For software and SaaS companies
Selling software abroad? Zero GST on exports, but only with the paperwork.
Founders selling software abroad learn two things late. Their exports carry no GST only if the paperwork is right. And an annual plan paid in January is not January's revenue. Both are easy to get wrong and expensive to fix. We keep the export paperwork current every year. We spread each plan across the months it covers. And you get a monthly report that shows cash collected against revenue earned.
- Every filing is checked before you approve it
- A reply the same working day
- One fixed fee a month
What is different for you
What a general accounting page will not tell you.
Exports carry no GST, with conditions.
Sales to customers outside India are zero-rated, which means no GST if the export rules are met. To export without paying GST first, you file a letter of undertaking, called an LUT, and renew it every financial year. Let it lapse and you pay tax you should not, then spend months claiming it back.
The money has to arrive, with proof.
Export treatment depends on receiving payment in foreign currency within the allowed time, with the bank's certificate to show it.
Where your customer is decides the tax.
An Indian customer is a normal taxable sale. A foreign customer is an export. Getting this wrong is the most common GST mistake in Indian software.
Paying foreign vendors can need tax cut at source.
Payments abroad for software, hosting or services can need withholding tax and a filing before the money leaves. We check this before payment, not after.
Annual plans are collected before they are earned.
Revenue is counted across the months you deliver, not on the day the card is charged. Books that ignore this show too much profit now and too little later.
ESOPs create a tax event for your team.
When options are exercised there is tax to deduct through payroll. Employees find out the hard way if nobody plans for it.
What we do for you
Every month, this is what we take over.
- We keep your LUT current. Filed and renewed every year, so your exports stay free of GST without you thinking about it.
- Export paperwork, kept in order. Invoices, bank proof of payment, and the trail that supports the position if anyone asks.
- Revenue counted in the right months. Annual and multi-month plans spread across the period they cover. Your monthly report shows money collected against revenue earned, so the profit figure means something.
- Foreign payments checked before they go. Withholding and the filing handled at the right time, which is before the payment.
- Everything beyond your exports. Books, GST, TDS, income tax, ROC and notices. One fixed fee.
No GST on exports is a benefit you qualify for each year, not a status you have. The paperwork is the qualification.
Software does the routine work. Our team reviews every return. You approve, then we file. How it works
Read more
The filings that matter most for you.
Questions
Things people in your position ask.
Do I charge GST to customers outside India?
No, if the sale meets the export rules and you have a letter of undertaking in place. Then it is zero-rated. If the rules are not met, it is treated as a normal taxable sale and the tax is yours to pay. We handle the LUT and the proof.
What is an LUT, and do I need one?
A letter of undertaking lets you export without paying GST first and claiming it back later. It is filed on the GST portal and renewed every financial year. Exporters who forget the renewal pay tax on exports for months and then spend longer getting it back. We track the renewal.
My customers pay through Stripe or Paddle. Does that change anything?
It changes the proof trail, and sometimes who the sale is legally made to. That affects how it is taxed. Tell us how you collect and we will confirm where you stand.
We have no revenue yet. Is there anything to do?
Yes, and doing it now costs less than fixing it later. A company with no revenue still owes an audit, yearly ROC filings and an income tax return. TDS starts the month you pay your first salary. Clean books from month one also make your first investor check a week instead of a month.