📢Release Notes - Clear Finance Cloud

This page has details of new features release, enhancements made to existing features and bugs fixes.

Features with the tag EA are available selectively to certain customers. All other features are available to all customers who have purchased the relevant Clear products.

EA products/features are made available to customers on an invite-basis only. Customers can expect some bit of instability and bugs in the product since these will be early versions of the product/features. If you would like to get early access to these, please write to your account manager.

Dec 2024 | IMS is now live on Clear!

This month, we have launched the IMS Console in line with the new government system. Additionally, we have introduced updates to Notice Management, 26AS Recon, and TDS workbench for smarter reconciliations and easier tax management.

Key Highlights of This Release

1. Clear’s Invoice Management System (IMS) Console streamlines document validation with bulk actions, unique filtering, and automated GSTR-2B generation. (GST)

2. GL-Stream now offers enhanced reconciliation logic with added sub-buckets and clearer exclusions. (GL STREAM)

3. Notice Management now supports UAM for Direct Tax Notices, advanced litigation tracking, enhanced document management, and Pre-Deposit Amount Tracking (NOTICE MANAGEMENT)

4. Enhanced 26AS recon and TDS Payables workbench with cross-FY matching, dynamic thresholds, admin access, bulk deletions, and correction return tracking. (TDS)

5. The new UAM flow enhances Clear Compliance Cloud with bulk invitations, streamlined role updates, and seamless platform-wide user management. (PLATFORM)

6. Clear AP now offers support for managing Credit/Debit Notes, handling complex Multi-PO and GRN invoice scenarios, and enabling Bulk Approval. (ACCOUNTS PAYABLE)

7. GCC introduces advanced invoice search and download features, improved notifications, and accurate buyer/seller ID display as per ZATCA standards. (GCC) (CLEARTAX E-INV)

India

Clear Compliance Cloud

GST

INVOICE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

The Government of India has introduced the Invoice Management System (IMS) on the GST portal to streamline document validation. Taxpayers can access the IMS and manage supplier invoices on Clear via Invoice Management System (IMS) Console.

Key Features

• Use Clear IMS Console as a draft workspace to take actions and Upload to Govt. when required.

• Take actions at PAN/ Multi-GSTIN level

• Invoice Action Options

  • Accept Documents to verify and acknowledge document validity

  • Reject Documents with discrepancies

  • Mark Documents as pending for deferred decisions

  • Reset Actions for correction and setting IMS Document to No Action

• Unique Filtering Mechanism

  • Filter documents using Unique KEY to take bulk actions

  • Sort documents as per the Tax Value, Taxable value, Vendor GSTIN, etc.

• Automated GSTR-2B Generation

  • Auto-generates GSTR-2B based on recipient actions

  • Eliminates manual reconciliation with GSTR-2A

  • Improves accuracy in tax reporting

GL STREAM

1. UX Updates

To enhance user experience, we’ve made the following improvements:

• Correct Taxable Value in Revenue GL vs SR Recon: The summary screen now displays accurate taxable values, ensuring clarity in the deep-linked view.

• Validation Updates for Negative Values: Based on customer feedback, validations for negative values in Debit Amount and Credit Amount columns during GL ingestion have been removed.

• Source System Filter Removed: An empty Source System filter on the document screen of GL recon has been removed for better clarity.

• Improved Failure Notifications: GL recon failure messages are now more clear and actionable, improving user understanding.

• Added PAN Name: The PAN Name has been included in the run recon side modal to enhance clarity for users.

2. Logic Updates in GL Recon

• Cancelled Documents Excluded: Cancelled documents are no longer part of the Output GL / Revenue GL vs SR Reconciliation, preventing confusion caused by their inclusion in the exact match bucket.

• New Sub-Buckets for Deeper Insights: We’ve introduced additional sub-buckets to provide more granular insights into the financial data. The updated logic identifies:

  • Invoice/Debit Note in GL, but Credit Note in Purchase Register

  • Credit Note in GL, but Invoice/Debit Note in Purchase Register

  • Invoice/Debit Note in GL, but Credit Note in Sales Register

  • Credit Note in GL, but Invoice/Debit Note in Sales Register

NOTICE MANAGEMENT

1. UAM for Direct Tax Notice Management

   We are excited to introduce User Access Management (UAM) for Direct Tax Notice Management. With this update, users can now:

   • Assign separate user roles for Direct Tax Notices at the PAN or TAN levels and Indirect Tax Notices at the GSTIN or PAN levels

   • Restrict access to view and edit roles for both Direct Tax Notices and Indirect Tax Notices.

   This enhancement ensures better control over user access, enabling secure and efficient management of tax notices.

2. Tracking Litigations at Advanced Stages

   Managing litigations just got easier! Users can now:

   • Track litigations beyond the order stage, including: First appellate authority level and High court level

   • Manually add cases to create a unified source for all litigation cases and their related documentation.

   This feature provides a centralized and organized way to manage notices end to end, ensuring no critical case details are missed.

1. Better Document Management Capabilities

We have improved document management to provide better visibility and traceability. Users can now:

• Track documents corresponding to each reply for scenarios where multiple replies are issued for a single notice.

• Upload additional documents as part of replies, even if they were not submitted on the GST portal, ensuring a complete trail of all evidence and annexures produced in a case.

This update enhances record-keeping and ensures users have comprehensive documentation for all their cases.

TDS

1. User Access controls for 26AS recon and TDS Payables data preparation workbench

   Your team members with appropriate Admin Role access also will be able to access the 26AS recon and TDS payable work-bench (built for ease of data preparation for ERP integrated Enterprises). Earlier the access was only restricted to the Workspace admin user.

2. Delete entries in TDS Payable workbench

   You will be able to select one or multiple TDS entries & delete the same in the TDS payable workbench (built for ease of data preparation for ERP integrated Enterprises). Example: You can use this to delete any data that is not required to be reported for TDS return filing.

   
3. File Correction Returns

   • You can easily track the Filed documents that have been modified & requires correction returns to be filed.

   • You will be able to mark the status of TDS deductions as “Filed”. You will also have option to reset the Filed status in-case of any mistakes.

   • In-case a TDS deduction in Filed status is modified (currently allowed via Net off of Credit notes and Reversals), we will track and highlight such entries for correction returns to be Filed.

   
4. 26AS Recon

   • Import 26AS text file

   You can now import 26AS text file from the Traces portal for reconciling against the TDS receivable ledgers.

   Tip: You can use this to reconcile your ledgers against the 26AS data on which you have claimed credits for your past ITR returns.

   

• Supporting 26AS data before 2023

  • You can now seamlessly reconcile data from prior to 2023 with improved automation. The system now supports older 26AS TXT file formats, ensuring compatibility and efficiency in reconciling historical data without manual intervention.

• Cross FY Recon

  • Discrepancies often arise when TDS credits from Form 26AS do not match with TDS receivables in the same Financial Year (FY). These mismatches occur due to delayed filings, corrections, or timing differences in reporting by deductors.

  • The cross-FY reconciliation expands the matching process beyond the same FY to adjacent periods incrementally.

    • Initially matches are attempted within the same month, quarter and FY.

    • If no match is found, the system expands to the next FY, starting with (Q+/-1), and progressively widens to include up to four quarters (Q+/-4) across FYs.

• Tolerance logic for reconciling credits

  • The matching process for 26AS credits with TDS receivables now uses dynamic tolerance (instead of a fixed Rs.10 tolerance across all amounts) based on the TDS or taxable amount to ensure accurate and high-quality results. This approach adjusts the allowable variance for exact and suggested matches, scaling appropriately to handle discrepancies across various transaction ranges. This logic applies to 1:1 as well as Group matches (M:M). This aims to improve accuracy and quality of matching results.

PLATFORM

USER ACCESS MANAGEMENT

1. Purpose of the New UAM Flow:

   With the introduction of platform-level solutions Clear Compliance Cloud, the new User Access Management (UAM) flow enhances efficiency and user experience by allowing seamless addition and invitation of multiple users across various products. This feature supports bulk operations, simplifying user management for both regular and guest users.

