CA possibly overcharging me?

[Nandini]

My chartered accountant is asking 4000 INR every month. I get paid every two weeks – 3125 USD as a solo software‑engineer for a US startup. That's about 6250 USD a month or 75 000 USD a year. Since the money comes in dollars, it's an inward remittance. He tells me I can't claim GST refunds on things like a monitor or laptop unless I have an Indian client and get paid in rupees. I've tried to figure it out but it's confusing. Is this nonsense? I already have GST registration.

[Ramesh]

1. Your CA is mostly right about the refund issue.
2. But he's charging too much for the compliance work.
3. You don't need to file GST every month – quarterly filing is fine as long as your turnover is under 5 cr.

[Kishore]

Your CA is partly right. You can claim the GST you paid on those items, but you won't get a cash refund because input credit on capital goods or fixed assets isn't refundable. That input credit will just sit in your GST portal until you make a domestic sale, which will create an output liability you can set‑off against the input credit.

[Dayanand]

You can file the GST return yourself; it's quite straightforward. Just refer to your earlier returns for guidance.

[Devendra]

Wow, that sounds like a plot from the movie Ready!

[Ayaan]

Haha, my CA only charges 500 rupees a month for filing GST.

[Harshit]

Do you charge GST on your earnings? Export of services is exempt under GST, so if you're not paying any GST, there's nothing to claim as a refund.

[Mister]

1. You don't really need a CA.
2. Log into the GST portal and switch to the quarterly filing mode.
3. Every quarter file a NIL GST return.
4. Twice a year log into the income‑tax portal and pay advance tax – roughly 12 % of your earnings.
5. Once a year complete the ITR on the portal, pay any balance and file it.

And hey, a cup of coffee would be a nice consulting fee

[Cinemapicha]

He's correct about the GST refund, but he's overcharging you. You can find GST filing services for as low as 500 INR per month.

[Sameer]

I earn roughly the same way you described. I have to file an annual GST LUT, a GST return each quarter, an annual GST return (if I'm not mistaken), and then my yearly ITR.

You can't claim GST benefits on purchases because you're not actually paying GST – that's what the LUT does.

My CA bills about 10 000 INR per year for all this, which is five times what you're paying. You should look for a new CA.

[Neha]

Bro, he's charging way too much. You can handle it yourself – switch to quarterly filing and watch some YouTube videos.
The government treats exports as "zero‑rated supplies." So you don't charge GST to foreign clients (rate 0 %), but you're still fully eligible to claim back the GST you paid on your business expenses.