Indirect Tax

Indirect taxes GST, customs duty, and trade levies are embedded in every business transaction. Yet most businesses overpay, under-claim, or expose themselves to avoidable disputes simply because indirect tax complexity is underestimated. MBG’s indirect tax consulting practice changes that: we identify where you are losing money, protect your input tax credit, and ensure your compliance obligations are met accurately so your business never faces an avoidable demand notice.

Our team of chartered accountants, tax lawyers, and former revenue officials delivers indirect tax advisory services across GST, customs, foreign trade policy, and legacy indirect tax laws. We work across manufacturing, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, infrastructure, and SEZ sectors, providing advisory, compliance, litigation, and technology-enabled solutions as integrated or standalone engagements.

Why businesses choose MBG as their indirect tax advisor

• Team of CAs, tax lawyers, and ex-revenue officials with cross-sector experience
• Full-cycle coverage from transaction advisory to appellate representation
• Technology-enabled compliance: GSP/ASP integration, e-invoicing, and GSTR automation
• Proven track record in GST refund recovery, customs disputes, and audit defence

Sector-specific expertise: manufacturing, pharma, e-commerce, SEZ/STPI, infrastructure.

Our Indirect Tax Advisory and Compliance Services

MBG’s indirect tax services cover the full lifecycle of a business’s tax obligations from transaction-level advisory through to litigation and refund recovery. Each service is available as standalone advisory or as part of a managed compliance engagement.

1. GST Advisory and Compliance

GST is India’s most significant indirect tax and its most dynamic. Rate changes, ITC rule amendments, and tightening digital compliance requirements mean businesses that rely on last year’s understanding consistently face ITC leakage and filing errors.

MBG’s GST advisory covers transaction structuring, rate and exemption analysis, ITC eligibility reviews, and advance ruling applications. Our compliance service manages the complete GSTR filing cycle, monthly GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, GSTR-2B ITC reconciliation, annual GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C, e-invoicing implementation, and GST registration management.

2. GST Health Check and Compliance Review

A GST compliance health check is a structured, independent review of your GST filings, ITC records, and compliance processes conducted before the tax department finds the problem, not after.

MBG’s review covers output tax liability, ITC eligibility and documentation, GSTR reconciliation across returns and financial statements, HSN/SAC classification accuracy, place of supply determinations, and export compliance. We deliver a risk-rated findings report with a corrective action plan giving your team a clear roadmap to a clean compliance position.

3. GST Refunds

Businesses that export goods or services, or that operate under an inverted duty structure, accumulate ITC they are legally entitled to recover. Delayed or rejected refund claims directly affect working capital.

MBG manages end-to-end GST refund claims export refunds under LUT, IGST refunds on shipping bills, and inverted duty structure claims under Rule 89(5). We handle GSTR filing alignment, RFD-01 preparation, document compilation, deficiency memo responses, and follow-up with the jurisdictional office through to the credit of the refund amount.

4. Customs Valuation and SVB Investigation

When imports involve related-party transactions, customs authorities routinely scrutinize the declared price through the Special Valuation Branch (SVB). A poorly managed SVB proceeding results in additional duty demands, interest, and clearance delays.

MBG advises on customs valuation methodology, confirming that the transaction value is defensible under the Customs Valuation Rules and provides complete SVB investigation support: questionnaire responses, relationship impact analysis, representation before the SVB officer, and challenges of provisional duty orders.

5. Indirect Tax Litigation and Representation

How a dispute is handled at the show-cause notice stage determines outcomes at every subsequent level. Businesses that treat SCN replies as administrative formalities consistently struggle in appellate proceedings.

MBG’s indirect tax litigation team drafts SCN replies as litigation documents building the legal and factual record from the first response. We represent clients before the first appellate authority, GSTAT, CESTAT, the High Court, and the Supreme Court for matters under GST, customs, service tax, and central excise.

6. Assistance in GST Departmental Audit

A GST departmental audit under Section 65 of the CGST Act examines your returns, ITC records, and books of accounts in detail. Without preparation, even technically compliant businesses face demands arising from documentation gaps or reconciliation mismatches.

MBG provides pre-audit preparation, reviewing the audit period’s returns and ITC registers to identify and address issues before the officers arrive on-site, coordination during the audit, structured responses to audit findings, and demand defence where notices follow the audit.

7. Customs and Trade Advisory AEO, DGFT, and Trade Remedies

Beyond GST, businesses engaged in cross-border trade require specialist advisory across the customs and foreign trade policy framework.

• Authorised Economic Operator (AEO) certification: Gap assessment, application, internal process documentation, and post-certification compliance securing faster clearances, reduced examination rates, and lower bank guarantee requirements.
• DGFT representation and FTP compliance: Advance Authorisation, EPCG, RoDTEP, Status Holder certification, export obligation monitoring, and representation in DGFT disputes and regularisation proceedings.
• Trade remedies, anti-dumping and countervailing duties: Petitions for domestic industry protection, exporter questionnaire responses, injury analysis challenges, product exclusion requests, and new shipper review applications before the DGTR.

Sector-Specific Indirect Tax Advisory

Indirect tax rules vary significantly by industry. A generic advisory approach carries the risk of missed credits, incorrect rates, and exposure to sector-specific audit triggers. MBG’s indirect tax consultants maintain focused expertise in:

Tax Technology and Digital Indirect Tax Compliance

India’s GST framework is increasingly automated e-invoicing is mandatory across turnover thresholds, GSTR-2B auto-populates ITC from supplier filings, and the department’s analytics systems flag mismatches between return data and third-party sources. Businesses that manage compliance manually carry growing risk.

MBG helps businesses implement indirect tax solutions that reduce manual effort and compliance risk: GSP/ASP-integrated GSTR filing, real-time GSTR-2B ITC reconciliation, ERP-to-GSTN data mapping, and e-invoicing onboarding with IRN generation workflows. We also help businesses understand their GST risk profile and the data signals in their returns that make them a candidate for scrutiny or audit selection.

Speak with an Indirect Tax Advisor

Whether you need a GST compliance review, customs advisory, a refund claim managed, or representation in a tax dispute contact MBG for a no-obligation consultation with our indirect tax consulting team.