2. Key Benefits of the New UAM Flow

   • Platform Support: Expanded platform support for the new User Access Management (UAM) flow, which was previously limited to individual point products.

   • Bulk Invitations: Add or invite up to 25 users simultaneously across multiple product lines, with selection of roles and business hierarchies.

   • Streamlined Role Management: Effortlessly assign or update new roles for Regular and Guest Users in bulk, transitioning from a manual, one-by-one process to a more efficient, streamlined system.

Regular User flow:

Guest User flow:

Key Capabilities of the New UAM Flow and Customer Benefits

Adding/Inviting Users:

• Customers can onboard teams faster, improve productivity, and reduce manual errors.

  • Bulk invitation support for up to 25 users at once, saving time and reducing repetitive manual tasks.

  • Seamlessly assign roles across multiple products in a single action, streamlining onboarding for new users

Editing Existing User Details:

• Simplifies user management, reduces dependency on support, and provides flexibility for organisational changes.

  • Modify user information (names, emails, roles, or product access) with ease.

  • Add or update roles for existing users, ensuring quick adjustments to meet changing requirements.

Managing Pending Invitations:

• Minimizes delays in user access and ensures clean user access management.

  • Resend Invitations: Avoid missed access opportunities by ensuring users receive their invites even if they were missed or expired.

  • Delete Invitations: Easily remove invalid or unnecessary invitations to keep the workspace organized.

Enhanced Communication and Transparency

• Provides real-time visibility into the invitation and onboarding process, improving accountability and communication.

  • Invitation Sent to Admin: Confirmation email provides admins with a clear record of their actions.

  • Invitation Sent to User: Users receive a direct link for account setup, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience.

  • Invitation Accepted: Admin receives confirmation once the invitation is accepted, enabling better tracking.

Increased Security and Control

• Enhances security by ensuring only authorized users have the right access at the right time.

  • Assign New Roles: Add or update roles for a user on the same or different products, ensuring precise access control.

  • Delete User Roles: Removing all roles will also remove the user from the workspace entirely, ensuring no unauthorized access.

Overall Customer Benefits:

• Efficiency: Streamlined workflows save time, reduce manual effort, and improve productivity for administrators.

• Flexibility: Easy-to-use features allow businesses to quickly adapt to changes, such as team reorganisation or role updates.

• Security: Enhanced role management and user removal capabilities ensure sensitive data is accessed only by authorized personnel.

• Transparency: Clear communication and notifications keep admins informed about all user management activities.

Clear Supply Chain

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

1. Credit/Debit Notes

Support for managing Credit Notes and Debit Notes as distinct document types and posting into the ERP through Clear AP

• This feature addresses common scenarios such as: Goods-related adjustments for sales returns due to quality issues, damage, or incorrect quantity/amount; Service-related adjustments for price changes post-service delivery; and Promotions or discounts applied or canceled after the sale.

• By supporting these cases, users can now efficiently manage adjustments beyond standard invoicing in our product itself

1. Multi-PO

We are excited to announce support for handling complex invoice scenarios involving multiple POs and GRNs.

• This enhancement addresses common enterprise cases such as: Multi-PO, Single-GRN for consolidated fulfillments, Single-PO, Multi-GRN for batch deliveries, and Multi-PO, Multi-GRN for monthly billing consolidations against 1 invoice

• With this feature, we will significantly expanding invoice coverage and streamlining operations for users managing complex procurement and billing workflows

1. Bulk Approval

Introducing Bulk Approval to simplify and accelerate the approval process for specific invoice scenarios.

• Users can now filter invoices directly from the list screen—based on criteria like low amounts (e.g., less than 1000), trusted vendors, or labels such as "Urgent"—and approve them in bulk without needing to open each invoice.

• This feature eliminates tedious, repetitive tasks, saving time and improving efficiency. As this is a sensitive capability, it is controlled via a Feature Flag to ensure it is enabled only for customers who need it and can manage associated risks.

GCC

CLEARTAX E-INV

New Features:

• Search and download invoices as reports, pdfs or xmls to cater to different needs

  • Select a date range to find documents that have been generated in the date range

  • Choose the type of report that serves the business need from among multiple reports and download it for the time period

  • Search documents individually or multiple and then download them as pdfs or xmls that could be required in audits

Enhancements:

• Easily readable and informative notifications with report name

  • Notifications triggered while downloading different reports from different pages come with an explanatory name so that it can be identified easily

  • Traverse through multiple notifications and download files again if needed

• Displaying correct seller and buyer other ID for easy identification

  • Buyer and seller other ID are displayed as per the ZATCA convention to help with identification of the type of transaction and place of business

  • List of buyer other IDs - TIN, CRN, MOM, MLS, 700, SAG, NAT, GCC, IQA, PAS, OTH

  • List of seller other IDs - CRN, MOM, MLS, 700, SAG, OTH

Bug Fixes:

• Device names with special characters displayed correctly in reports to help with matching

  • Device names in the lite and detailed report are now with quotes so that it is easily readable and usable for matching and reconciliation

  • Device names are intact as per the given details and there are no breaks when opened in excel

Malaysia

CLEARTAX E-INV

New Product features:

• Sales Reconciliation for B2C:

  • Reconciliation of B2C sales e-invoices with the Sales register.

• Send Email to Multiple Recipients:

  • Pass multiple emails (comma-separated) to generate and send e-invoices to multiple recipients via an auto-email trigger feature.

• Delete Invalid and Failed Invoices:

  • Added functionality to delete invoices in the failed and invalid state via the delete API.

• Invoice Loader on Documents Screen:

  • Improved user experience by adding a loader when scrolling to the end of the page on the documents screen.

• Consolidated Invoice Details in MIS Dashboard:

  • Added consolidated invoice details to the summary cards in the MIS dashboard.

• Changes in B2C Portal for Domino's:

  • Iframe support added

  • PDF download, e-invoice preview, and email PDF for iframe.

  • Privacy policy for Domino's in the B2C customer portal.

Nov 2024 | Updates for simpler, faster compliance

This month, we have introduced a range of updates to simplify your tax processes, from automated notices intimation PDF downloads, faster GL ingestion, to smarter reconciliations.

Key Highlights of This Release

1. GL Stream now offers seamless Revenue vs. Sales reconciliation, deeper insights with new sub-buckets, and faster GL ingestion for datasets up to 60 million rows. (GL STREAM)

2. Notice Management now offers automatic downloads of Intimation PDFs from TRACES, providing detailed default breakdowns like Short Payment and Interest. (NOTICE MANAGEMENT)

3. Clear TDS now supports 2024-25 Budget updates, enhanced PAN verification, ERP-integrated Form 27Q prep, and precise TAN-based 26AS matching for improved compliance and reporting. (TDS)

4. In GCC, ClearTax E-INV now enables targeted document downloads for audits, improved tax validations, streamlined alerts, and easy large report downloads. (GCC) (CLEARTAX E-INV)

5. ClearTax E-Invoice streamlines processes with features for fetching documents, rejecting invoices, canceling invoices, and receiving SFTP reports. (Malaysia) (CLEARTAX E-INV)

India

Clear Compliance Cloud

GL STREAM

GL Stream has become more powerful with following enhancements -

Enhanced Revenue vs. Sales Reconciliation Now Live!

We’re excited to announce a powerful new capability in our Revenue vs. Sales reconciliation. Our tool now seamlessly manages complex scenarios where sales are routed through third-party vendors, allowing for effortless reconciliation even when revenue is booked against expense GLs. This enhancement streamlines and improves accuracy, ensuring that all sales and revenue records are perfectly aligned

Introduced new sub-buckets to bring deeper insights and clarity into your financial data

The updated logic now highlights:

• Unbalanced Vouchers: Easily identify and resolve unbalanced transactions.

• RCM Purchases in Sales: Accurately point out RCM purchases that have an outward liability while doing Output tax vs Sales

• Company Code Differences: Quickly spot and address discrepancies across company codes

Enhanced GL Ingestion Performance!

Our system now supports seamless ingestion for datasets up to 60 million rows, significantly boosting performance and reducing processing times. This improvement ensures smoother, faster handling of large data volumes across all workflows.

