As a vendor and business owner, you need to familiarize yourself with the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and its machinery. There are various aspects of GST that you ought to know about. One of them is knowing how to make online GST payments.

What is GST?

GST in India is a single tax imposed on goods and services providers instead of the slew of indirect taxes imposed under the old tax structure. The Goods and Services Tax is a single, unified tax that is imposed on consumers when they purchase taxable goods or services.

Under the old tax regime, taxes like Entertainment Tax, VAT, Sales Tax, and others were imposed at various stages, resulting in double taxation or a cascading effect. The introduction and implementation of GST seem to have nullified that effect.

Do you need to make a GST payment?

As you delve deeper into the GST and its workings, this is a question you must ask yourself. You must know under what conditions you are required to make a GST payment online. The following situations or scenarios will require you to make a GST payment online:

• Finishing your GST registration online and making supplies of goods and services that are taxable under the GST act.

• You are liable to make a GST payment online if you are registered to the Goods and Services Tax as part of the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM).

• You will have to make a GST payment on the off-chance that you are an E-commerce operator and provide goods and services of different categories.

• If you register under the GST tax and deduct TDS, you will have to make a GST payment online.

• If you are an E-commerce operator and you are registered under GST and need to collect TCS, you are liable to pay GST.

What are the main types of GST?

Here are the primary GST types you should know of:

Integrated GST (IGST)

The central government levies the IGST whenever you make a supply of goods or services between different states.

Central GST (CGST)

The central government levies this tax whenever a supply of goods or services is made within a state.

State GST (SGST)

The state government levies this tax when you make a supply of goods or services within the state.

What is the process of making a GST payment Online?

The process of making a GST payment online involves the following steps:

• Go to the official GST site and fill up the essential details such as your username, password, and the given captcha code, and log in to your account on the GST portal online.

• Once you finish this, visit the ‘Services’ tab, go to payments, and hit the ‘Create Challan’ option.

• Make sure you enter the amount that you are supposed to pay and choose the payment method that you want to use to make the payment. You should get a variety of payment options to choose from, including over the counter, Netbanking, Debit Card, Credit Card, and NEFT/RTGS. Submit all the vital details and click on ‘Generate Challan.’

• At this point, you will get a summary of the challan that has all your vital information. Be sure to click on the MAKE PAYMENT button to finalize your payment.

• Once the GST payment goes through, you will receive a challan that consists of all the tax-related details. The challan for the tax payment you’ve made online will be sent to your cash ledger account.

What Payment Modes can I use?

You may make GST payments online in mainly two ways:

Payment Via Credit Ledger

If you are eligible for this payment method, you have the option of Input Tax Credit (ITC) to make your GST payment. However, note that the ITC is known to cover only your GST payments. You cannot use it to cover your interest, penalties, or late fees.

Payment Via Cash Ledger

You can use a Cash Ledger to make GST payments online or offline. In either case, make sure that the challan is generated on the GST portal.

If you are new to GST online payments and how GST works, this article should suffice to help you get started.