What is TCS - and do I get it back?

1. TCS = Tax Collected at Source. Under GST law (Section 52), every e-commerce operator - Amazon, Flipkart, Meesho - must hold back 0.5% of your net taxable sales and deposit it with the government under your GSTIN. (The rate was 1% until July 2024, then halved.)

2. Example: you sell ₹1,00,000 net on Amazon in a month → Amazon deposits ₹500 as TCS against your GSTIN. It's not a fee and not a cost - it's your tax, pre-paid.

3. The platform reports it in its GSTR-8 by the 10th of the next month, state by state. That's what fills your TCS credit received statement on the portal.

4. To get it back: open Services → Returns → TDS and TCS credit received, accept the entries, and the amount lands in your cash ledger - directly reducing what you pay in GSTR-3B.

5. Because the platform reports your sales to the government, your GSTR-1 must tell the same story - that's exactly what TCS Matching verifies before you file.

💡 Sellers routinely leave TCS unclaimed for months - it just sits there. Accept it every month; it's already your money.