NOTICE MANAGEMENT

Notice Management now downloads the Intimation PDF from TRACES for Default notices issued on filing Regular/Correction statements. Users can obtain a breakdown of the defaults (Short Payment, Short Deduction, Interest etc) towards the total default amount.

The intimation PDF is password protected. The password is the first four characters of TAN in capital letters, an underscore sign (_) and date of filing of regular TDS/TCS statement in DDMMYYYY format.

TDS

1. Budget 2024-25 related Govt Compliance Changes Listed Govt compliances changes related are updated in Clear TDS software

• Effective 23rd July 2024 onwards

  • Rate changes from 10% to 12.5% for Sections 196B and 196C

  • Two new nature of remittances are made applicable for sections 196B and 196C

  
• Effective 1st October 2024 onwards

  • Rate changes from 5% to 2% for Sections 194DA, 194G, 194H

  • Rate changes from 1% to 0.1% for Section 194O

  • Section 194F - TDS no longer applicable effective 1st October 2024 onwards

  • Section 194Q - Lower deduction certificate allowed (with “Reason A” as reason for lowed deduction)

  

1. Bulk PAN verification enhancements

   • We have upgraded PAN status verification mechanism to a highly reliable method.

   • We have also reset PAN status on Clear TDS software which were not up-to date with the Traces portal. You can re-sync the PAN status using the Bulk PAN verification option under Forms or Traces portal activities workflow.

2. ERP integration for TDS payables - Data preparation enhancements Form 27Q data auto preparation

   • Get your Form 27Q TDS payable deductions auto prepared via ERP integration instantly. This reduces efforts & time to consolidate GL entries, look-up master info and prepare your TDS deductions manually.

   • Fix data quality issues & perform net-off of credit notes and reversals similar to Form 26Q. This allows you to maintain digital system of records between your books data and the data reported as part of TDS returns.

     

Select and push required documents to Form 26Q / 27Q workflow

• From the TDS payable data auto prepared from your ERP, you can now select required documents that you want to report for Filing instead of reporting all documents. For example, this allows you to select and exclude documents that you do not want to report for Filing for the specific Quarter.

1. Minor Issue Fixes and Improvements

   • Validations for the applicability of Return Filing quarter has been modified in-line with Govt RPU utilities

     • Deductions are allowed to be reported for the Return filing Quarter pertaining to the Date of Credit/Payment.

       • Example: Deduction with Date of Credit: 13-03-2024 are allowed to be reported only for Jan-Mar 2024 Quarter.

     • Date of Deduction / Date of Collection - this date should be same or after the Date of credit. There are no return period specific validations for this date.

2. 26AS Algorithm improvements- TAN based matching followed by PAN Currently, TANs in 26AS data are converted to PANs before matching them with PANs in TRL data. However, using TAN as the primary level of detail would yield more accurate results. To make the algorithm more robust, we now prioritize direct matching on TANs wherever they are available in TRL data, and for remaining records, we perform matching based on PAN.

   • Direct TAN Matching: Matching TANs directly between 26AS and TRL data eliminates conversion errors and API failures that can occur when transforming TANs into PANs. This approach is particularly valuable when multiple entries linked to different TANs fall under a single PAN.

   • Improved Traceability: Using TAN as the primary matching key enables tracing deductions back to their exact sources, making it easier to identify discrepancies associated with specific deductors.

   • Second-Level Matching on PAN: For records not matched on TAN, performing a secondary matching based on PAN provides an additional layer of reconciliation.

3. 26AS Enhancements

   • Explaining sub-buckets: This feature provides users with explanations of the different sub-buckets used for the categorization of data.

     

   • Bucket restructing and renaming: We have introduced new bucket, "TRL Entries with Unknown Deductor PAN/TANs," to capture TRL entries missing PAN or TAN details. Additionally, "26AS TANs without PANs in TRL" and "TRL PANs without TANs in 26AS" have been moved to the "Missing" bucket for streamlined classification. The "Negative and Zero TDS Entries Not Knocked Off" bucket now includes zero TDS entries as well, ensuring accurate capture of all unmatched values.

     

   • Group Segregation: Implemented visual segregation for groups by first adding color coding and borders to distinguish the groups matched in document view.

     

   • Merging Reports into a Single Spreadsheet: The new functionality will enable users to download all three reports as a single merged file under the same name. Currently, these reports are downloaded as separate files, all titled "26AS vs TDS Receivable Recon Report," making it challenging for users to identify them. Furthermore, if a filter is applied, the same filter will be applied across all three reports before downloading the filtered version.

   • Summary Table on Document view: Adding a summary table to the Document View allows users to see an overview of the documents currently being worked on or analyzed

     

   • Warnings for selected return period: Prompts user if data is older than 30 days or missing data

     

   • PAN selection in recon screen: PAN level selection on recon screen allows users to change business details, return period and provides a medium to run-recon again.

   • Merged Headers on deductor/document view

     

GCC

CLEARTAX E-INV

New Features:

• Search and download specific invoices/documents from archives to answer audits

  • Search any document from archives and download the document in xml or pdf format to answer any audit queries

  • Search a maximum of 5 documents at a time, select the type of file and download

  • Download documents as a PDF similar to the print shared with the buyer to validate

  • Or download them as a native xml that is submitted to the government to compare against original data in the ERP

    

    

Enhancements:

• Updated validations on tax amount and total invoice amount calculations to reduce ZATCA error rate

  • Tolerance of +- 1 SAR on the calculations of tax amount and total invoice amount has been removed to match the validation exactly with ZATCA

  • This will reduce the errors from ZATCA and all calculation mistakes would be caught at CT

• E-Invoice activity email alert made simpler in case of no errors

  • The weekly email with a summary of last week’s email activity has been updated with a simpler version when there are no errors

  • Users get a shorter version of the alert with 100% success report for quick validation

• Validation on seller and buyer other ID based on ZATCA list

  • ZATCA is analysing the commercial registration number that is part of invoices and issuing notices wherever it is incorrect

  • Implementing a new validation to check the seller other ID and buyer other ID as per the prescribed list of ZATCA

  • List of values accepted in ‘Other buyer ID’ type - TIN, CRN, MOM, MLS, 700, SAG, NAT, GCC, IQA, PAS, OTH

  • List of values accepted in ‘Other seller ID’ type - CRN, MOM, MLS, 700, SAG, OTH

• Updated response for Reporting API with reporting time and time difference

  • The Reporting API to submit store-generated xmls to ZATCA has an updated response

  • The response will now have the submission time along with status and the difference between signing time and reporting time

  • Additionally a warning message has been included in case the reporting is delayed by more than 24 hours compared to generation. This will help taxpayers take retrospective action

  • This will help users in identifying invoices that have been submitted after 24 hours which are being scrutinized by ZATCA.

• Download large reports in multiple files without any restrictions on number of rows

  • The restriction of 5L rows that can be downloaded in e-Invoice reports has been removed to support larger file downloads to help with reconciliation and reports preparation

  • The systems have been scaled up to process larger reports faster with high success rate

Bug Fixes:

• Auto-population for invoices with Multiple tax categories in allowance at line items

  • Invoice payload creation logic for invoices with multiple tax categories in allowance has been updated to avoid any warnings from ZATCA

  • Multiple tax rates or categories are auto-detected and payloads are correctly created with the correct objects as required by ZATCA

• Updated error message on date fields in data upload for easier understanding

  • Error message shown while uploading data via excel is updated to help faster corrections

  • Required format is highlighted upfront for easy understanding of the user

• Displaying VAT exemption reason and code in the invoice edit flow

  • In some cases VAT exemption reason and code were not displayed in the invoice edit flow for line items with that info

  • Updated logic to pick the correct values to help users validate info

Malaysia

CLEARTAX E-INV

New Product features

• Fetch Purchase Documents

  • Users can now fetch and download purchase invoices from the LHDN portal

  • The invoices can be fetched for the last 3 days and the feature allows the users to fetch the documents once in 8 hours

• Rejection of Purchase Invoice

  • Users can now reject purchase e-invoices directly from the ClearTax portal, without the need to log into the MyInvois Portal

  • Purchase invoices can be downloaded from LHDN portal can be selected and rejection request can be raised from “Actions” on the purchase documents section

