At IRIS, we have always been serious about compliance of our clients and ours. Being India’s first and only listed RegTech company, we take compliance quite seriously; of our clients and ours too. We deal with sensitive data and data confidentiality and being transparent with clients is of utmost importance to us.
Our new logo reflects our intent to pioneer a series of innovations in an increasingly digital and connected world. It retains the familiarity of the brand that has withstood the test of time and helped the Company reach where it is today. Our tagline ‘Building Transparency. Driving Growth’ builds on our belief that ‘compliance is good business’ and dovetails our passion to build trust and transparency and drive growth for our clients across our markets.
2. A shower of awards and recognition
It rained awards for us this year. From being awarded as Best TaxTech provider for two years in a row by TIOL (Tax India OnLine) to being awarded as the Most Agile SaaS Product for our global compliance solution, we have been recognized in all the areas of our work.
Getting appreciation and awarded for the work we do, no doubt, is satisfying. But at the same time, it is a reminder of our responsibility towards our customers and community. The awards are a token of immense faith our clients and partners put in us and we will continue to strive to meet the expectation.
3. IRIS becomes IRP – A level-up in the e-invoicing landscape
We entered TaxTech space in India when we became a GSP in 2017. When the new mandates of E-way Bill and E-invoicing were introduced, we expanded our GST compliance suite to meet those compliances. As an ASP-GSP solution provider we have been a platform between businesses and the Government System.Â
In 2022, we hit another milestone by becoming an Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). Currently, the e-invoice mandate is applicable to businesses with turnover above ₹10 Cr and this threshold is expected to be lowered in the coming year. With the limit lowering, smaller businesses will be covered under the e-invoice mandate. Â
E-invoice has huge benefits, and we will see a dearth of use cases emerging in TaxTech space. As an IRP our responsibility to register invoice and issue an IRN. Be it for enhancing payable cycle or automating ITC reconciliation, e-invoicing has a role to play. Along with basic e-invoicing, we also will be providing many value–added services and easing the entire document exchange and processing cycle.
We have already opened our sandbox system for partners such as ASPs (Application Service Provider), GSPs (GST Suvidha Provider) and ERPs to register and start testing integration. Our platform for taxpayers is all set and ready and will be released once we get go-ahead from the GSTN (Goods and Service Tax Network). To know more about our IRP offering, check out our site.Â
IRIS GST Compliance Suite gets bigger and better
With GST rules getting updated, scope of compliance has expanded and hence solutions for GST compliance also need to be in sync. While we keep you posted about the updates in GST Law and new developments in our solution, here are highlights of key enhancements in IRIS GST in 2022.
1. Getting you to be GST audit ready – always
About 50K taxpayers receiving Show Cause Notice (SCN) from the GST Dept made it into news recently. The system generated SCN highlighted issues in calculation of tax liability, incorrect ITC claimed, improper HSN/SAC used for classifying goods and services, inconsistency in data across GST returns and any other matter where the information reported in GST returns, as per books, as reported to other Govt depts is not in sync. The SCN also covered issues from returns filed in 2017.Â
This recent exercise of GST Dept to check out GST Data and read it in line with other compliances implies that businesses need to be in control of their compliance activities not only from a filing point of view but also have a properly documented trail of everything. (Read 5 ways to handle litigation under GST)Â
And to address this need of business, we have included IRIS LMS- A Litigation Management Solutio in IRIS GST product bouquet. Right from tracking all GST notices, to keeping record of responses, LMS will let you be in complete control of your GST filing and keep you audit ready.Â
2. Ready insights and information for decision making through MIS Reports
GST compliance has become a regular business function. Data needs to be compiled from various sources, cross checked with data in GST system and then make corrections or adjustments if any to have consistency in data. And this activity is needed for all GST registrations of the business.Â
