Bengaluru, Jul 17 (PTI) The Additional Commissioner of Commercial Taxes on Thursday urged traders not to stop receiving payments through UPI.

On July 11, the Commercial Taxes Department had informed the public that the business establishments, which receive payment exceeding Rs 40 lakh annually for goods and Rs 20 lakh for services will have to obtain Goods and Services Tax (GST) registration.

Following this, it has been reported in the media that many traders are refusing to accept Unified Payments Interface (UPI), fearing GST notices.

The news that thousands of unregistered small businesses have received GST notices wherein the department had tracked the defaulters through their UPI records and that some are being asked to pay in lakhs of rupees have led to this confusion, the department said in a release.

It further stated that the GST notice being sent takes into consideration all modes of payment -- POS machine, bank payments, cash as well as UPI. It also said that refusing UPI payments does not absolve the traders from GST.

"The GST is applicable on the consideration received for the supplies in any form and UPI is only a method of receiving such consideration. The department will take suitable action to collect the applicable tax under the GST Act from the traders who have received consideration in any form," the release said. PTI JR KH

GST registration and liability apply regardless of payment mode; refusing UPI does not avoid tax obligations under GST. The communication clarifies that GST registration and tax liability are determined by consideration received for supplies irrespective of payment mode; receipts via UPI, POS, bank transfers or cash are all relevant. Refusing a payment method does not eliminate GST obligations. Notices issued after tracing transactions through UPI reflect that the department treats UPI as one of several receipt mechanisms and will pursue applicable tax collection under the GST Act from traders who have received consideration in any form.