GST Accounts & Records: Introduction of GST as a new indirect taxation regime would be advantageous to the entire community including citizens, Government as well as the trade bodies. With the implementation of GST, the tax system would become much simpler due to the elimination of cascading effect and transparency in taxation system, resulting in almost uniform prices across the country. GST would herald an era of cooperative federalism and would bring efficiency and transparency in tax administration. Now check more details about "GST Accounts & Records" from below...
GST Accounts & Records

Applicable Provisions
- Section 35 and 36 of the CGST Act
- Draft Accounts & Records Rules as notified on April 19, 2017.
Applicable on
- All registered persons.
- Unregistered persons being owner or operator of warehouse/godown/any other place used for storage of goods.
- Inward/Outward supply of goods and/or services
- Names & complete addresses of the inward/outward suppliers
- Stock of goods wrt each commodity received/ supplied
- Particulars of good lost, stolen, destroyed, written off or disposed of by way of gift or free samples
- Stock of scrap and wastage.
- Input tax credit availed
- Output tax payable and paid
- Goods or services imported or exported
- Supplies attracting tax on reverse charge
- Advances received and paid and adjustments relating thereto
- Details of consignor, consignee
- Other prescribed details such as receipt, movement and disposal of goods.
Relevant Documents
The taxpayer should keep and maintain all the important documents including
- Invoices
- Bills of supply and delivery challans,
- Credit and Debit notes,
- Receipt and payment vouchers,
- Refund vouchers and
- E-way bills.
Place of Maintenance
- At the principal place of business as specified in registration certificate.
- If multiple places of business specified in the certificate of GST registration, then to be kept at the related business places.
Maintenance of Records in Electronic Form
- Allowed to maintain accounts in electronic form in manner to be prescribed
- Proper backup of electronic records to be kept.
- On demand produce duly authenticated copies of records stored electronically as hard copy or in electronically readable format
How to Rectify Incorrect Entries in Accounts
- No entries to be erased effaced or overwritten.
- Incorrect entries to be scored out under attestation and thereafter correct entry be recorded.
- Log of every entry edited or deleted to be kept where electronic records maintained.
- Raw materials or services used in the manufacture of goods manufactured including waste & by products thereof.
- (Similar to excise records maintained under the current regime.)
- Quantitative details of goods used in the provision of each service
- Details of input services utilised and the services supplied.
- Authorization received.
- Description, Value & Qty of goods/services received on behalf of principal and tax paid on supply thereof.
- Details of accounts furnished to principal
- The names & addresses of the contractee.
- Details of payment received
- Description, Value & Qty received/utilized of goods/services for each works contract
- The names & addresses of suppliers from whom received.
- Payments made wrt each works contract.
ACCOUNTS & RECORDS - AGENT
Section 2(5) to the CGST Act,2017 sums up agent as meaning a person, including a factor, broker, commission agent, arhatia, del credere agent, an auctioneer or any other mercantile agent, by whatever name called, who carries on the business of supply or receipt of goods or services or both on behalf of another- particulars of authorisation received by him from each principal to receive or supply goods or services on behalf of such principal separately
- particulars including description, value and quantity (wherever applicable) of goods or services received on behalf of every principal
- particulars including description, value and quantity (wherever applicable) of goods or services supplied on behalf of every principal
- details of accounts furnished to every principal; and (e) tax paid on receipts or on supply of goods or services effected on behalf of every principal
Requirement of Audit - If turnover > Rs.2 Crore
- By Chartered/Cost Accountant.
- Copy of audited annual accounts and reconciliation statement to be submitted in form GSTR 9B while filing the annual return in Form GSTR-9.
- In Reconciliation statement, Chartered Accountant to certify that values declared in GST return reconciles with the audited accounts.
Period of Retention
- Seventy-two months (6 Years) from the last date of filing of Annual Return for the relevant year.
- Records being subject matter of litigation to be retained
- 1 year from the date of final disposal of proceeding, or
- until the expiry of 6 years from the due date of the annual return.