Reliance Jio, Amazon India to Help Traders Become GST-Compliant

Reliance Jio has joined hands with the Retailers Association of India (RAI) to launch the mobile-first Jio-GST solution. A Goods and Services Tax (GST)-compliance software for small traders and retailers, the Reliance Jio solution is available for Rs. 1,999, and provides advice from tax professionals regarding the new GST tax system. Online retailer Amazon India has separately started a new initiative, named GST Cafés, to train its sellers on becoming compliant to the new tax regime, which subsumes central taxes such as excise, service, and VAT.

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The Reliance Jio-GST solution will assist traders in maintaining records and filing tax returns, apart from helping them ensure they comply with the mandates of the new tax regime. The solution comes with a one-year subscription for the Jio-GST software, free webinars and access to GST-related content, Jio Prime subscription, free data for a year (12 x Rs. 309 plan benefits), 100 percent cashback on all JioFi devices. Traders who opt for the solution will also get discounts on handsets (Apple, Samsung, Oppo, Vivo, and LYF), and plan billings on corporate connections, along with buyback offer on old corporate-owned phones.

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The Amazon GST Cafés, on the other hand, are training centres for the sellers of the e-commerce platform. There will be 16 such GST Cafés across 11 cities over the next two weeks, where the merchants will learn about the implications of the new GST tax, and get their queries addressed. Under this program, Amazon India sellers will be able to walk into a café and get training and guidance from trained resources and experts.

In Mumbai, New Delhi and Bangalore, the GST Cafés will have an experienced Charted Accountant to assist sellers in updating their GSTIN on Seller Central and get GST related concerns resolved on the spot. In other cities, the cafés will be operated by qualified Amazon.in Service Providers or Account Managers, Amazon says. All unresolved queries at these cafes will be redirected to Amazon Tax team and will be addressed remotely through email mechanism to ensure sellers get satisfactory resolutions.

Gopal Pillai, Director & GM, Seller Services, Amazon India, said, “Through these cafés we aim to handhold and assist our sellers and prepare them better for the transition. We look forward to supporting our sellers in every way possible through comprehensive training, technology solutions and collaboration with subject experts. All necessary Amazon systems & process changes are being implemented rapidly to ensure that sellers are GST compliant at launch.”

GST Impact: Mobiles, Computers to Get Pricier, Gaming Seems Unaffected

GST is a new tax regime that will come into effect on July 1, and will replace the existing system of taxes levied by state and central governments. There are five chief slabs for products and services under this system (0 percent, 5 percent, 12 percent, 18 percent, 28 percent), though gold carries a GST for 3 percent.

A tax expert joined us to talk about the impact of GST on prices of gadgets and IT services in India on Orbital, our weekly technology podcast. You can subscribe to it via Apple Podcasts or RSS or just listen to this episode by hitting the play button below.