GST Suvidha Providers

Introduction

The GST System will have a G2B portal for taxpayers to access the GST Systems. The third party applications will connect with GST system via secure GST system APIs. All such applications are expected to be developed by third party service providers who have been
given a generic name, GST Suvidha Provider or GSP.

Background

The Goods and Services Tax constitutional amendment having been promulgated by the Govt of India, the rollout of the GST Bill will be a collective effort of the Central and State Governments, the tax payers and the IT platform provider i.e. GSTN, CBEC and State Tax Departments. Besides these main participants there are going to be other stakeholders e.g. Central and States tax authorities, RBI, the Banks, the tax professionals (tax return preparers, Chartered Accountants, Tax Advocates, STPs etc.), financial services providing companies like ERP companies and Tax Accounting Software Providers etc.

The GST System is going to have a G2B portal for taxpayers to access the GST Systems, however, that would not be the only way for interacting with the GST system as the taxpayer via his choice of third party applications, which will provide all user interfaces and convenience via desktop, mobile, other interfaces, will be able to interact with the GST system. The third party applications will connect with GST system via secure GST System APIs. All such applications are expected to be developed by third party service providers who have been given a generic name, GST Suvidha Provider or GSP. The GSPs are envisaged to provide innovative and convenient methods to taxpayers and other stakeholders in interacting with the GST Systems from registration of entity to uploading of invoice details to filing of returns. Thus there will be two sets of interactions, one between the App user and the GSP and the second between the GSP and the GST System. It is envisaged that App provider and GSP could be the same entity. Another version could where data in required format directly goes to GSP-GST Server

Advantage of the API based Approach

Choice/Flexibility : Users across the GST ecosystem gets the choice and flexibility of using their preferred application and user interface without having to depend on a single portal.  This  provides  them  the  choice  of  using  a  single  ERP  or  Tax  application  within their  organization  for  all  their  work  including  GST  related  activities.  In  addition,  this provides  a  choice  to  end  users/organizations  to  choose  the  most  appropriate  business process, customize workflows, etc. within their system rather than depending on a single portal  for  all  their  work. Having  a  healthy  and  competitive  application  provider ecosystem is best for tax payers and other users.

ii. Innovation :   Application   ecosystem (GSP   eco – system) can   innovate   in   terms   of providing   all   kinds   of   features   such   as   offline   capabilities,   alerting   capabilities, mobile/tablet  interfaces,  and  so  on  as  device  and  user  interface  technologies  evolve without GSTN having to build all possible features into a single portal.

iii. Agility : When entire system is loosely coupled via components exposing APIs, it allows individual API implementations to change without having to affect the rest of the system. API driven approach allows encapsulation of components and data models without every other part of system knowing the details. API based design also allows automated testing of the entire system to ensure changes are quickly tested in a completely automated way to avoid regression.

iv. Manageability : API based systems allow easy manageability in terms of monitoring, auditing, and performance  analysis. In  addition, individual APIs  can be versioned  and deployed/upgraded/rolled-back instead of entire application being released, tested, and deployed.

v.Scale :  For  national  GST  system  to  scale,  load  has  to  be  distributed  across  various systems. This is key for responsive user experience as well as core system scaling. Instead GST Suvidha Provider of entire application being monolithic and access via web portal, if should be built with stateless  APIs  that  can  be  scaled  horizontally.  Most  critically,  user  interface  load  is distributed to external applicati
ons making GST System truly a lean platform that can be scaled to country’s need. All users will not be forced to use a single web portal which will have huge performance implications during tax filing period. Instead providing stateless APIs  allow  load  balancing  across  data  centers  for  scale  and  distributing  user  interface load to 3rd party applications.

vi.Data consistency : Providing APIs to access all data models and functionality ensures data  is  not  duplicated  unnecessarily.  This  offers  a  single  source  of truth  of  data  to  be managed  via  common  APIs.  In  addition,  providing  centralized  data  validation,  digital signature, etc. ensures data is consistent and accurate across the system.

vii. Security: Data  security  is  paramount  to  GST system.  Accessing  data  only  via APIs ensure  centralized  management  of  security  controls.  Encapsulating  access  control, auditing, confidentiality (via encryption), and integrity (via signatures) is only possible via common APIs.

Layers in GST System

a. First Layer- GST Core System: The core business and functional services reside in this layer. As mentioned before these services are loosely coupled and are surrounded by the API layer. This layer interacts with the external world through the API layer.

b. Second Layer – API Layer: Production API layer should not be exposed to internet; accordingly there should be no threat of DDOS attack. API layer will make sure that the access and feature control are verified through functionality key. API key has information regarding feature, organization, expiry date, etc. are embedded. After the licenses key is validated, the structure of data is validated. API layer validates below for each data / request that comes i.e.:
i. License key of the caller (organization, features, expiry, etc.)
ii. Structure
iii. Size
iv. Digital signature of the API calling entity
v. Integrity of data to ensure that the data is not changed in between

c. Third Layer- Access to IT Infrastructure layer inside Data Centre:: This layer encompasses IT infrastructure serving incoming and outgoing requests. At this layer GST system will be secured through stringent network and security infrastructure.

d. Fourth Layer- Access Layer for GSP community: This layer is considered for GSPs. They uses GST authentication to enable its services and connects to the GST system through an MPLS/ VPN connectivity. A GSP needs to enter into a formal contract with GSTN. There can also be sub agencies desiring to use GST APIs to enable its services through an existing GSP. Ex: a tax payer association can become a GSP and TRP could access through it. State / CBEC / banks systems can also access GST System through this layer whom GSTN provides licenses key.

e. Fifth Layer: This layer provides access to all end users including tax agency employees, banks etc., taxpayers, state authorities against authentication and authorizations granted on GST services as per the system .This layer is used by users of the apps and portal provider. All the small and large business users fall under this layer.

Final List of Selected GST Suvidha Providers

S.No – Company Name
1 – Alankit limited
2 – Bodhtree Consulting limited
3 – Botree Software International Pvt. Ltd.
4 – Central Depository Services (India) Limited
5 – Computer Age management services Private Limited
6 – Cygnet Infotech Private Ltd
7 – Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP
8 – Ernst & Young LLP
9 – Excellon Software Pvt. Ltd.
10 – GOFRUGAL TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED
11 – Hazel Mercantile Limited
12 – IRIS BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED
13 – Karvy Data Management Services Limited
14 – Mastek Limited
15 – Masters India Private Limited
16 – MothersonSumi infotech & Designs Ltd.
17 – NSDL e-Governance Infrastructure Limited
18 – RAMCO SYSTEMS LIMITED
19 – Reliance Corporate IT Park Limited
20 – Seshaasai Business Forms Private Limited
21 – Shalibhadra Finance Limited
22 – SISL Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
23 – Skill Lotto Solutions Pvt. Ltd.
24 – Spice Digital Limited
25 – Sugal & Damani Utility Services Private Limited
26 – Tally solutions Private Limited
27 – TATA consultancy services Limited
28 – Taxmann Publication Pvt. Ltd.
29 – Tera Software Limited
30 – Trust Systems & Software (I) Pvt. Ltd.
31 – Vayana Private Limited
32 – Velocis Systems Pvt. Ltd.
33 – Vertex Customer Management India Private Limited
34 – WeP Solutions Limited