E-Commerce Tax Filing

GST and ITR filing for e-commerce sellers.

An online seller files the same returns as everybody else — monthly GST and an annual income tax return — but on data that arrives in a shape nothing else does: platform settlement reports, TCS under GST section 52, TDS under income tax section 194-O, and a turnover figure the marketplace has already reported to the department independently. The filings are only as good as the reconciliation behind them, and the department is comparing three sources before anyone looks at the return.

Who this is for

GST compliance
TCS credit
ITR-3 filing
Multi-state compliance

The process

What we actually do

1
We reconcile three sources before filing anything
Your own records, the platform's settlement reports, and what the platform reported in GSTR-8. Filing before those agree means filing a figure that the department can already see is different.
2
We file GST returns on gross sales
GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B report the gross value of supplies, with commission and fees as expenses rather than as a reduction in turnover. Every state you are registered in files separately.
3
We claim both credits
GST TCS under section 52 sits in the electronic cash ledger; income tax TDS under section 194-O appears in 26AS. They are different credits in different systems, and sellers commonly claim one and forget the other.
4
We decide presumptive versus books on the numbers
Section 44AD is available below the turnover limit and removes the need for detailed books, but it fixes the declared margin — and marketplace sellers often run a real margin below the presumptive rate after commission and shipping, in which case presumptive costs more tax than proper books.
5
We file the income tax return against the reconciled figure
Turnover in the income tax return has to agree with the GST returns for the year, because both departments compare them. Where a difference is genuine, it is documented at filing rather than explained under a notice.

Who this is for

Marketplace sellers filing monthly GST returns and an annual income tax return
Sellers whose GSTR-8 turnover does not match their own GSTR-1
Sellers with TCS and TDS credits from platforms that are not fully claimed
Sellers registered in more than one state because of fulfilment centre stock
Online businesses deciding between presumptive taxation and regular books

How long it takes

Monthly for GST, on the standard 11th and 20th cycle. The income tax return follows the year end, and the reconciliation work is what should be spread across the year rather than compressed into July.

If you do nothing

The department has the platform's version of your turnover whether or not you file. A seller who does not reconcile is filing a number that can already be contradicted, and the contradiction accumulates monthly until a notice arrives covering several years at once — at which point the settlement reports needed to explain it may be past the platform's download window.

The law, in figures

Dates, thresholds and sections

Every figure below carries the provision it comes from, so it can be checked.
What	Figure	Source
GST registration	Mandatory for supply through an e-commerce operator, at any turnover	Section 24(ix), CGST Act 2017
TCS under GST	1% collected by the operator on the net value of taxable supplies	Section 52, CGST Act 2017
TDS under income tax	0.1% on gross sales through an e-commerce operator	Section 194-O, Income-tax Act 1961
Presumptive taxation limit	₹2 crore, extended to ₹3 crore where cash receipts stay under 5%	Section 44AD, Income-tax Act 1961
GST annual return	GSTR-9 by 31 December, mandatory above ₹2 crore turnover	Section 44, CGST Act 2017

What usually goes wrong

Filing GST on the net payout instead of gross sales
Claiming the GST TCS but never the section 194-O TDS, or the reverse
Opting into presumptive taxation when the real margin after commission is below the presumptive rate
Filing separately registered states inconsistently, so the aggregate does not tie to the income tax return
Leaving reconciliation to the annual return, when GSTR-8 has been diverging every month

What non-compliance costs

Interest at 18% on GST short-paid, and 24% on input credit wrongly availed and utilised
Under-reporting penalty of 50% of the tax under section 270A
Late fees on each GST return and on the income tax return separately
A GSTR-8 mismatch is a standing audit trigger and compounds across every month it persists

These are statutory amounts, not our fees. What we charge depends on your situation and is quoted before any work starts.

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