STARTUPS GENERALLY FORGET THESE TAX COMPLIANCES IN EARLY DAYS

Last year was a watershed year for Indian Startup space.It attracted a lot of new investors like Endiya Partners, Idea Spring Capital and pi Ventures. It was also marked by a lot of Startups reaching the much-coveted Unicorn status. Foodtech delivery startup Swiggy, PolicyBazaar, BYJU's, OYO and Freshworks were some of the major players that achieved Unicorn status. Yet at the same time, there was a dip in Early Stage funding rounds especially in Round A and B. This was primarily driven by the fact that investors wanted to bet on companies that had proven proof of Concept, Business model and were good on compliances especially on the Tax front.All corporates whether large or small are very particular in ensuring that their business is in compliance with tax regulations. Startups should also ensure that they are no exception to this and should have all their tax compliances taken care of to avoid last minute penalties and other strict consequences. Let us have a look at major tax compliances that Startups fail to address during their early days which become a major hurdle in the smooth functioning of their core business.GST CompliancesFirst, Startups should give careful consideration to the applicability of GST by consulting a Chartered Accountant online or a Tax Expert. After a startup has registered under GST, it should make sure that GST returns are filed on monthly and quarterly basis except for categories which have been given exemption like Composition Dealer, Exporters that are exempted from tax.