Tax Settings
Your GST Registration, Checked as You Type It
One screen decides how GST is worked out for every bag and order in your store. Mercayo checks your GSTIN character by character, and changes only ever apply to new orders.
- In every plan
- Free for 14 days
Kosha is a demo store on Mercayo. Its products, orders and customers are sample data.
In short
What It Does
Settings → Taxes holds everything GST, in three cards and a short explainer:
GST Registration
- Registration Type: Regular GST (you charge GST to shoppers by HSN rate and file returns), Composition scheme (you pay GST at a fixed rate on turnover and do not charge it to shoppers; your documents are bills of supply), or Not registered for GST (no GST is charged on your orders).
- State of Registration: where your business is registered. It decides, for each order, CGST and SGST (a shopper in your state) or IGST (a shopper elsewhere).
- GSTIN: checked as you type. It must have exactly 15 characters; the right shape (2 digits, a 10-character PAN, an entity number, Z, then a check character); your state's code at the start; and a check character that matches the others. Each mistake is explained: "A GSTIN registered in Karnataka starts with 29", or "The last character does not match the others. Check each character against your GST certificate." A good one says "Looks right: the check character matches."
- Legal Name, as on your GST certificate, printed on your tax invoices.
Your Prices and GST
Prices I enter include GST (the price shoppers see is what they pay; GST is worked out inside it) or GST is added on top of my prices (shoppers pay your price plus GST at checkout). Switching asks you to confirm, with an example in rupees: "a product priced ₹799 costs ₹799 plus GST at checkout". Orders and invoices already made keep the way they were priced; store pages show the change at once.
GST Rates by HSN Code
Your table of rates. ADD RATE takes:
| Field | What It Means |
|---|---|
| HSN Code | 2 to 8 digits; a shorter code covers longer ones (6109 covers 61091000), and the longest match wins |
| GST Rate (%) | The full rate, like 18 or 5, up to 40 |
| From / Up To Unit Price (₹) | Optional price bands, for codes whose rate depends on the price per piece, like clothing up to ₹2,500 at 5% |
| Applies From | Optional date, for a rate change the government announced; empty means always |
The rate dialog has the HSN finder built in: pick a code and its rate is filled in for you to check and save. Deleting a rate warns you first, because products with that code lose it at once.
How GST Is Charged
A short explainer card shows the rule for your own state, for example "At 18%: 9% CGST and 9% SGST within your state, or 18% IGST to another state. The place of supply is the delivery address."
Changes apply to new bags and orders at once ("GST settings saved. New bags and orders use them now."); orders and invoices already made keep the tax they were placed with.
For your store
Why It Matters
A wrong GSTIN or the wrong state on your invoices causes trouble later, with your returns and with your business buyers' input tax credit. Checking the GSTIN's check character catches typing mistakes, a swapped 0 and O, a missing digit, before a single invoice is issued with them.
"Prices include GST" is how most Indian D2C brands sell, because shoppers compare final prices. Mercayo handles it exactly: the price the shopper sees never moves, and the GST is worked out inside it to the paisa, with CGST and SGST always equal.
A rates table by HSN code, rather than a rate typed on each product, means one change reaches every product with that code, and a dated rate lets you prepare for a government rate change before the day it applies. Price bands handle the goods whose rate depends on the price per piece, such as clothing and footwear, without you splitting products.
And because a product with no rate for its code cannot be bought on regular GST, nothing is ever sold with its tax missing.
Step by step
How It Works
Choose Your Registration Type
In Settings → Taxes, under GST Registration, choose Regular GST, Composition scheme, or Not registered for GST. Each choice says in a line what it means for your shoppers. Not registered yet? Start there, add your rates anyway, and switch to Regular GST with your GSTIN on the day you register.
Enter Your State, GSTIN and Legal Name
Choose your State of Registration, type your GSTIN and your Legal Name as on your GST certificate. The GSTIN is checked as you type, including that it starts with your state's code and that its last character matches. If another store on Mercayo already uses the same GSTIN, Mercayo is asked to approve it first; add a note to say why, such as "a second brand of the same company".
Decide How Prices and GST Work
Under Your Prices and GST, choose whether the prices you enter include GST or have GST added on top. The confirmation shows what a ₹799 product will cost the shopper either way; press CHANGE AND SAVE to apply it. Your product prices stay as you typed them.