    

• Document Audit Trail

  • An audit trail is now available for tracking all the actions taken on an invoice with user and timestamp details

  • The invoice audit trail can be accessed by clicking on the icon under “Action” column for the invoice

    

• Cancellation of Consolidated Invoice

  • The invoices that have been consolidated and submitted to LHDN can now be canceled from the ClearTax portal

  • The consolidated e-invoices can be cancelled from the “Consolidated” screen and selecting “Cancel e-inv” option under “Actions”

    

• Re-generation of canceled E-Invoices

  • Users can now resubmit canceled e-invoices for B2B, self-billed, and B2C transactions to LHDN and generate an e-invoice on the same invoice again

• Updating Status from MyInvois portal

  • User can now sync the status of an invoice directly from the MyInvois portal. This helps in updating the correct invoice status for the activities done outside of ClearTax portal

  • The invoice status can be synced by selecting “Sync document status” under “Actions” on the documents screen

• SFTP Email Report

  • Users can receive reports via email in their mailbox for all the activities done via SFTP on ClearTax

  • The reports has details of the file and invoice level activity along with the invoice count in various state

Enhancements

• CSV Report

  • The CSV reports download have been revamped to include and omit certain fields, with changes to the sequencing for better alignment with reporting needs.

• Fetching of Invoices Based on Additional Custom Fields on B2C customer portal

  • Invoices can now be retrieved using additional custom fields apart from the 4 standard details asked on the B2C customer portal.

  • This feature allows businesses to customize invoice retrieval based on specific transaction criteria, improving tracking and management of particular transactions like promotions or refunds.

Oct 2024 | Smarter actions with GL-Recon sub-bucketing

We’re excited to announce this month's key updates aimed at enhancing efficiency and compliance. Notice Management now features automatic case status updates and case linking for improved demand tracking. GL-Recons introduces Sub-Bucketing for better mismatch categorization, while the GST module adds three new reconciliation logics for IMPG documents. Additionally, User Access Management now supports multiple workspace admins.

Key Highlights of This Release

1. Notice Management now auto-assigns case statuses based on issued notices and links related cases for a unified view, enhancing reporting accuracy and preventing double counting of demands. (NOTICE MANAGEMENT)

2. Introducing Sub-Bucketing in GL-Recons for detailed categorization of mismatches and missing data, enabling quicker identification and resolution. (GL-STREAM)

3. The GST now features three new reconciliation logics for IMPG documents, enhancing matching accuracy. (GST)

4. Workspaces now allow multiple admins, reducing reliance on one person. Admins can invite new users via User Access settings. (USER ACCESS MANAGEMENT)

5. Now, 26AS reconciliation can process 300,000 records in just 20 minutes, achieving a 300x improvement from the previous capacity of 400 records in 9 minutes. (TDS)

6. The Vendor Portal now provides real-time payment visibility, custom fields for vendor updates, and rejection reason tracking. (VENDOR MANAGEMENT & VENDOR PORTAL)

7. Accounts Payable now offers configurable invoice fields, and a summarizing option to enhance efficiency. (ACCOUNTS PAYABLE)

8. GCC now offers ZATCA-compliant e-Invoice updates with additional charge fields, duty-free sales codes, and improved notifications. (GCC) (CLEARTAX E-INV)

India

Clear Compliance Cloud

NOTICE MANAGEMENT

Automatic Case Status Updates for GST Notices

Notice Management now auto-assigns case statuses based on issued notices and replies, improving reporting accuracy and demand tracking. The following rules have been implemented (this is an indicative list, not exhaustive):

• Cases requiring no taxpayer action (e.g., Letter of Undertaking, Registration Certificate) are marked as Closed.

• Cases with a Drop Proceedings order issued are also marked as Closed.

• Cases closed on the GST portal without an appeal filed are marked as Closed.

Case Statuses automatically update at the time of syncing, requiring no user action.

Case Linking

Case Linking allows users to link multiple related cases, creating an end-to-end audit trail of communications, from ASMT-10 / ADT-01 to Appeals and beyond. This feature addresses the fragmented experience caused by separate cases created for Assessments, Audits, show-cause notices, and appeals on the GST Portal.

Benefits:

• Provides a unified view of related cases, ensuring users have a complete picture of all outstanding cases.

• Prevents double counting of cases and demand amounts.

  

GL STREAM

Sub-Bucketing in Tax GL Reconciliation

Sub-Bucketing offers a fine-grained categorization of mismatches and missing data, giving users the power to segregate discrepancies based on their nature, allowing for easier identification and action.

Examples of Sub-Buckets:

• Missing in Registers (SR/PR):

  • Accounting - Adjustment/Rectification Entries: Represents corrections that should not be part of Sales/Purchase registers as they do not reflect actual transactions.

  • Accounting - Inter Tax Type Transfers: Entries adjusting taxes between types, such as IGST to CGST+SGST transfers.

  • Accounting - ITC Expensed Out Entries: Represents unclaimed Input Tax Credit (ITC) written off as an expense due to GST restrictions.

  • Accounting - Holding Entries: Adjustments to previously claimed ITC, either reversing or reclaiming it based on new data.

  • Accounting - GST Payment Entries: Entries showing the offsetting of input tax against output tax, reducing tax liability.

  • Reversed/Cancelled Documents: Cancelled documents that negate prior transactions for error correction.

  • Expense/Revenue Line Item Not Present: Transactions missing expense / revenue details, risking inaccurate ITC claims or inaccurate revenue reporting.

  • Business Place Missing: Entries missing critical information, such as the business location/entity.

• Mismatch between GL and Registers:

  • ≤1 Rs Difference: Documents with negligible mismatches, where the tax or amount difference is ₹1 or less.

  • Tax Type Difference: Instances where taxes like IGST are recorded instead of CGST/SGST, or vice versa, due to misclassification.

• Missing in General Ledgers:

  • Zero Tax Value Documents: Documents with no tax impact (e.g., Nil Rated, Non-GST, Exempt) that do not affect Tax GLs.

Quick Look

• Navigate to the Reconciliation section in GL Stream.

• Select the relevant reconciliation process and input the period and company code/PAN.

• Upon recon completion, discrepancies will be bucketed and sub-bucketed into logical categories based on configuration.

• Access these breakdowns in Document View for a detailed audit trail.

Benefits:

• Gain in-depth visibility into reconciliation discrepancies with logical sub-buckets.

• Improve the efficiency of reconciliation by quickly identifying and resolving the root causes of mismatches.

• Streamline the resolution of tax compliance issues by having a clearer picture of GL vs. Compliance Registers' data.

By implementing Sub-Bucketing, we are simplifying the process of managing and resolving mismatches and missing data, providing users with greater transparency and control over their financial reconciliations.

GST

IMPG Documents- New Reconciliation Logics

3 New Reconciliation Logics have been introduced for IMPG to increase the matching %. This will save time on your end to reconcile the IMPG documents that had some anomalies.

1. Suggested Match (LR1 IMPG)

   • Condition:

     • Bill of Entry (BoE) Number, Port Code, MyGSTIN, and Vendor PAN are matching exactly.

     • Tax and taxable value are within the set threshold.

     • Document date is within 15 days of the PR Document

   • Bucket: They will fall into Suggested bucket.

2. Mismatch Identified (MR1 IMPG)

   • Condition:

     • BoE Number, Port Code, MyGSTIN, and Vendor PAN are matching exactly.

     • Tax and taxable value are within the set threshold.

     • Document dates fall within the same financial year.

   • Bucket: They will fall into Mismatch bucket.

3. Mismatch Identified (MR2 IMPG)

   • Condition:

     • BoE Number, Port Code, MyGSTIN, Vendor PAN, and BoE Date are matching exactly.

     • Tax and taxable value do not match at all.

   • Bucket: They will fall into Mismatch bucket.

Benefits:

• Enhances accuracy in matching documents with 0 false positives.

• Save time

USER ACCESS MANAGEMENT

Support for multiple workspace Admin for a workspace

• This functionality enables having more than one admin for any workspace. This is supported now to reduce the dependency on a single Workspace Admin to perform any critical action.

