GSTN stands for Goods and Service Tax Network, is a non-profit non-government company.
It provides shared IT infrastructure and service to both central and state governments including taxpayers and other stakeholders. The registration Front end services, Returns, and payments to all taxpayers will be provided by GSTN. In a nutshell, it will act as the interface between the government and the taxpayers
The Goods and Service Tax Network (or GSTN) is a non-profit, non-government organization. It will manage the entire IT system of the GST portal, which is the mother database for everything GST. The government will use this portal to track every financial transaction and provide taxpayers with all services – from registration to filing taxes and maintaining all tax details.
Structure of GSTN
The GST System Project is one of a kind and complex IT initiative. What makes it unique is the way it seeks, for the first time to establish a uniform interface for the taxpayer and a common and shared IT infrastructure between the Centre and States.
Talking about the structure of it, private players have a 51% share in the GSTN, and the remaining is owned by the government. The authorized capital of the GSTN is Rs. 10 crores (US$1.6 million), out of which the percentage divided equally between the Central and State governments is 49%, and the remaining is with private banks.
Furthermore, the GSTN has also been approved for a non-recurring grant of Rs. 315 crores. This vast and complex technological backend development was taken by Infosys in September 2015.
The GSTN is headed by Dr. Ajay Bhushan Pandey (Chairman), an Indian Administrative Service servant (1984 batch IAS), along with the CEO of GSTN, Shri Prakash Kumar.
Salient Features of the GSTN
- Trusted National Information Utility
The GSTN is a trusted National Information Utility (NIU) providing a reliable, efficient and robust IT backbone for the smooth functioning of GST in India.
- Handles complex transactions
GST is a destination-based tax. The adjustment of IGST (for inter-state trade) at the government level (Centre & various states) will be extremely complex, considering the sheer volume of transactions all over India. A rapid settlement mechanism amongst the States and the Centre will be possible only when there is a strong IT infrastructure and service backbone which captures, processes and exchanges information.
- All information will be secure
The government will have strategic control over the GSTN, as it is necessary to keep the information of all taxpayers confidential and secure. The Central Government will have control over the composition of the Board, mechanisms of special resolution and shareholders agreement, and agreements between the GSTN and other state governments. Also, the shareholding pattern is such that the government shareholding of 49% is far more than that of any single private institution.
- Expenses will be shared
The user charges will be paid entirely by the Central Government and the State Governments in equal proportion (i.e. 50:50) on behalf of all users. The state share will be then apportioned to individual states in proportion to the number of taxpayers in the state.
| Volume of expenses | Type of expenses |
| Maximum expenses | IT system designed by Infosys |
| 2nd part | Fraud Analytics Tools, security audit and other security functions(will be outsourced based on tender) |
| 3rd part | Operating expenses such as salary, rent, office expenses, internal IT facilities |
Functions of GSTN
Registration
As mentioned earlier, the GST network is an online portal that forms the interface between the taxpayer looking to register GST under the new taxation laws and the government.
GSTN issues the GST Identification Number to the respective taxpayer and files the information with the respective Tax authorities once the registration has been verified.
Invoice Matching
Delving deeper, the Goods and Services Tax Network basically tallies the purchase invoices with the sale invoices to check for mismatches and fixes them so that the taxpayers can avail of the benefits of Input Tax Credit.
Return Filing
The services of GSTN includes processing and forwarding the returns to both the central and state tax authorities.
The best and the unique thing about GSTN is, there is a unified common return filing for all types of GST i.e. SGST (State GST), CGST (Central GST), IGST (Integrated GST). This, in turn, has eliminated the need for filing multiple returns.
Taxpayer Profile Analysis
When a taxpayer wants to register for GST, all the particular details of the taxpayer are verified, and then it is put forth to the Central as well as the state government tax authorities for approval.
Latest News - GST System is Integrated with Bank Validation
As per the latest news, the GST Network advisory stated on April 24, 2023, the bank account validation will be required to be synced with the GST System. It would help to ensure the accuracy of the bank details of GST taxpayers. According to the advisory, a taxpayer is supposed to check the status of the bank account verification on the official portal.
Some Additional Duties of GSTN
Further to managing the basic tax filing and tax returns, there are a few more responsibilities of GSTN that come along with managing taxation, these are as follows-
- Calculation and settlement of IGST (Integrated GST)
- Integrating Banking Network (Agency banks) with tax payment details
- Managing Computation Engine of Input Tax Credit
- Submitting the MIS reports to the Government
FAQs
What does GSTN mean in PAN?
GSTIN is the unique identifying number assigned to a dealer or supplier under the GST regime. GSTIN is written in the following format: GSTIN’s first two digits will be the state code. The next ten numbers reflect the corporate entity’s PAN (Permanent Account Number).
Where can I find my GSTN number?
Step 1: Navigate to the GST portal.
Step 2: Navigate to the “Search Taxpayer” tab.
Step 3: Choose the “Search by PAN” option.
Step 4: To utilize the GST number search tool, input the dealer’s PAN number and the captcha code that appears on the screen.