A CFO, Indirect Tax Head, and teams responsible for GST compliances and ITC reconciliation need access to information that can help them to be in full control of their compliance and processes. Keeping this need in view, a new MIS Report module was introduced in IRIS GST. MIS Report replaces the erstwhile GST Insights and has a lot more features and reports for businesses to use. Rich and summarized dashboard covering GSTR 1 and 3B comparison, ITC after reconciliation with GSTR 2B, month-on-month performance and many more are available. Â
3. Better tracking of ITC claim
How can we not do something for ITC? While filing of GST returns is more or less streamlined now, maximizing ITC is still a constant process that needs improvement. GST rules for ITC also get more stringent day-by-day. We have added some more utility features in our reconciliation module that can aid you to compute ITC in a timely and accurate manner. Â
- Reconciliation of Import transactions – For such transactions there is no data uploaded by counterparty. Import transactions, however, are made available in the GST system via the ICEGATE system. Import reconciliation will help to compare and verify import data in the GST system and your internal records. If any missing data, you can place request on the GST portal to fetch data from ICEGATE and then perform reconciliation on IRIS GST.Â
- Reconciliation of ISD invoices – Businesses who have centralized service centers and have obtained ISD registration for distributing ITC to its other GST registrations, need to do GSTR 6 reconciliation. Annual reconciliation is also now available for ISD transactions. At the same time, the GSTIN receiving the distributed ITC also needs to reconcile the ITC received with GSTR 2B. This helps to verify ITC auto populated in GSTR 3B and if any updates are needed. Our ITC reconciliation module is enhanced to cover the ISD section.Â
In 2022, there have been cases where GSTR 2B had issues or GSTR 2B was delayed due to GSTR 1 filing extension. However, we hope our integrated GSTR 2A and 2B reconciliation module helped our clients to claim ITC despite all issues.
4. Efficient computation of GST Returns dataÂ
Many of the changes introduced in the GST law have had an impact on the transactional level. Having the ability to classify the tax positions at transaction level and to keep a trail of the stand taken for tax liability helps to better prepare for the future. For this purpose, we have included more information and actions at transaction level in the GST SoftwareÂ
- GSTR 3B marking and reversal flags – One of the major GST updates in 2022 was regarding ITC disclosure in GSTR 3B. Businesses need to separately disclose temporary and permanent ITC reversal. In the event temporary ITC is reclaimed, the same to be disclosed.Â
ITC in GSTR 3B is claimed only after reconciliation with GSTR 2B, which is at a transaction level. While our reconciliation module already had option to mark the ITC position taken for 3B, we have expanded the same to cover the reversal flags and more. Also, easy filters are added which can take you to the invoices you need in a single click.Â
- GSTR 9 impact on ITC reconciliation – Annual filing, though once in a year task, requires businesses to compile all monthly data for sales, ITC and tax liability. GSTR 9 module in IRIS GST provides comparative analysis of amounts computed by Government vs as available on IRIS GST. 8A Table of GSTR 9 provides information on invoices considered for ITC. We have added this information as part of the GSTR 2A/2B reconciliation result. This will help our clients to do their data complication accurately while filing GSTR 9.Â
In addition to the above-mentioned highlights, many more improvements and features were added. A checklist to know status of reconciliation, getting ledger balance after GSTR 3B filing, enabling EVC filing for all businesses are few of the features released in 2022. We hope you are getting product updates from our side regularly. Â
Making GST data more accessible and usefulÂ
We started with GST Compliance in 2017 and enhanced it to take care of all emerging compliances but didn’t stop there. We ventured into other innovative uses of GST beyond just compliance. A quick summary of what else apart from GST compliance kept us busy throughout the year.
Mobile app for taxpayers: IRIS Peridot
Your favorite app for GST verification, was launched for both Android and iOS covering compliance snapshot. Peridot 5 is quite useful to stay updated with your own GST filings, sales and purchase trends and tax liability payment. Even if your GST returns are done by CA or Tax practitioner, IRIS Peridot can help you to stay informed and updated. And what’s more, it is now available in Hindi. More languages to follow. A journey from India to Bharat.Â
APIs for fintech and lenders: IRIS Credixo
A platform for fintech and lenders, is upgraded for faster turnaround time. More data sets and insights are expected in IRIS Credixo in the coming few months. If you are a data consumer, stay tuned for updates from us.