• In order to add a new Workspace Admin, the current workspace admin can go to User Access under Settings, click ‘Invite New User’ and enter the details of the new user, select the product as ‘Workspace’ and role as ‘Workspace Admin’ and click ‘Invite User’

• The new user can now accept the invite through the link sent to their email and start accessing the workspace as Workspace Admin

TDS

26AS Performance Optimizations

• Previously, processing 400 records took 9 minutes using a single system, and each task was done one after the other. Now, we can process 3 lakh records in just 20 minutes by:

  • Grouping tasks into batches and automatically adjusting resources based on demand.

  • Running tasks simultaneously for different sections (like TAN/PAN).

• Automated alerts to instantly notify of any service failures, ensuring quick response and minimal downtime.

26AS Download

With the 26AS automation flow, taxpayers can request their 26AS file for specific years directly from the TRACES portal. They can track the status of the request, and once the file is ready, it is automatically imported into Cleartax. This simplifies the process, saving time by reducing manual steps and ensuring easy access to important tax data

26AS and TRL views

This enhancement allow users to easily view the downloaded 26AS file and the ingested TRL file and provides user a quick access to their data, making it simpler to review latest files in one place.

Clear Supply Chain

VENDOR MANAGEMENT & VENDOR PORTAL

1. Payment Due Date

   This enhancement captures the payment due date within the AP system on the anchor side and shares it on the Partner Portal. It streamlines invoice processing for quicker turnaround and provides vendors with real-time payment status visibility, improving transparency.
2. Support for custom fields for Updating Existing Vendor

   While approving a form for updating existing vendor, approvers will now will be able to capture additional data at the time of approval and then further push this into the customer’s ERP. For non-integrated customers, user can download the additional data same as new customer

   
3. Guided Tours for Partner Portal

   Guided Tours in the Partner Portal simplify onboarding and navigation for vendors by providing step-by-step assistance for tasks like invoice submission and order tracking. This feature reduces errors, support requests, and speeds up onboarding, allowing vendors to complete tasks independently. It enhances vendor experience and improves efficiency for both vendors and Anchors by freeing internal teams from handling routine inquiries.

   
4. Reject Reason

   In the existing system, we were not capturing rejection reason which made difficult to track the common reasons for rejection of the vendors by the Anchors who use the vendor onboarding. Idea is instrument and capture rejection reasons, analyze and provide valuable insights to the Anchor to improve their process

   

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

Line Item Copy-Paste

• A new copy-paste feature in the line item grid enhances productivity for recurring invoices.

• Users can now copy data from Excel or previous invoices and paste it directly into the grid.

• This supports bulk data entry, reducing manual input and minimizing errors with large volumes of data.

  

User Assignment

• Users can now easily select an assignee for each invoice and combine this with saved views or list screens to enhance workflow management across the company.

• Currently, this process is manual, but in the next phase, we will introduce automation and rule-based assignments to further streamline operations.

  

Improved Configurability for Invoice/Document fields

• Now users can make fields mandatory based on the Type of Document - whether its a PO or a Non-PO invoices

• For each field, there is option to select the mandate at a PO, Non PO level or keep itr as optional

  

Summarize Line-Item Option

• This feature simplifies the accounting process for invoices with numerous similar items.

• Users can now summarize multiple line items into a single entry for easier processing while retaining key values from the invoice summary.

• This enhancement helps reduce manual effort and complexity, making it more efficient to handle large volumes of similar items in one go.

  

GCC

CLEARTAX E-INV

New Features:

• New fields to add ‘Additional charge’ at line and document level

  • Now create e-Invoices with additional charge as per the latest ZATCA update

  • Additional charge can be levied from the buyer and the details can be mentioned as required by e-Invoice regulations in the invoice

  • Charge amount, tax rates and reason for additional charge has to be given to generate a valid e-Invoice

• Notifications with activity name or report name for better context and usability

  • All notifications in the notification center are now with the activity name or report name to give more context to the user

  • This will help in re-downloading the required reports or files by just referring to the details in the notifications. Saving time required for selection and processing

  
• New exemption reason code and text for sales in ‘Dutyfree’ area

  • Sales invoices from ‘Dutyfree’ area have to be generated with the new reason code and text as per the latest 3.3.4 SDK update of ZATCA

Enhancements:

• Updated e-Invoicing alerts in case of no activity or no errors

  • New email templates have been introduced for e-Invoice activity and alerts for no activity or no errors in e-Invoice generation

  • Users will get appropriate alerts and notifications based on their e-Invoice activity for easy actions

  • User will get an email of 100% success in case there are no errors in e-Invoice generation for the last week

  • No email will be triggered for the week if there is no e-Invoice activity in the workspace

• Prepayment fields at line and document level in invoice edit flow for easy verification

  • Users can check values given in advance invoices easily on the web page in the invoice edit flow

  

  • Prepayment fields are available at both line and document level for verification and editing

• Count of ‘Not Generated’ documents in error alerts and error correction reports for complete picture

  • Cumulative set of ‘Not submitted’ and ‘Pending’ are included as ‘Not Generated’ to present the complete picture of e-Invoice activity by the user

  • The changes include the not generated count at VAT and branch levels

• Validation on registration name of accounting supplier party to avoid e-Invoice failures

  • Additional validation on registration name of seller so that e-Invoices are not rejected for missing information by ZATCA

• Additional tooltip on invoice edit screen in Arabic for better usability

  • Added a message explaining how the entire page can be viewed in Arabic on the invoice edit screen

  

Bug Fixes:

• Updated error message during device registration for quick action

  • Handled an edge case in ZATCA response during device registration to capture additional error message

  • Users can clearly understand the error message and take corrective actions

Sep 2024 | Clear Compliance Cloud for Direct Taxes has arrived!

We're excited to announce several key updates this month. Our new features, including 26AS vs TDS Receivables Reconciliation and an enhanced TDS Workbench, are now live to streamline direct tax compliance. Additionally, Direct Tax Notice Management now supports seamless tracking of ITR and TDS notices. For indirect tax, the 180-Day Reversal feature simplifies ITC claim management for invoices older than 180 days.

Key Highlights of This Release

1. Introducing TDS Workbench for automated deductions, comprehensive validations, and streamlined error resolution for accurate compliance management. (TDS)

2. Launching 26AS vs TDS Receivables Recon for automated TDS credit reconciliation with intelligent matching, ensuring accurate assessments and streamlined analysis. (TDS)

3. Now, track Direct Tax Notices notices seamlessly. Get unified dashboard for consolidated ITR and TDS notices, automatic TAN syncing, and centralised PDF downloads. (NOTICE MANAGEMENT)

4. Introducing ITC reversals for 180-days and Rule-42, with flexible options, seamless reclaiming/ adjustments, and automatic GST updates. (CLEAR GST)

5. The CLM now offers a customer success plan, escalation matrix, and email trigger to enhance value delivery and streamline communication. (CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE MGMT)

6. The E-way Bill Expiry Alerts feature streamlines timely reminders for expiring e-way bills through email notifications and UI flags. (E-INVOICING & E-WAY BILL)

7. The Vendor Portal now supports Re-KYC, multi-user access, and comprehensive reports to streamline vendor management. (VENDOR MANAGEMENT AND VENDOR PORTAL)

8. In GCC, ClearTax E-Inv now offers error correction assistance with reports and weekly email notifications to monitor e-invoice health. (GCC CLEARTAX E-INV)

India

Clear Compliance Cloud

TDS

SAP ERP Integration for TDS Form 26Q Returns preparation

• Integration with SAP ERP for auto preparing the TDS Payable deductions

• Compare Credit & Debit balance of TDS Payable GLs in SAP ERP with that Trial balances of GLs synced with Clear software for ensuring 100% data sync.

• 100% of the TDS payable entries posted in ERP are extracted from ERP & deductions details (Vendor details, TDS sections, Taxable value etc) required are auto prepared

• Reconcile actual ERP TDS payable GL entries with the auto prepared TDS Payable deductions at document number (voucher number) level for identifying any differences. Example: TDS payment deposited entries will not form part of TDS payable deductions to be reported to Govt.

