MSMEs facing IMS challenge: FISME

A proper pilot for a 9-month period allowing for testing, feedback and refinement before a full nationwide launch will ensure successful implementation

NEW DELHI, Jan. 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME), a not-for-profit working towards the progression of Indian MSMEs, is seeking additional 9 months of time till 25^th September 2025, for the successful implementation of the Invoice Management System (IMS). This comes on the backdrop of the advisory issued by The GST Network (GSTN) to introduce the IMS functionality on the GST portal in September last year.

While the core purpose of the IMS is to help taxpayers accurately claim input tax credits by allowing them to accept, reject or keep pending the invoices received from their suppliers, their inability to do the same seamlessly is creating challenges for entire ecosystem.

Firstly, IMS is not truly "optional", as envisaged. While taxpayers can choose whether to use the system, the actions taken by recipients will still impact the suppliers, whether they use IMS or not. If a non-IMS supplier's customer decides to reject an invoice or credit note in the system, it will still impact the compliance of the suppliers.

Secondly, the timeline for implementation is too short. Businesses are being given just two weeks between the API release and the IMS go-live to make the necessary software changes and train their teams. This is a huge expectation, especially for larger enterprises with complex invoice management processes.

Commenting on the IMS rollout, Mr. Anil Bhardwaj, Secretary General, FISME, said, "The lack of adequate timelines and complex operational processes have been a challenge, specifically for the retail sector in India. It is imperative that the Government reconsiders extending implementation timelines to facilitate a pilot period that would allow identifying and solving challenges can help the retailers to adopt IMS."

While the Government rolled out the implementation of IMS to strengthen the Goods and Service Tax (GST) compliance, streamline the reconciliation of processes and enhancing accuracy in GST compliance, the technical challenges have been a deterrent to small retailers in the country. Additionally, the lack of sufficient timelines for MSMEs to adopt IMS has led to various challenges for them.

The GST Network (GSTN) introduced the IMS functionality on the GST portal from 1^st October 2024 onwards to ensure accuracy and transparency in invoicing process, facilitate transparency between recipients and suppliers and streamline the reconciliation of Input Tax Credit (ITC), and improve compliance with GST regulations for businesses. While this would have been a good step for businesses, issues like unreasonable implementation, technological and operational challenges have proved to be a deterrent for large scale deployment of this system.

About FISME

The Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME) is a network of over 700 sectoral and geographical SME associations. Focusing on manufacturing SMEs and represented at all decision-making fora of the government of India, including at the national MSME board, FISME is widely regarded today as the progressive face of SMEs and is recognized as such by all the ministries and related organizations of the union government. FISME works closely with all major multilateral and bilateral agencies to execute SME development projects in India.

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