Web Platform for quick search: IRIS Lookup
An effortless way to search for information that you seek. Currently launched with the option to search companies struck-off by MCA. Companies registered with MCA need to file their annual returns and need to disclose transactions with companies struck-off by Registrar of Companies (RoCs). The purpose of IRIS LookUp is to simplify and make efficient the routine tasks without the need for heavy tech investment in terms of time and cost. IRIS LookUp is being updated to cover more data sources including GST Taxpayer search, Return filing and more. Â
Important to highlight, be it IRIS Peridot or IRIS Credixo, any application of ours that enables GST data fetching is highly secured and confidential. No data sharing is done without the taxpayer’s consent. Â
Enabling smooth journey for transportersÂ
Most of GST compliance tasks concern the finance divisions within an organisation. However, when it comes to movement of goods, logistics and transporters get involved too. To add mobility to e-way bill management process, we launched EasyWayBill in 2020 just before the world came to standstill due to pandemic. Be it updating the vehicle details on-the-go or automatic extension of e-way bill validity, the app offers all the utilities to make life easier for transporters. Â
- Fastag for vehicle tracking: EasyWayBill app is now extended to track vehicle location based on Fastag details. This newly launched feature should make vehicle tracking efficient and economical for transporters.Â
- LogiLocker for document verification and sharing: Before hiring any vehicle or driver for shipping the goods, basic details of whether vehicle and driver documents are valid, insurance and PUCC is up-to-date, vehicle capacity etc. is verified. Currently, all document sharing happens over informal or personal communication channels such as Whatsapp and same information is asked repeatedly by different parties. Â
LogiLocker solves this pain-point and makes the process efficient and centralized within the transporter’s organisation. By just providing the vehicle number or driving license info, you can get details registered with the RTOs. Thus, doing away with the need to ask physical copy or scanned images of these documents. Â
We are doing continuous updates to app to release more features. Please do try out LogiLocker and lets us know your feedback and suggestions.Â
Collaboration with Partners to offer moreÂ
We believe that to grow and to offer more solutions to our clients, collaboration is the best way forward. While we have been working with several partners in the past 5 years who have integrated our APIs and provide GST compliance related offerings to their clients, we also entered some more partnerships this year to offer more value-added services to our clients. Â
- With PayInvoice, we are providing an automated way to process and track invoices through Invoice Processing Unit (IPU)Â
- With Manch Technologies, we have enabled customer and vendor onboarding workflowsÂ
- With Hylobiz and Vayana, we are catering to the MSME market to provide them the basic 4C’s – Cash, Commerce, Compliance and Credit. Â
As we move towards becoming a TaxTech platform, more collaborations and innovative features are in the store ahead. Â
A preview of 2023 for IRIS GSTÂ
Year 2022 was quite exciting and enriching for us. We hope, it was the same for our clients, our partners and everyone associated with us. So, what’s up for the next year?Â
New Year 2023 is likely to start with a big bang of us going live with our IRP platform. We strongly believe that being an IRP, we will be instrumental in providing more value-added services to all our clients. With IRP, we also aspire to address the needs of the underserved but highly deserving market i.e., MSMEs. Â
Following the corporate brand refresh, a similar exercise is in store for our products. Â
Our GST Compliance solution is all set to get a new look and an enhanced user experience. We are thankful to all our clients for providing us with intuitive suggestions from time to time and we hope the new avatar of IRIS GST exceeds your expectations.Â
We can never leave GST reconciliation behind. A major overhaul of the reconciliation module is under the way. The new reconciliation will let you have full control of when, how and what you want to reconcile. And something on vendor payments based on reconciliation results is expected too. Â
As briefly mentioned above, some significant releases are in pipeline for many of our crucial products such as IRIS Credixo, IRIS Lookup, IRIS Peridot. We’ll be keeping you posted as and when that happens. All our updates are also communicated through our monthly newsletter-IRIS GST Times. Please do subscribe if you have not already. Â
A lot to do and look forward to in Year 2023. Do watch out for our take on Trends in TaxTech for 2023.