• 200+ validations are performed & data issues (Eg: Deductee PAN / Section missing etc) are highlighted.

  • You can download error report, resolve issues and re-import correct data.

• Perform net offs (adjustments) of credit notes / reversals against the invoices.

  • You can download deductions as excel report, associate the invoice reference ID against which the credit notes / reversal documents need to be net off & re-import excel. System will auto calculate the net amount against the invoices to be reported for Filing.

• Maintain digital system of records for anytime traceability between TDS entries posted in Books with the TDS deductions reported to Govt.

• Once the TDS payable deductions are prepared & ready, you can proceed further with validation & potential notices checks such as PAN status verification, 206AB compliance etc for Challan payments & TDS returns filing.

26AS vs TDS receivables Recon

Reconcile 26AS TDS credits with the TDS receivables & identify discrepancies for corrective actions

• Download 26AS data from Traces portal and import TDS receivables in standard excel template format to run reconciliation

• High quality matching of 26AS credits with TDS receivables

  • Auto identification of Deductor PANs for the TANs in 26AS data

  • Automated Many to Many entries matching with “best-fit” algorithms

  • Cross FY matching logics

• Intelligent categorization of matching results for deeper insights and faster analysis.

• Better preparedness for tax assessments

  • Ability to perform this reconciliation every month / quarter instead of end of FY

  • Readily available repository

NOTICE MANAGEMENT

Direct Tax Notices Tracking in Notice Management

We are excited to announce that Notice Management now supports tracking of Direct Tax notices, including all ITR and TDS notices from the ITR Portal, Compliance Portal, and TRACES Portal.

Key Highlights:

• Comprehensive Notice Tracking: Users can now seamlessly track all ITR notices from the ITR Portal and Compliance Portal, as well as TDS notices from the ITR Portal and TRACES Portal.

• Dashboard View: Access a unified dashboard that displays all your ITR and TDS notices, organized by section for easy navigation.

• Effortless TAN Sync: Easily sync all your TANs to automatically fetch relevant notices.

• Cross-PAN and TAN Integration: Consolidate notices across all your PANs and TANs in one place.

• Chronological Case History: View a detailed chronological history of each proceeding, allowing you to track the evolution of every case.

• Centralised PDF Downloads: Download all your notice PDFs from a single location, with a comprehensive audit trail to track every action related to each case.

• TDS Default Summary: Get a detailed summary of all your TDS defaults, categorized by form, quarter, and financial year.

Benefits:

• All-in-One Solution: A single platform to track all your Direct Tax notices.

• Never Miss a Notice: Stay informed and ensure you never miss any Direct Tax-related notices.

• Unified Experience: Enjoy a consistent and unified experience across GST and Direct Tax notice tracking.

Eliminate the hassle of tracking notices across multiple portals, PANs, TANs, and GSTINs with this powerful addition to your Notice Management tool.

CLEAR GST

Bulk actions

New Bulk Actions feature, designed to streamline document handling and improve efficiency in managing reconciliation and ITC workflows. Below are the key highlights:

1. Logical Grouping of Documents: Documents are now organized into relevant categories, enabling quicker and more efficient actions within a structured workflow.

2. Recommended Actions: For each document group, recommended actions are provided to help ensure optimal compliance and accuracy in decision-making.

3. Clear Descriptions for Each Group: Each document group comes with a clear, concise description to help users easily identify what actions are needed.

4. Review Options: Users have the flexibility to review individual documents within each group, allowing for full control and transparency.

5. Handling Documents Outside Reconciliation: Visibility is extended to non-reconciled documents like imports and unregistered vendor purchases, with both summary and detailed views available.

Automated Table 4 of GSTR-3B

We are excited to introduce new enhancements that improve the Automated Table 4 experience in GSTR-3B. These changes reduce user wait times, improve data transparency, and enhance the overall user experience. Here’s a summary of the latest updates:

• One-Click Table 4 Generation: Instantly generate Table 4 for all GSTINs with a single click, covering all sub-sections and providing detailed document-level tracking across 1000+ scenarios for various industries.

• PAN-Level and GSTIN Computation: View PAN and GSTIN-level summaries with detailed sub-sections, improving ITC and reversal management.

• Progress Visibility: Track the real-time status of Table 4 generation at both GSTIN and PAN levels with a new progress tracking feature.

• Expand/Collapse Sub-Sections: Easily expand or collapse sub-sections in Table 4 for better visibility and an organized view without unnecessary clutter.

• Sub-Section Drill-Down: Drill down to row-level details within over 100 sub-sections, offering deeper insights into calculations beyond standard section-level analysis.

• Row-Level Source Transparency: Source tracking for each row allows users to see the origin of data (e.g., 2B vs PR reconciliations), enhancing transparency.

• Document-Level Tracking: Track sections and sub-sections at the document level with filters for precise impact analysis and faster responses to notices.

• Show/Hide Columns for Focus: Show or hide columns in the document-level table to focus on relevant data for better management.

• Inclusion of All Documents in Excel Report: All documents, regardless of source, are included in the Excel report, improving transparency and reconciliation.

• Locking of Table 4: After GSTR-3B filing, Table 4 is locked to preserve data for easy reference and audit, with monthly snapshots aiding year-end compliance.

• Add New Sub-Sections: Manually add new sub-sections in GSTR-3B, along with custom descriptions for easier tracking and adjustments.

• Excel Ingestion for Subsection Updates: Ingest Excel data for seamless updates to Table 4 sub-sections without disrupting auto-prepared data, allowing for manual adjustments.

Automated Rule 42

Automated Rule 42, designed to simplify ITC reversal calculations and ensure precise reporting for compliance purposes. Key features include:

• Accurate Reporting: Automated reconciliation identifies claimable ITC, ensures common ITC is reversed only where claimed, and applies the turnover ratio across GSTINs for precise reporting in Table 4B(2).

• One-Click Calculation: Perform the entire ITC reversal calculation for all GSTINs with a single click, streamlining the process and saving time.

• Document-Level Tracking: Track ITC reversals at the document level, ensuring precise calculation and making it easier to monitor adjustments over time.

• Audit Readiness: Generate detailed reports ready for audit and reference purposes, ensuring full compliance and reducing the risk of errors during departmental inquiries.

180 Day Reversal

The Clear Platform now allows you to reverse ITC claims on invoices older than 180 days directly in the platform under Rule 37.

Key Highlights:

• Automated Document Reversal: Reverse ITC claims on unpaid invoices older than 180 days with just a few clicks. The platform automatically validates documents and updates your records.

• Flexible Reversal Options: Choose between partial or full reversal, based on your company’s policy.

• Seamless Reclaiming: Easily reclaim reversed amounts once payments are made. The system ensures accuracy by only reclaiming previously reversed amounts.

• Automatic Updates: All 180 Day reversals and reclaims are automatically reflected in Table 4 under appropriate section and sub-section, ensuring adherence to GST regulations.

• Audit Trail & Reporting: Maintain a complete audit trail at the document level and generate 180 Day Reversal & Reclaim reports quickly using built-in filters.

Benefits:

• Save time during filing.

• Ensure compliance with automated checks and balances.

• Be audit-ready with a reliable system of record.

This feature enhances efficiency and accuracy in managing your ITC claims, making tax compliance simpler and more reliable.

CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE MGMT

Phase 2 of the CLM introduces three key changes designed to enhance value delivery and streamline communication. Introduction of a customer success plan, escalation matrix & initial email trigger upon CLM enablement

Below are the details of each update:

1. Customer Success Plan Objective: The Customer Success Plan aims to ensure continued success for our enterprise customers by capturing their key success criteria, pain points, and initial commitments regarding the products/features they will be using. It also measures success based on the plan prepared during engagement.

Key Highlights:

Success Criteria: Defines measurable goals.

Pain Points: Highlights key challenges.

Signoff: Approval from key sponsor with date.

Value Plan: Agreed roadmap with timelines.

2. Escalation Matrix

Objective: The Escalation Matrix in the CLM aims to ensure timely issue resolution by providing a clear, structured communication path & enhancing accountability

Key Highlights:

Sections: Includes "Clear Escalation Matrix" (internal) and "Your Escalation Matrix" (customer-facing). Escalation Levels: Ranges from Level 1 to Level 4, with specific contacts at each level. User Information: Displays names, designations, and contact info for clear communication.

