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Taxation for Online Business

Digital Region
eCommerce/Online

With higher penetration of internet and reach of connectivity to common man, online sales, marketing and advertisement is on the rise. Overall Online Business has grown multi-fold and is growing at an exceptional rate.

Online mode of transaction is fast taking over the traditional way of doing business because of its greater reach. The modern economy is fast moving towards digitizing payment transactions. Also, there has been a tremendous boom in the eCommerce business. Government has been active in supporting and promoting towards greater digitization of financial transactions. The two biggest tax network (GST and Income Tax) is fast moving towards lesser human intervention and more digital interface.
With the growth of eCommerce model of business, there was a greater need for regulating the sector for safeguarding customers from various factors. Government has come up with rules and taxation on the sector.
Here we will know the taxation (and fees) presently applicable on the online mode of transaction / business / operations.

1% tax for E-commerce aggregators 

E-commerce aggregators* are responsible under the GST law for collecting and depositing tax at the rate of 1% from each transaction. All dealers and traders selling goods and services online would get the payment after deduction of 1% tax.
*[who are aggregators? – Aggregators are those platforms who uses unrecognized service providers to bring under their own brand and taps customer mainly through online portals to serve customers. They mostly decides price for specific service which is then followed by different service providers associated with them.
The aggregators operate in many industries. e.g. Food, Insurance, Travel, various domestic service etc]  

eCommerce seller of goods :

As mentioned in our previous post https://digitalregion.in/ecommerce-seller/, every eCommerce seller of goods needs to take GST registration and file GST return as per law.

Conveyance charge (fees for making online payment):

Most of payments made through online mode attracts transaction charge. e.g. payment for electricity bills, payment of LPG during online booking, making a payment for premium on insurance or other investments online. One such example shown here for charges to be paid during investment on NPS website within a login.
[Net Banking: ₹0.60 per transaction + GST@18%; Debit Card: 0.80% of the transaction amount + GST@18%; Credit Card: 0.90% of the transaction amount + GST@18%]. Also, note that payment through debit card is only up to ₹2,000, says eNPS website… Source: https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/nps-allows-you-to-invest-through-credit-cards-how-to-do-it-1565334145129.html

Transaction charges on IRCTC:

Post demonetization, Government had removed transaction charges on ticket booking through IRCTC. They used to charge Rs.20 per ticket on non air-conditioned (AC) class booking and Rs.40 per ticket for air-conditioned classes excluding service tax. 
From September 1 onwards, IRCTC is planning to bring back convenience fee of Rs.15 and Rs.30 on the passengers for the booking railway tickets online for non air-conditioned classes and air-conditioned classes, respectively. Bringing back of this charge is quit understandable. Even though it is a small amount being charged to common man, this account to revenue of around Rs 500 crore per annum.
Source: https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/irctc-to-bring-back-service-charge-on-ticket-booking-from-september-1-119082300510_1.html
But in most of the transactions debit card transaction charges in India is nil.

Service tax on transaction fees:

The old service tax (which was 15%) on bank charges and online transactions has now been replaced by GST at the standard rate of 18%. This tax is applicable on the fees levied by banks on the online transactions performed by their customers.
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Charges on credit and debit cards:

There are usually two types of charges. One is the annual fees that a bank charges for issuing the card to the customer. Second is the convenience fees that is charged at the merchant outlets for swiping the card at a point-of-sale terminal. Please remember GST on bank transaction fee @18% is also chargeable on these conveyance fees
Banks also charges may service charge for transactions, e.g. a bank charges Rs 20 per financial transaction and Rs 8.5 for non-financial transactions beyond the limit of free transaction (within a given period a month or a quarter). And GST @18% is collected by them. 


The Indian economy is moving towards more and more digital payment and online business. i.e. more online mode of transactions. Cashless transactions are being encouraged for greater transparency. There are pros and cons in this mode, which are discussed below:
PRO of a cash-less economy: saves time and effort for storing, securing, carrying or depositing (or withdrawal) and saves from the biggest of activity: cash management. Digital payments are quick and secure with minimum documentation.
In the earlier days also people use to look for virtual mode of carrying money while travelling. Because, factually carrying cash has never been proven safe. A cashless way of life also invites lower crime as tangible money is not available for staling.
When monitory transaction mode is cashless, chance of corruption is automatically minimized.
CON of a cash-less economy: personal data of every individual is to be shared almost compulsorily to create login credentials or identifying a transaction maker. This have risk of exposing some personal information. Hackers in these days are on their toes to gain some information to cheat people or their drain bank accounts with illegal means.  
It is also difficult for some portion of society who may not be from a good financial background and do not have access to bank account.
In earlier days, all bank transactions were free. In today’s scenario, banks have started to charge various charges. We have started paying for transactions (beyond free limit set by bank), fund transfer fee, non-maintenance of minimum balance etc.
In case of technical glitch, it leaves us with no option but to postpone an ongoing work / transaction. It is always dependent of the communication network.


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