We have been part of the eCommerce business since April 2012, first inside a seller’s own finance function and now as advisers to sellers. That is more than fourteen years of marketplace settlements, fee changes, policy changes and GST changes handled first-hand, across domestic marketplaces and exports.
An online seller’s accounts do not look like a shop’s accounts. One order can involve a sale, a marketplace commission, a shipping charge, a tax collected at source, a tax deducted at source, a return, a refund and a reimbursement, and the money reaches the bank weeks later as one net figure. Unless each of these is recorded separately, the books, the GST returns and the real profit will never agree. Setting that right, every month, is what this service does.
Problems online sellers bring to us
- Sales in the books do not match the money received.
Settlements are net of fees, taxes, returns and reserves, and nobody has broken them up order by order. - GST paid on sales that were later returned.
Customer returns, courier returns and cancellations are not reduced through credit notes, so tax is overpaid. - TCS credit is lying unclaimed.
Marketplaces collect tax at source under Sec. 52 at 0.5% of the net taxable value. The credit has to be accepted on the GST portal each month, and many sellers never do it. - TDS is not matched.
Income tax is deducted at 0.1% of the gross sale value by the marketplace and must be claimed against Form 26AS. - Input credit on marketplace fees is missed.
Commission, closing fees, shipping, storage and advertising carry GST, and the invoices sit unseen in the seller panel. - Stock is in several States.
Using fulfilment centres in other States means additional GST registrations, stock transfers between your own registrations and State-wise returns. - Marketplace sales are wrongly reported.
Supplies made through marketplaces have their own table in GSTR-1, and the State of the customer decides the tax and the place of supply. - Inventory cannot be traced.
Lost and damaged units, reimbursements and removals are not followed, so stock on the books differs from stock in the warehouse. - Profit is unknown.
Without product-wise costing after fees, returns and advertising spend, fast-selling items can be making a loss. - Old years carry notices.
Differences between marketplace data, GST returns and income tax returns surface later as demands.
Accounting and tax services for online sellers
Settlement-to-books accounting
Marketplace sales, returns and settlement reports converted into proper accounting entries in Tally every month, order by order.
GST returns for marketplace sales
GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B prepared from marketplace tax reports, with State-wise place of supply, HSN summary and credit notes for returns.
TCS and TDS reconciliation
Tax collected and deducted by each marketplace matched with the GST portal and Form 26AS, and claimed in full.
Multi-State GST registrations
Registration for additional places of business, stock transfer accounting and separate returns for each registration.
Payment and receivable reconciliation
Order-level tracking of what each marketplace owes you, including short payments, wrong fee charges and pending reimbursements.
Inventory and profitability reports
Stock reconciliation with marketplace inventory reports and product-wise profit after all fees, returns and advertising.
Income tax and audit
Year-end accounts, income tax return and tax audit prepared from books that already agree with marketplace data.
GST notices on marketplace sales
Replies to mismatch notices with reconciliations drawn from the original marketplace reports.
Marketplaces and channels we work with
- Amazon India
- Amazon overseas marketplaces
- Flipkart
- Meesho
- Myntra
- JioMart
- Own website / D2C
- Exports
For sellers with their own website, we reconcile payment gateway settlements, cash-on-delivery remittances from courier partners and refunds with the orders, and set up invoicing that works for both business and retail customers.
Selling outside India
Amazon is not limited to India, and neither is our work. For sellers listing on overseas marketplaces, we handle the Indian side of the transaction: Import Export Code, Letter of Undertaking, export invoicing, accounting of foreign currency settlements and marketplace fees, and GST refunds on exports. We explain the documents each shipment needs, so that the proceeds, the shipping records and the GST returns agree with each other.
How we start
- A review of your last few months of settlements, GST returns and books
- A list of what is unclaimed, misreported or unreconciled, with the tax and cash effect
- Correction of past periods wherever the law still allows it
- A fixed monthly process and calendar from the next month onwards
Frequently asked questions
Do I need GST registration to sell online?
Sellers of goods through marketplaces generally need GST registration irrespective of turnover, subject to the relaxations notified for small sellers making supplies only within their State. For most sellers who want to sell across India, registration is required from the first sale.
How do I claim the TCS deducted by Amazon, Flipkart or Meesho?
The marketplace reports the tax it has collected against your GSTIN. It appears on the GST portal under TDS and TCS credit received, and once accepted it is credited to your electronic cash ledger, where it can be used to pay tax or claimed as a refund.
Why does my bank receipt never match my sales?
Because the marketplace pays you the sale value minus commission, shipping and other fees, GST on those fees, TCS, TDS, returns and any reserve. A settlement reconciliation breaks each payment into these parts. Without it, both the books and the GST returns will be wrong.
My stock is kept in marketplace warehouses in other States. What changes?
You need GST registration in each State where your goods are stored. Movement of stock between your own registrations is treated as a supply and needs a tax invoice, and each registration files its own returns. We set up the process so that stock, sales and credit remain traceable State by State.
Can you take over accounts that have not been reconciled for years?
Yes. We rebuild the records from the marketplace reports year by year, compare them with the returns already filed, and correct what can still be corrected. This is also the starting point for replying to any notice on those years.