We aim to help small businesses come on board, says ClearTax CEO

Q&A with Archit Gupta, founder & CEO, ClearTax

ClearTax founder and chief executive officer ARCHIT GUPTA tells Indivjal Dhasmana his company aims to help small and medium business with the nuances of goods and services tax (GST) compliance in the remaining two weeks. Edited excerpts:

Do you think the goods and services tax network (GSTN) is ready?
 

The GSTN is ready. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has confirmed the GST will be implemented on the midnight of June 30. We know businesses will have till September to file GST-compliant invoices. The government has agreed to this as an industry still needs clarity on systems, documentation and access. 

In the following two weeks, we aim to help many small and medium businesses come on board and assist them with the nuances of GST compliance.

Returns can be filed by September 5 and only self-assessed returns are to be filed by August 20…

For July and August, companies can file a single-page summary return in the GSTR-3B form as self-declaration by the 20th of the next month. However, we are worried about the readiness of our customers. The sooner our customers familiarise themselves with the new software, the easier it will be for them to become GST-compliant.

What glitches are you afraid of?

Systems need to stabilise and connect. So, it is a collaborative effort of information technology and finance. This has to be an error-free implementation. We cannot file wrong returns. 

Once the GSTN is ready, how long will it take you to connect?

Our software is live, the first ready-to-use GST software in India. The moment the GSTN is ready with specifications, we will link up.  

Are all your customers ready?
 

After launching our GST software, we conducted demos and webinars to help customers understand our product. It is safe to say our customers are ready.

Even small businesses?
 

Small and medium enterprises are not prepared. They are still gathering information and are sitting on the fence in terms of preparation.

Do you anticipate any issues with input tax credit?
 

How much to claim, what to claim — there are nuances the general public does not understand yet.