Specialised Returns (GSTR-5 NRTP, GSTR-5A OIDAR, GSTR-6 ISD, GSTR-7 TDS, GSTR-8 TCS)

An NRTP is any person who occasionally undertakes transactions involving supply of goods or services, or both, in India, but who has no fixed place of business or residence in India. This typically covers foreign exhibitors at trade fairs, short-term event organisers, foreign contractors executing a specific India-based project, and similar occasional suppliers. NRTP registration is obtained on Form GST REG-09 and is distinct from regular GST registration — it does not require a PAN in the same way (a tax identification number from the home country can substitute in specified circumstances) but does require an authorised signatory who is a resident of India with a valid PAN.

NRTP registration is valid for the period specified in the registration application, or 90 days from the effective date of registration, whichever is earlier. It can be extended once, for a further period as permitted by the proper officer, by filing Form GST REG-11 before the expiry of the original validity period, along with an additional advance tax deposit corresponding to the extended period's estimated liability.

Because an NRTP, by definition, has no fixed establishment or ongoing presence in India, the department has limited ability to pursue collection after the fact if the NRTP's India activity concludes and the entity departs. The advance deposit — an amount equivalent to the estimated tax liability for the registration period — is required upfront as a safeguard, and is adjusted against the actual liability reported in GSTR-5, with any excess refundable on closure.

GSTR-5 reports outward supplies made and inward supplies (including imports) received by the NRTP during the registration validity period, along with the tax payable and paid. It is filed monthly, by the 20th of the month following the tax period, or within 7 days after the last day of the registration validity period, whichever is earlier.

Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval (OIDAR) services are digital services delivered over the internet or an electronic network, where the supply is essentially automated and involves minimal human intervention, and which would be impossible to provide without information technology. Examples include streaming media, cloud-based software, downloadable e-books and digital content, online gaming, web-hosting, and automated online advisory services. The concept is defined under the IGST Act and its associated rules.

Yes, if the OIDAR supplier makes supplies to non-taxable recipients (typically individual consumers, i.e., B2C) located in India. A simplified registration scheme exists precisely because these suppliers have no fixed establishment in India — registration is obtained on Form GST REG-10, and the supplier can appoint a person in India for compliance purposes, though this is not always mandatory depending on the specific facts. If the OIDAR supply is instead made to a GST-registered business (B2B) in India, the recipient business typically discharges GST under reverse charge, and the offshore supplier does not need to register for that specific B2B transaction.

Because OIDAR services have no physical delivery point, the place of supply and recipient location are determined using proxy indicators specified in the rules — such as the recipient's billing address, the internet protocol (IP) address of the device used, the recipient's bank account details used for payment, the country code of the SIM card used, or the location of the recipient's fixed landline through which the service is received. Two or more non-contradictory indicators are typically used together to establish the recipient's location in India.

An Input Service Distributor is an office of a business — typically the head office, corporate office, or a shared-services centre — that receives tax invoices for input services procured centrally (audit fees, group insurance, software licences, legal and consultancy fees, and similar) on behalf of its branches or units registered under different GSTINs, and distributes the input tax credit on those invoices proportionately to the recipient units. ISD registration is a distinct registration category under Section 24 of the CGST Act, mandatory for any office intending to perform this distribution function — a business cannot distribute common input service credit to its branch GSTINs without first holding ISD registration.

No. Credit is distributed to recipient units in the same ratio as the turnover of each recipient unit to the aggregate turnover of all recipient units during the relevant period (the immediately preceding financial year, or the last quarter for which turnover figures are available, as prescribed under the CGST Rules), not on an equal basis and not on the ISD's own discretion. Certain categories of input service credit that relate exclusively to one particular recipient unit must be distributed only to that unit, not pro-rated across all units.

GSTR-6 is due on the 13th of the month following the tax period. Unlike GSTR-1/GSTR-3B, GSTR-6 has no concept of a 'nil return' waiver in the same way — if any input service invoice has been received during the period, distribution and filing are required. Late filing attracts late fee under the CGST Act and, more materially, delays the recipient GSTINs' ability to claim the distributed credit in their own returns for that period.