Add Your Rates by HSN Code
Under GST Rates by HSN Code, press ADD RATE: the HSN code (2 to 8 digits), the rate, and if needed a unit price band and an Applies From date. Or search the built-in HSN finder and press its button to fill the code and rate in. A code with a rate for each price band gets one rate per band; add the other bands as their own rates.
Check Products Without a Rate
On the Products list, the health strip's Missing HSN shows products without an HSN code, which GST invoices need. In a product's editor, the GST card tells you whether your store has a rate for its code, whether it matches the official list, and offers to add it.
Set GST on Delivery and Fees
Delivery and the cash on delivery fee are taxed at one flat rate, 18% to start with, set in Settings → Invoices → GST on Delivery, whatever the goods in the bag. See GST invoices.
Your shoppers
What Your Shoppers See
Shoppers see prices the way you chose: with GST included ("Includes ₹121.88 GST" on a ₹799 order at 18%, in their order summary), or with GST added as its own line at checkout. Their GST invoice shows CGST and SGST, or IGST, by where they live. A business buyer can add their GSTIN at checkout for a business invoice, if you keep business invoices on.
Settings
Settings You Control
Each one is in your admin. A new store starts with the value shown.
Mercayo
Mercayo's Controls
If a GSTIN you enter is already used by another store on Mercayo, Mercayo must approve it first (for example a second brand of the same company): your admin shows "Waiting for Mercayo" until then, nothing is saved before the answer, and you can tell Mercayo why. If Mercayo does not approve it, your admin says so with the reason. This protects businesses from someone else invoicing under their GSTIN. Mercayo's team can also fix or limit the GST rate on delivery and fees for a store, with a reason your admin shows and a record in Mercayo's audit log. Mercayo never changes your registration or your rates table for you.
Limits today
Good to Know Before You Start
- One GST registration per store; a store cannot invoice from two states.
- Rates are set by HSN code (with optional price bands and start dates), not per product or per collection.
- The GSTIN is checked for shape, state code and check character, not looked up on the GST portal.
- Delivery and fees are taxed at one flat rate, not at the rate of the goods in the bag.
Questions
About Tax Settings
What if I am not registered for GST yet?
Choose "Not registered for GST": no GST is charged and no GST documents are issued, and the order page and emails serve as the shopper's receipt. You can still add your rates now, ready for when you register; they are used only on regular GST.
Will changing "prices include GST" change past orders?
No. Orders and invoices already made keep the way they were priced. Store pages show the change at once, and your product prices stay the numbers you typed: with GST on top, shoppers pay more; with GST included, you receive less after tax.
Why can a product not be bought without a rate?
So nothing is ever sold with GST worked out wrongly on regular GST. The product editor's GST card says when your store has no rate for a product's code and offers to add the listed one, and the products list shows which products are missing an HSN code.
Why does Mercayo ask to approve my GSTIN?
Only when another store on Mercayo already uses the same GSTIN. It stops anyone invoicing under a business's GSTIN without the business knowing. Add a note explaining why (such as a second brand of the same company), and your registration is saved as soon as Mercayo approves.
How do I handle a rate change announced by the government?
Add the new rate for the HSN code with an Applies From date. Until that day the old rate is charged; from that day the new one, with nothing to do on the day itself. Orders placed before keep the rate they were charged.
What is the composition scheme option for?
For businesses that pay GST at a fixed rate on turnover. Shoppers are charged no GST, and each order gets a bill of supply in its own number series instead of a tax invoice. Ask your accountant whether it suits you; the scheme has its own turnover and sales limits.
Related
Related Features
- HSN FinderType what a product is, like phone case or silver earring, and pick its HSN code from the GST directory, with the rate from the official rate notifications.
- GST InvoicesEvery order gets the right GST document, a tax invoice or a bill of supply, numbered without gaps per financial year, as a PDF for you and your shopper.
- Business (B2B) InvoicesBusiness buyers add their GSTIN and legal name at checkout; the GSTIN is checked and the GST invoice names the business, ready for input tax credit.
- ProductsA fast product list with a health strip, saved views and bulk changes you can undo, and an editor for options, variants, photos, descriptions and SEO.
- Credit NotesWhen an invoiced order is cancelled, comes back undelivered or is refunded, Mercayo issues the GST credit note itself, once, for exactly what was taken back.
More in GST and Invoices: GST Invoices · Credit Notes · HSN Finder · Business (B2B) Invoices · Invoices Screen and GSTR-1 Export
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