GST withdraws rule to facilitate small business operating with ecoms

A GST provision that required e-commerce players such as Amazon and Flipkart to deduct tax on payments made to their vendors has been put on hold. In addition, small businesses that sell through these e-commerce platforms don't have to register themselves immediately. E-commerce players had feared losing business as a large number of small suppliers were yet to register their operations as required under GST guidelines.

Sellers don't have to deal with pressures of cash flow at a time when they are transitioning into a new tax regime. E-commerce companies will not be required to collect one per cent TCS (tax collected at source) while making payment to their suppliers for goods sourced under GST.

Small businesses with a turnover of less than Rs 20 lakh don’t have to register themselves under GST for selling goods or services through e-commerce portals. This step has been taken to provide more time for persons liable to deduct tax at source/e-commerce companies and their suppliers to prepare for the tax reform. The biggest indirect tax reform since Independence, GST will subsume a host of levies, including excise, service tax and VAT. It will create a uniform market for seamless transfer of goods and services.