No. An ISD, in that specific registration capacity, does not have its own output tax liability arising from the distribution activity and does not use the credit itself — it exists solely to receive and pass on eligible input service credit to the recipient units that are actually liable to pay output tax. Ineligible or blocked credit under Section 17(5) must be excluded from distribution altogether, not distributed and then reversed by the recipient.

GST TDS under Section 51 of the CGST Act is a separate mechanism from Income Tax TDS under the Income-tax Act — they operate under different statutes, at different rates, on different tax bases, with different filing forms. Section 51 TDS applies only to specifically notified categories of deductors — government departments and establishments, local authorities, governmental agencies, and other persons specifically notified by the government — who are required to deduct tax at the prescribed rate when making payment to a GST-registered supplier under a taxable contract exceeding the prescribed threshold value.

GST TDS is deducted at 1% under CGST and 1% under SGST (for intra-state supply) or 2% under IGST (for inter-state supply), calculated on the taxable value of the supply under the contract — excluding the GST component itself. It applies only where the total value of the supply under an individual contract exceeds the prescribed threshold.

GSTR-7A is the TDS certificate that is auto-generated on the GST portal once the deductor files GSTR-7 and the corresponding tax is deposited. It is made available to both the deductor and the deductee for download, reflecting the deduction details for that period. The deductee needs this certificate as documentary evidence of the TDS credited to their electronic cash ledger, which they can then use to offset their own output tax liability.

GSTR-7 is due on the 10th of the month following the tax period. Late filing attracts late fee under the CGST Act along with interest on any TDS amount not deposited by the due date. Because GSTR-7 filing directly gates the deductee's ability to claim their TDS credit, a late filing has knock-on consequences for a third party's compliance position, not just the deductor's own exposure.

An e-commerce operator, for TCS purposes, is a person who owns, operates, or manages a digital or electronic facility or platform for electronic commerce through which other suppliers make supplies of goods or services, and who collects the consideration for those supplies on behalf of the actual supplier (or is otherwise responsible for collecting the payment). A business that sells only its own goods/services through its own website, without facilitating supplies by other independent sellers, does not fall within this definition and does not have a TCS obligation.

TCS is collected at 0.5% CGST plus 0.5% SGST (for intra-state supply) or 1% IGST (for inter-state supply), calculated on the net value of taxable supplies made through the operator's platform — meaning the aggregate value of taxable supplies, less the aggregate value of supplies returned, for the relevant period.

TCS collected and deposited by the operator reflects in the seller's electronic cash ledger once the operator's GSTR-8 is filed and matched against the seller's own claim in their GSTR-3B. The seller can then use this credited amount to offset their own output GST liability, effectively treating it as tax already paid on their behalf.

GSTR-8 is due on the 10th of the month following the tax period. If the operator facilitated no supplies and collected no TCS during a period, a nil return generally still needs to be filed to maintain continuity of compliance and avoid the appearance of a filing default — the specific nil-filing mechanics should be confirmed for the applicable period against the current GST portal process.

No. GSTR-5, GSTR-5A, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, and GSTR-8 are all monthly returns under the current framework — none of them are eligible for the QRMP (Quarterly Return Monthly Payment) scheme, which is specific to regular taxpayers filing GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B below the prescribed turnover threshold.

GSTR-9 annual return applicability depends on the registration category and turnover, and is assessed separately from the monthly specialised return obligation. NRTP, OIDAR (via GSTR-5A), and ISD registrants are generally outside the standard GSTR-9 framework given the nature of their registration, while an e-commerce operator's GSTR-9 applicability follows the standard turnover-based rules applicable to any registered person. This is assessed case-by-case and is outside the scope of this specialised-returns engagement — PNPC's GST Annual Return service covers GSTR-9/9C separately.

Continuing to undertake taxable supplies in India after NRTP registration has lapsed, without a valid extension, exposes the business to demand for tax, interest, and penalty for operating without valid registration — the same exposure any unregistered taxable person faces under Section 122 and related provisions of the CGST Act. Failure to file GSTR-5 within the validity period also puts the advance tax deposit refund at risk pending resolution of the outstanding return.

