The National Informatics Kerala State Center has developed a ‘Kerala GST’ app for the Goods and Services Tax department of Kerala. As the name says, it is meant for the general public of Kerala for cross-checking GSTIN details of dealers. Let’s find out what this app can do to save some trouble.
The Kerala GST app is a lightweight app, that needs network connectivity to work. Within the app, one can enter the GSTIN to check a dealer’s category and verify his eligibility to collect tax from a customer. The GSTIN (Goods and Services Tax Identification Number) is a 15 digit number allotted to every GST registered dealer. However, a GST registered dealer can be in either Normal Scheme or Composition Scheme. Dealers registered in composition scheme are not allowed to collect GST tax
How To Use Kerala GST App
- Download KeralaGST and open the app.
- Select the first option ‘Check dealer category’.
- Type the 15 digit GSTIN you find in the invoice or bill.
- Tap Check to find out the details.
For example, type ‘32AABCR1718E1ZY‘. When you tap check, you get the following details. Business Name “RELIANCE RETAIL LIMITED’, Reliance Retail Limited is a dealer registered under the normal scheme of GST. The dealers with the normal registration shall show tax based on the GST rates in the bill. If the GSTIN is of a dealer outside Kerala, it will show ‘The GSTIN number is not registered under Kerala’. So in short, this application enables the citizen to check whether the dealer can collect tax or not. He can also verify whether the GSTIN is a valid registration in Kerala.
Now that you have an app to check merchant details, all you need is to get a proper invoice for your every GST levied purchases. The GST department of Kerala has also started a website “KeralaTaxes” which provides complete details regarding GST.
In our opinion, it was a bit late for the department to launch this app, since many unregistered or ineligible dealers have already pocketed a lot. We can expect more features to the app in future. A few months back finance ministry of India launched a GST Rate Finder app which turned out to be useful for the public. Government is slowly picking up the pace to educate the public on GST, hope you enjoyed the review, Peace!