Whole Sale and Retail Trade Services Under GST.

Meaning Of Goods-

As per Section 2(52), the goods means every kind of movable property other than money ad securities but included actionable claim growing crops, grass, and things attached to or forming part of the land which are agreed to be served before supply or under a contract of supply.

Meaning Of Agent-

Agent means a person, including a factor, broker, commission agent, Croatia, del credere agent m, an auctioneer or any other mercantile agent, by whatever name called, who carries on the business of supply or receipt of goods or services or both on behalf of another.

Meaning Of Pure Agent-

‘Pure Agent” means someone who while making a supply to the recipient, also receives and incurs expenditure on some other supply on behalf of the recipient and claims reimbursement for such supplies from the recipient of the main supply. Rule 33 of GST Rules,2017 explains the provisions regarding the value of supply of services in the case of a pure agent.

The additional expenses incurred during a supply on behalf of the recipient will not be considered a taxable supply, and thus should not be taken into account while calculating taxes.

Pure Agent means a person (a).who has signed an official agreement with the recipient, according to which he will also incur any expenditure that may occur during the supply. (b). Doesn’t hold any right o the ownership of the goods or services being supplied,(c). doesn’t use any such goods or services for his personal interest,(d). receives the actual supply value in addition to the reimbursement for any additional supply provided by him on his account.

Meaning of intermediary

As per Section 2(zl) of the Intermediary means as assigned to it in sub-section (13) of Section 2 of the as “Broker an agent or any other person, by whatever name called, who arranges or facilitates the supply of goods or services or both securities, between two or more persons, but does not include a person who supplies such goods or services or both or securities on his own account.

Clearing and forwarding Agent

As per Section 65(25) of the Finance Act, 2012 Clearing and forwarding agent means any person who is engaged in providing any service, either directly or indirectly, connected with the clearing and forwarding operations in any manner to any other person and includes a consignment agent.

Commissioner Agent

Commission Agent means any person who acts on behalf of another person and causes sale or purchase of goods, or provision or receipt of services, for consideration, and includes any person who, while acting on behalf of another person:-

(i) deals with goods or services or documents of title to such goods or services or,

(ii) collects payment of sale price of such goods or services; or

(iii) guarantees for collection or payment for such goods or services; or

(iv) undertakes any activities relating to such sale or purchase of such goods or services.

Services by agent or brokers including sub-brokers

A sub-broker is a person who is appointed by a stockbroker and acts on behalf of a Trading Member as an agent but he is not a Trading Member of a Stock Exchange. Sub-brokers are required to be registered with SEBI and the stockbroker is responsible for all acts of the commission of the authorized person.

The GST Act clubs all intermediaries as 'agents' who carries on the business of supply or receipt of goods and/or services on behalf of another and clubs these entities together with commission agents, brokers, etc. Thus we can conclude that: GST registration is mandatory for every Sub Brokers & Authorised Persons.

Broker

Broker’s prime responsibility is to bring sellers and buyers together, and thus, a broker is the third-person facilitator between a buyer and a seller. An example would be a real estate broker who facilitates the same of a property. Brokers also can furnish market information regarding prices, products, and market conditions. Brokers may represent either the seller or the buyer but not both at the same time. An example would be a stockbroker, who makes the sale or purchase of securities on behalf of his client. Brokers play a huge role in the sale of stocks, bonds, and other financial services.

The requirement of Registration for an agent under GST Scenario:

As per Section 24(vii) of the CGST Act,2017, persons who make a taxable supply of goods or services or both on behalf of other taxable persons whether as an agent or otherwise, are not eligible for the threshold limit of Rs.20 Lakhs/10 Lakhs for registration. Therefore, agents are mandatorily required to obtain registration irrespective of their turnover.