E-INVOICING & E-WAY BILL

E-way bill expiry alerts

Users can now receive email alerts for expiring e-way Bills (EWBs) ensuring timely reminders for EWB extensions.

• E-way bill expiry alerts settings

  • Users can now enable or disable the e-way bill expiry email alerts from the "Alerts and Notifications Settings".

  • When the alert is enabled, users for all business entities (GSTINs) under the account with permissions for e-way bill will receive the email alerts

• Email alerts to the user

  • When the e-way bill expiry alerts settings is enabled, users will receive daily email with details of the expiring e-way bill on that day

  • The email will have an excel file attached with all the details of the expiring e-way bills

• Highlighting expiring e-way bills on UI

  • The expiring e-way bills will be flagged and shown on the UI. The e-way bill validity column will show a flag “Expiring today” for e-way bills expiring on that day

  • Users can also filter expiring e-way bills today and tomorrow using the e-way bill validity filter

Custom field limit has been increased from 30 to 150. Users can now add a total of 150 custom fields at document and line item level.

Clear Supply Chain

VENDOR MANAGEMENT & VENDOR PORTAL

1. Automated Re-KYC for Vendors Anchors can now perform Re-KYC for all their vendors in a few minutes by uploading the vendor master details. This process generates a comprehensive report covering:

• PAN Verification: Validates the vendor’s PAN.

• GSTIN Verification: Confirms the vendor’s GST registration status.

• Bank Account Verification: Verifies bank account details.

• MCA Verification: Checks records with MCA

• MSME verification: Checks MSME registration

• E-Invoice Verification: Ensures e-invoicing compliance.

• 206AB Compliance: Confirms compliance with TDS requirements for non-filers.

This feature streamlines compliance checks, reduces manual errors, and ensures accurate, up-to-date vendor information

2. Vendor adding multiple users to the workspace:

Vendor workspace can now have multiple user(s) added to their workspace by the primary user. The new users will also have the same permission(s) as that of the existing user. Role introduced here is “Partner Portal Admin”.

GCC

CLEARTAX E-INV

New Features

Error Correction Assistance with email notifications and error correction assistance reports

• Monitor E-Invoice health with weekly email notifications

  • Receive weekly email notifications to monitor E-Invoice health, including generated and failed invoices, branch-level error rates, top 5 errors, and downloadable correction assistance reports for easy analysis.

• Error Correction Assistance reports:

  • Errors Summary Report: Highlights branch-level error rates for E-Invoice generation.

  • Error Details Report: Provides failure reasons, error types, and suggested resolutions.

  • Category-wise Error Report: Categorizes errors by message, showing frequency to prioritize fixes.

• Notifications and Alerts Settings: Users can control email error notifications by enabling or disabling them from the ‘Settings’ page.

• Summary of errors and warnings: Error and warning counts are displayed on the web portal, helping users prioritize and correct invoices.

• Filter for errors and warnings: Filter invoices by errors, warnings, or both to easily plan corrective actions.

Enhancements:

• Handling duplicate xml file addition in FTP-xml reporting: Duplicate files are checked for content and filename, then renamed and processed to avoid being stuck in INIT.

• Configuring SMTP in the settings section: SMTP setup from the settings section enables quick go-live and use of customer domain emails.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed the incorrect attempted datetime issue: B2C invoices now display the correct attempted datetime, replacing the local system’s potentially incorrect time.

• No watermark in phase 1 E-Invoices: Generated E-Invoices from phase 1 are now shown without a watermark

ZATCA VAT Reconciliation

Capturing user interest in recon by capturing clicks on the recon tile

• All details of the users interested in exploring recon are captured in ClearTax CRM by saving the details of the users who click on the recon tile

Import history to track all files uploaded for reconciliation

• An import history to track the list of all files uploaded for reconciliation

• Filter for the type of upload and file details to never upload a duplicate file

Aug 2024 | Introducing GL-Recons, for assured compliance even before monthly books closure

We're excited to announce several key developments this month. GL Reconciliations and Data Browser, our new features for assured compliance, are now available. Additionally, we are launching the Compliance Scorecard and a new Customer Journey on product. These initiatives underscore our dedication to customer success and support. We are celebrating a major milestone with the onboarding of our first international Supply Chain Suite customer.

Key Highlights of This Release

1. GL Data Reconciliation streamlines tax GL and Compliance Register matching, ensuring financial accuracy, quick error detection, and easy data analysis through a unified view (GL-Stream)

2. We are live with the first international customer for Supply Chain Suite: Wipro Pari US, a leading provider of consumer goods and engineering solutions (Clear Supply Chain)

3. Customer journey on product: Launching an industry-first, Clear Compliance Cloud exclusive feature that offers unified view of the customer journey post sales (Shared Services)

4. Compliance Score Card, designed to provide tax leaders a comprehensive overview of the business's compliance health (Compliance Scorecard)

5. AI powered chatbot to answer your queries anytime, anywhere (GCC, E-Invoicing)

India

Clear Compliance Cloud

GL STREAM

We are excited to announce the release of two powerful new features in our product: GL Data Reconciliation and Data Browser. These features are designed to streamline financial operations, enhance accuracy, and provide greater visibility into financial data.

1. GL Data Reconciliation

Get assured compliance even before monthly book closure. GL Data Reconciliation feature enables quick and accurate comparison of tax General Ledgers (GLs) with Sales and Purchase Registers. Timely identify gaps and adjustment entries, avoid continuous G1 amendments and missed TDS deductions, and reduce the risk of errors and notices.

Debug mismatches and missing scenarios in no time with presence of GL data on SaaS

• Eg. Bulk filter docs that are mismatch or missing in GL View and with a cursory glance users can point out there are adjustment entries which rightfully will not reflect in GL

• Data browser translates ERP data into one consolidated view that makes debugging easier while same in ERP will be spread across multiple tables and views

• Data unification that helps to view GL and SR/PR data

Quick look

• Navigate to the 'Reconciliation' section in GL Stream and choose the Recon you want to run

• Input the period for which you want to run recon under appropriate Company code or PAN

• Click on the 'Proceed ' button to begin the process.

• Once the reconciliation is complete, review the results to identify any discrepancies

  • Results are bucketed into broad logical buckets in summary and greater detailing provided in Document view

• Use the Data Browser to address inconsistencies between the tax GLs and Compliance Registers

Benefits

• Automatically identify and resolve discrepancies between your tax GLs and Compliance Registers.

• Prevents misreporting and save time by enabling timely reconciliations, avoiding delays from manual data & recon preparation

2. Data Browser

An intuitive interface for effortlessly viewing individual GL data and Sales/Purchase registers. Analysing mismatches and missing scenarios is made effortless with the presence of GL data on CCC platform.

• Easily access and analyze financial transactions and records. For instance, identify any mismatched or missing documents in the GL View. Users can promptly identify adjustment entries that should not be present in the GL.

• The platform translates ERP data into a single consolidated view, simplifying the actions on recon results, as compared to ERP systems where data is scattered across multiple tables and views.

• Utilize the Trial Balance view to ensure that all data is accurately retrieved post-integration. This view consolidates all necessary ERP data, ensuring data consistency and reliability. Consequently, downstream systems gain enhanced trustworthiness and efficiency.

Quick look

• Go to the 'Data Browser' section in GL Stream

• Choose whether you want to view Trial Balance, GL data or Sales/Purchase invoices.

• Use the filtering and search options to narrow down the data to the specific records you need.

• If needed, export the data for further analysis or reporting

CUSTOMER LIFECYCLE MGMT

Customer Journey on Product

Launching an Industry-First Clear Compliance Cloud exclusive feature that offers unified view of the customer journey post sales.

Customers can now stay informed with real-time progress for the key milestones covering Onboarding, Integration, Value Delivery and Regular Engagements, replacing outdated manual and offline status updates.

Summary Section highlights recent milestones, areas needing attention, and details on the upcoming engagement activities.

