4.5 GST data and GSPs

Why GST data is critical for SME WC

For SME working-capital underwriting, GST data is the most reliable signal of actual business activity. It is:

• Self-declared but tax-anchored — borrowers under-report at their tax risk.
• High-frequency — monthly (3B) and monthly / quarterly (1).
• Granular — invoice-level for e-invoice-eligible.
• Cross-reconcilable with bank-statement credit turnover.

The reconciliation between GST sales and bank credits is one of the strongest single underwriting signals — a borrower with consistent reconciliation is fundamentally different from one with large divergence.

GSPs (GST Suvidha Providers)

GSPs are authorised intermediaries between the GST Network (GSTN) and external systems (lenders, accounting software, ERPs). They expose GST APIs.

GSP	Notes	URL
Cygnet	Large enterprise GSP; lender-friendly APIs	cygnetinfotech.com
Karix	Communications + GSP; established	karix.com
Webtel	GSP; broad SME footprint	webtelelectrosoft.com
MasterIndia (MasterGST)	GSP; lender APIs	mastergst.com
Taxgenie	GSP + e-invoice + reconciliation	taxgenie.io
Vayana	SCF + GSP combined; strong lender base	vayana.in

KYC / KYB aggregators (Karza, Signzy, IDfy) also expose GST verification primitives, often via underlying GSP relationships.

Data available

GSTR-1 (outward supplies)

• Invoice-level for B2B (over threshold).
• Aggregate for B2C.
• Indicates monthly sales.

GSTR-3B (summary return)

• Aggregate outward supply value.
• Tax liability.
• ITC claimed.

GSTR-2A / 2B (inward supplies)

• Purchases from registered suppliers.
• Useful for purchase-pattern and supplier-concentration analysis.

E-invoice (IRN-based)

• Invoices above the e-invoice threshold (currently ₹5 Cr aggregate turnover, periodically lowered) must be registered on the IRP; IRN issued.
• IRN-based lookup confirms invoice authenticity — gold for invoice-financing.

E-way bill

• Logistics-tied movement record above value thresholds.
• Useful as activity signal.

Consent

Borrower’s consent is given via GSTN OTP — borrower receives OTP, enters into vendor’s flow, vendor pulls returns. Different GSPs implement the OTP flow slightly differently; UX matters.

Some GSPs support API-key based pulls (where borrower has pre-authorised the GSP); others use per-pull OTP.

Derived signals

From GST data, the underwriting engine derives:

• Turnover (last 12 / 24 / 36 months) and trend.
• Month-on-month volatility.
• Seasonality.
• Filing consistency — % of months filed on time.
• Late-filing pattern — recency.
• Suspension / cancellation flags.
• Customer concentration — top buyers.
• Supplier concentration — top suppliers.
• Tax-liability vs ITC ratio.
• GST vs bank reconciliation — divergence flag.

Pricing proxy

• GST profile pull (3B + 1 summary): ₹20 – ₹80 per borrower.
• Detailed pull (multiple returns, invoice-level): ₹50 – ₹250.
• E-invoice lookup per IRN: ₹0.50 – ₹5 per invoice.

Implementation complexity

• One GSP integration: ~2 – 4 weeks.
• Multi-GSP for resilience: incremental but worth it for SLA.

Failure cases

• Borrower OTP delay / failure — UX cost; retry workflow.
• GSTN API throttling — backoff + queue.
• Return not filed for recent period — risk signal but not a vendor failure.

Fallback

• Manual GSTR PDF upload + light parse (avoid where possible).
• AA-based GST (limited coverage).

Compliance implications

• GST law — pull only with consent.
• DPDP — purpose-bounded.
• Outsourcing MD.

Build vs buy

• GST API access via GSP: Buy. GSP licence is regulated.
• GST-derived features (turnover, volatility, reconciliation): Build. Domain-specific to your underwriting.
• E-invoice cross-check: Buy via GSP or specialist; trivial integration once API access exists.