GST Health Check Services: Identify Compliance Gaps and Mitigate GST Risk Before Authorities Do
Is Your Business Adequately Protected Under India’s Evolving GST Framework?
Since the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax in July 2017, India’s GST framework has evolved continuously through official notifications, circulars, advance rulings, and judicial pronouncements. Businesses that were compliant at the time of registration may now carry unrecognised exposure across areas such as ITC eligibility, cross-charge mechanisms, reverse charge applicability, e-invoicing obligations, and the GST treatment of inter-company
transactions, all of which have seen significant regulatory and judicial development in recent years.
Compounding this risk, GST authorities have been empowered to conduct inquiries and issue demand orders within a 3-year or 5-year window from the due date of filing the annual return for the relevant financial year. With GST scrutiny and investigation activity escalating sharply across all economic sectors, including manufacturing, services, real estate, and e-commerce, businesses now face a substantially elevated risk of demand orders, penalties, and in serious cases, proceedings of a criminal nature under Section 132 of the CGST Act. Our GST health check and compliance review services are designed to help businesses identify and remediate these risks before they become enforcement actions.
Why a GST Health Check Is a Business-Critical Exercise Right Now
The current GST enforcement environment is significantly more active than in the years immediately following implementation. Tax authorities are increasingly issuing notices based on GSTR-2B vs. GSTR-3B mismatches, unreconciled outward supply data, incorrect ITC claims, and failure to reverse ITC on exempt supplies. Businesses that have not systematically reviewed their GST positions, particularly for financial years now approaching the 5-year
Scrutiny windows are exposed to demands they may be unable to defend without comprehensive documentation.
A proactive GST health check allows your business to identify compliance gaps on its own terms, quantify potential liability before it is crystallized by a department order, and implement corrective measures significantly reducing both the quantum of exposure and the risk of penalties under Sections 73, 74, and 122 of the CGST Act. For
For businesses already facing department scrutiny, our GST audit assistance services provide targeted support in responding to notices and managing adjudication proceedings.
About MBG’s GST Health Check Practice
MBG’s GST health check practice is staffed by multidisciplinary professionals, including experienced accountants, indirect tax specialists, industry-specific advisors, and former senior government officials with direct operational knowledge of how GST authorities conduct scrutiny and investigation proceedings. This combination of technical expertise and regulatory insight allows MBG to assess your GST compliance position not just against the statute but against how authorities in practice interpret and enforce it.
We provide practical, actionable recommendations, not just a findings report. Every health check engagement is designed around your specific business model, transaction mix, and risk profile, with an emphasis on helping your team implement sustainable compliance improvements that hold up under departmental review. Our broader
indirect tax advisory services can extend this support into ongoing compliance management and representation.
MBG’s GST Health Check: Scope of Services
Our GST health check engagements are structured around your business’s specific risk areas
and cover the following:
- Walkthrough testing of controls over business transactions in the ordinary course of operations to assess whether GST is being applied correctly at the transaction level.
- Discussions with key finance and tax personnel to review existing standard operating
procedures, internal controls, and areas of uncertainty in GST treatment. - Review of GST documentation, records, and filings to assess adequacy against legal requirements, including e-invoicing compliance, HSN/SAC classification, and RCM applicability.
- Assessment of the GST legal framework and tax positions adopted by the company, including positions on exempt vs taxable supplies, ITC eligibility, and inter-company arrangements.
- Identification of GST compliance gaps specific to your business and recommendation of corrective actions, prioritized by risk exposure level.
- Classification of GST risks to identify areas requiring more detailed testing and evaluation, particularly those approaching the 3- or 5-year scrutiny window.
- Identification of cost-saving opportunities and GST efficiency improvements, including ITC optimization, refund eligibility, and rate reclassification possibilities.
- A structured review report setting out findings, potential compliance gaps, quantified risk estimates where possible, and actionable recommendations to address identified shortfalls.
Talk to MBG: Tailored Scope, Transparent Engagement
Every MBG GST health check is assembled to address business-specific risk areas; there is no templated approach. The scope and depth of our review is calibrated to the complexity of your business transactions, the volume and nature of your intercompany arrangements, and the number of areas requiring detailed assessment. Our fees are structured accordingly and communicated transparently at the outset of each engagement. Speak to our team to understand how a GST health check can be structured for your business and what it would involve.