Flipkart Fails To Make The Cut For Second List Of Companies Eligible For GSP Status

Homegrown ecommerce marketplace Flipkart did not make it to the new list of companies, shortlisted by the GSTN (GST Network), for GSP (GST Suvidha Provider) status.

The GSPs are envisaged to provide innovative and convenient methods to taxpayers and other stakeholders interacting with the GST systems. This ranges from registration of entity, to uploading of invoice details, to filing of returns.

Flipkart wanted to be a GSP to get more sellers on its platform by offering tax solutions. However, the company’s financials deemed it ineligible due to financials, as per the GSTN website.

At the time when Flipkart had applied to be a GSP in May 2017, Nikhil Kumar, Head of the Developer Ecosystem at India Stack had said, “More small and medium businesses will be encouraged to sell on marketplaces like Flipkart, post-GST if it can simplify their taxation for products across India. These platforms can use the GSP licence to acquire more sellers.”

The GST Network is the nodal agency responsible for the technological infrastructure of the new goods and services tax regime. The agency came out with a second list of GST Suvidha Providers (GSP) to facilitate more channels to route invoices under the GST to the central database.

The second list includes HDFC Bank, Zoho Corporation, PwC and KPMG among the other 69 shortlisted companies. Earlier, in the first list, GSTN had shortlisted 34 GSPs. ClearTax, LegalRaasta and Moglix, etc. had also applied for GSP Status and did not make it to the second list.

The shortlisted companies will have to make presentations of their solutions to the GSTN on the basis of which, they will be evaluated to make it to the final list.

In the first phase, out of 48 shortlisted applications, 34 companies including EY, Deloitte, Tata Consultancy and Reliance Corporate IT Park were selected to become GSPs.

The GSTN had relaxed the eligibility criteria the second time around. It lowered the paid-up capital and turnover requirements to encourage more startups to apply.

Apart from Flipkart, some of the startups that did make the cut include Paynear and Eko India Financial Services. About 128 companies applied to be GSPs in the second phase. HDFC Bank, which owns a stake in GSTN, is a part of the second list. If selected, it will be the first bank to become a GSP.

(The development was reported by ET)

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