Selling through a marketplace changes the compliance picture in three ways. Registration is generally compulsory regardless of turnover. The operator collects tax at source on your net supplies and reports it, which shows up as credit in your cash ledger. And your settlement report — gross sales, commission, shipping, returns and cancellations — has to reconcile to what you declare.
The mismatch that bites is between the operator's statement and your GSTR-1. Returns and cancellations are where it usually starts, because the sale and the return often fall in different months.
What we handle
- GST registration for marketplace sellers, and separate registration for each state you stock in
- Warehouse and fulfilment centre addresses added as additional places of business
- Monthly reconciliation of the operator's settlement report against your books
- TCS credit under section 52 claimed correctly in the cash ledger
- Returns, cancellations, replacements and their effect across periods
- Commission, shipping fee and advertising invoices — input credit eligibility
- GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B filed to match what the operator has reported
- Multi-marketplace sellers with a single set of books
- Income tax return, turnover reconciliation and presumptive taxation where it applies
- Notices arising from marketplace data mismatch
What you supply
- GST portal credentials for every registration
- Monthly settlement or payment reports from each marketplace
- Sales report and order-level data for the period
- Returns, cancellations and replacement reports
- Commission, shipping and advertising invoices from the marketplace
- Purchase invoices from your suppliers
- Bank statements showing marketplace settlements
- Addresses of any fulfilment centre holding your stock
If you stock inventory at a fulfilment centre in another state, mention it at the start — that state usually needs its own registration, and it is the single most common gap we find.
How the engagement runs
One cycle across every marketplace you sell on
STEP 01
Reports collected
Settlement, sales and returns reports pulled from each marketplace for the period.
STEP 02
Reconciled
Marketplace data matched to your books and to what the operator has reported against your GSTIN.
STEP 03
Filed
GSTR-1 and 3B filed with TCS credit claimed, and differences explained before they become notices.
STEP 04
Reviewed
A monthly summary showing gross sales, deductions, tax paid and credit position.
Before you call
Questions we are asked about this
Do I need GST registration if my sales are small?
Selling through an operator that collects tax at source generally requires registration irrespective of turnover, with a narrow relaxation for certain small suppliers. We check your actual activity against that relaxation rather than assuming either way.
Where does the TCS the marketplace deducted go?
It is reported by the operator and appears as credit in your electronic cash ledger, which you can use against your liability. It has to be accepted and matched — if the operator has reported against a wrong GSTIN, the credit will not reach you and it takes time to correct.
My marketplace report and my GST return do not match. Why?
Usually returns and cancellations falling in a different month from the original sale, or commission being netted off in the settlement while the sale has to be declared gross. Both are fixable, but they need to be identified in the same period rather than at the annual return.
Tell us which marketplaces you sell on
You do not have to know the name of the form. Describe the situation and we will identify the filing, the authority and the realistic timeline before you pay anything.