Late filing of these returns attracts late fee under the CGST Act (subject to the applicable per-day rate and cap prescribed for each return category) along with interest on any tax/TDS/TCS amount not deposited by the due date. Interest for delayed payment of GST-related dues generally runs at 18% per annum from the due date to the date of actual payment, consistent with the interest rate applicable to delayed GST payments generally.

Yes. It is entirely possible, and not uncommon, for a large group to have a head office that files GSTR-6 as an ISD, while a separate marketplace subsidiary of the same group files GSTR-8 as an e-commerce operator, and a government-facing division is separately notified as a Section 51 TDS deductor filing GSTR-7. Each obligation attaches to the specific registration/entity/role, not to the group as a whole.

Because specialised returns are filed less frequently across the market as a whole, many accounting teams and even some GST software workflows are not built around their specific data requirements. PNPC maintains dedicated working templates for each of the five return types — separate from our standard GSTR-1/GSTR-3B process — built around the specific data shape each return requires (NRTP period-based supply data, OIDAR recipient-location evidence, ISD turnover-ratio distribution, TDS/TCS deductee/seller-wise ledgers).

Yes. PNPC handles the full lifecycle — assessing applicability, preparing and filing the initial registration application (Form GST REG-09 for NRTP, Form GST REG-10 for OIDAR, ISD registration under Section 24), the ongoing monthly return filing, and, where relevant, registration renewal, extension, or closure.

Yes. This is one of the more common scenarios in our OIDAR practice — an offshore digital service provider with no India office, no India-resident director, and no other India compliance touchpoint beyond this specific GST obligation. We manage the registration, monthly filing, and any department correspondence as the entity's sole point of India GST compliance contact.

PNPC operates from Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, and Dubai. For a UAE-headquartered business with an India-facing digital service, an India NRTP event, or an India ISD/e-commerce structure, we coordinate the India-side GST specialised return work with our Dubai office's UAE VAT/Corporate Tax advisory, so the client deals with one firm across both jurisdictions rather than separate providers who do not share context.

For an ISD retainer: monthly invoice-level data on input services received centrally, and current turnover figures for each recipient GSTIN. For an e-commerce operator retainer: monthly seller-wise, transaction-wise supply value and settlement data from the platform. We agree a specific data-export format and delivery schedule with each client at engagement start so that monthly filing does not depend on ad hoc, manually assembled data each time.

Pricing depends on which of the five returns apply, the transaction volume involved, whether registration setup is also required, and whether the engagement is a one-off (typical for an NRTP event-based registration) or an ongoing monthly retainer (typical for ISD or e-commerce operator filings). PNPC agrees a specific, written fee structure for each engagement before work begins rather than applying a single generic price across very different filing profiles.

General GST-filing software is built primarily around the high-volume GSTR-1/GSTR-3B workflow. NRTP, OIDAR, ISD, TDS, and TCS filings each have distinct data structures, registration prerequisites, and third-party knock-on effects (deductee/recipient/seller credit) that a generalist workflow frequently does not surface clearly. PNPC's specialised-returns practice exists specifically because these five return types, taken together, are filed by a comparatively small, specialised population — and errors in this space tend to go unnoticed for longer precisely because they are less commonly reviewed.

Applicability assessment across all five return types; registration verification or fresh registration (NRTP/OIDAR/ISD) where needed; NRTP advance tax estimation; OIDAR recipient-location determination methodology; ISD credit distribution working and monthly filing; TDS/TCS threshold confirmation, deduction/collection working, and monthly filing; GSTR-7A certificate tracking and TCS reconciliation; department notice and query response; and registration lifecycle management (NRTP renewal/closure).

Potentially, yes. If an offshore OIDAR supplier establishes a fixed place of business or an India subsidiary that takes over the supply relationship, the compliance framework can shift from the simplified OIDAR/GSTR-5A regime to standard GST registration and the regular GSTR-1/GSTR-3B cycle, depending on how the revised structure is set up. Similarly, if a group consolidates or splits its ISD office, the credit distribution structure needs to be reassessed.