Priyanka Writing
As I was writing in my previous post, breakthroughs can happen anywhere. On the canvas, in our business, yoga practices.
And after we get that break, there is growth.
Something we always wanted and aspired for.
But this growth can bring with it many problems. And for a bit it seems that the lush green gardens of heaven that we imagined on the other side of the breakthrough turned out to be a BOG!!
Perspective!
The international project I worked on a while back was a lot of learning about distributed teams, flat work culture and it let me work fully remote on a challenging role. However, the foreign income that came with it has brought many GST hassles. It falls under ‘export’. Export of services.
Today the Export Scenario has drastically changed!
Earlier there would have been many barriers, so only a big company would typically get into export business. They would have a team of CAs and the works to manage the legalities. Now the world has gotten flatter.
A college kid could pick up a $50 project on an international freelance platform like Upwork or Fiverr. Little does he know, he is now liable to register for GST and he has to submit paperwork to the government before he can legally accept this $50 payment. And even if he knows about this, the effort required for him to manage all this either on his own or through a friend (obviously he can’t afford a CA) would cost him more than $50.
I can imagine updating the old Export laws into something which would suit this college kid is a HUGE task before the government. It can’t be easy, but it still needs to be done somehow. Because that $50 flow of foreign income for college kids is just an example of a huge foreign inflow that is possible now for developing countries like India.
Growth often demands that our perspective evolve. Because that is the only way we can truly appreciate the Growth despite the problems it brings with itself.
I am currently trying to figure out my way through the GST difficulties due to my foreign income (hopefully it is almost done). But a few days back I found myself thinking wistfully of my younger days when I wasn’t even registered for Service Tax. So much easier. But then I took some time and appreciated the Growth. I spoke to many CAs and it helped me get a sense of how things work. And it helped me develop my perspective.
I again find myself relaxed and hopeful that the matter will soon end. I am now more adept at traversing the roads of FIRCs, bank liaisons, GST officers and international finance houses.
Once the matter is over, I will try to find some time and write about my GST struggles so other unsuspecting folk like that college kid with a $50 monthly income don’t go amiss.
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