Key milestones tracking on the Product UI

• Onboarding:

  • Onboarding Kick off & Account setup: Captures onboarding kickoff and account setup details

  • Product Training: Access to historical training activities and earn training certifications directly from the product UI.

  • Integration: Monitor the entire integration journey from kickoff to go-live

• Value Delivery: Monitor compliance scores and track feature adoption

• Regular Engagement: Access records of past interactions and upcoming future engagements

  • Business review connect's: Access to all the past service reviews

  • Support: Raise ticket seamlessly and track the status of active and closed tickets

  • Product Release notes: Stay updated with new features, enhancements, and bug fixes

  • Webinars: Access a wide range of webinars on various subjects and topic

CLEAR GST

Action Error Report [EA]

Previous State: Users were not notified when an action caused an error, nor were they informed about the cause or the number of affected documents.

Solution: Now, if an action fails for any reason, users will receive a downloadable report in the notifications section. This report, in Excel format, will detail all affected documents, the specific errors encountered, and provide actionable steps for resolution. We have released it for a limited set of clients, with plans to make it available to all soon.

TDS

Changes based on latest RPU 5.2 version utility

With RPU utility version 5.2 , below changes made by department are supported in Clear TD

• Department restricts correction of certain deductions that are already filed.

  • Primarily deductions that are identified for prosecution (as per their notice)

• Deductions in the conso file with Mode type 'R' are restricted from updates.

• While importing excel data for correction returns, we will validate and show errors in-case these type of deductions are attempted for updates.

Other changes

1. Lower deduction certificate applicability for from FY 2023-24 onwards for Form 26Q and Form 27Q for 194LBA(a), 194LBA(b), 194LBA(c)

2. For Form 27Q, TDS can be deducted at < 20% Rate for cases when PAN of the deductee not available, provided if Email ID ,Contact number, Address and Tax Identification number details are provided. This applicability is extended to additional nature of remittances

3. Supporting Lower / No deduction Remark "P" for section 195 and nature of remittance "Interest Payment" from FY 2024-25 Q1 onwards for Form 27Q

4. Supporting Lower / No deduction Remark "Z" for section 194D from FY 2024-25 Q1 onwards for Form 26Q

Email TDS certificates from users' own email domain

• Users' can email TDS certificates to their Deductees from their own email domain.

• SMTP email settings need to be configured as a one-time activity for the same.

CLEAR IDENTITY

Face Match API: The Face Match API provides a secure method for comparing and verifying identities using cutting-edge facial recognition technology. It accurately matches faces from two images (e.g., a selfie and an ID card). This API Complies with RBI guidelines for Digital KYC through reliable and secure facial recognition. Useful for companies operating in Banking, Financial Institutions and Insurance sector.

Face Liveness Check API: The Face Liveness Check API provides a secure method for determining if a face is real and not a photo or video spoof. It uses advanced algorithms to detect liveness from an image. API is useful for companies operating in Banking, Financial Institutions and Insurance sector.

COMPLIANCE SCORE CARD (EA)

The Compliance Score Card is designed to provide tax leaders a comprehensive overview of the business's compliance health.

1. Score card view: View the detailed compliance score based on tasks completed in Direct Tax (DT) and Indirect Tax (IDT). Compare the average and median scores achieved by other enterprises, along with the Clear Score and the maximum possible score which can be achieved. The breakup of detailed tasks list view across DT and IDT along with the Productivity status and assurance achieved against each task .

Note : The compliance score is based on tasks from the previous month. For example, selecting July 2024 shows the score for June 2024.

1. FAQs on how compliance score is getting calculated, how clear can help in improving the same.

2. The scoring system considers all PANs collectively. This means that if any GSTIN/TAN is performing a task, the score will be assigned. The objective is to emphasize that the ability to execute tasks remains intact, even if just one GSTIN/TAN is actively performing.

Clear Supply Chain

Supply Chain Globalisation: We are live with the first international customer for Supply Chain Suite (AP, Vendor Portal and Management) - Wipro PARI US

Wipro Enterprises, a leading provider of consumer goods and engineering solutions, has successfully implemented Clear Supply Chain Cloud, automating its accounts payable and vendor management processes.

By streamlining these critical processes, Wipro Enterprises is poised to revolutionise its supply chain, driving significant improvements in:

• Vendor empowerment: Our vendor portal grants thousands of Wipro Enterprises’s global vendors real-time visibility and streamlined interactions, enhancing collaboration and reducing administrative burdens.

• AP optimisation: Streamlined processes, increased control, and improved transparency lead to substantial cost savings in Wipro Enterprises's accounts payable processes.

• Data-driven supply chain: Leveraging data insights, Wipro Enterprises can make informed decisions to optimise vendor performance and overall supply chain efficiency.

VENDOR PORTAL

1. Reference and Attachment Sharing: Vendors can now share supporting documents such as EWB, E-invoice, QR etc along with an invoice as a supporting document for verification. This will enable faster invoice processing. Supporting file formats include PDF, JPG, JPEG, PNG

2. Payment Status Update: Anchors can mark an invoice as Paid with additional comments. This ensures vendors have visibility of invoice payment status. This is currently available for non-integrated customers

GCC

CLEARTAX E-INV

AI powered chatbot to answer your queries anytime, anywhere (EA)

• Get quick answer to your queries on validation errors in E-Invoicing and other generic queries in a few seconds by asking our AI powered chatbot

• Get details about your account and invoices along with their status instantly

• Access the chatbot which is available for early access in our KSA sandbox

Enhanced user access and control with the new 'Generate Only' role

• Introducing the new 'Generate Only' user role in E-Invoicing which allows users to upload data and generate E-Invoices while allowing access to reports and dashboards

• Protect the crucial functions like registering the new device, inviting users and modifying account settings by not providing the access to the new role

ZATCA E-INV RECONCILIATION

Enhancements and Bug Fixes:

Import history to keep track of all file uploads:

• An import history page to keep a track of multiple files that are uploaded to run reconciliation

Showing further buckets inside 'Suggested Match' to help with decision making

• Displaying results in more depth inside ‘Suggested Match’ by categorizing the results based on quantum of mismatch

• The buckets are - Low, Medium and High based on the amount mismatch. The buckets are configurable

Release 29 |July-2024

July 2024 | Enhanced ITC Bulk Actions

This month, we focused on streamlining compliance and boosting efficiency across your business operations. The Clear Compliance Cloud update brings a host of new features, including simplified GSTN interactions, enhanced GSTR-2B reports, bulk ITC actions and much more! Our Clear Supply Chain Suite now features improved invoice processing with a more accurate OCR model, streamlined workflows in Accounts Payable, and a brand new Vendor Portal for better collaboration.

Key Highlights of This Release

1. Simplifies GSTN data interactions, easy status tracking, actionable error messages for an elevated user experience (CLEAR GST)

2. Bulk Actions for 2B vs PR Comparisons for improved efficiency and streamlined ITC action process (CLEAR GST)

3. E-invoicing & E-way bill (EWB) Dashboard to identify trends, get insights and make informed decisions. (CLEAR E-INVOICING AND E-WAY BILL)

4. The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system now supports multiple models for improved invoice digitisation accuracy (CLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN, ACCOUNTS PAYABLE)

5. Improved vendor search by name or code, unit of measurement comparison between invoices and purchase orders, and editable tax code field for invoice posting (CLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN, VENDOR PORTAL)

6. Invoices not generated or failed can now be printed with a 'Draft' watermark. Share ungenerated invoices with buyers for verification, and failed ones with the team for corrections (GCC)

India

Clear Compliance Cloud

CLEAR GST

1.Enhanced Government Interactions

• Unified Government Interaction Flow: A streamlined government interaction flow ensures a consistent experience for downloading or uploading data to/from the GSTN.

• Comprehensive Data Status Page: A "Data Status" page is now available on government interaction pages. It enables you to:

  • Monitor data download status for PAN/GSTINs and different GST forms across all return periods.

  • Download data for all return types and periods at once, up to 3 years, from the same page.

• Clear and Actionable Error Messages: Issues like non-generation of G2B, the requirement to file a response to DRC-01C before downloading G2B, or inapplicable returns will prompt clear error messages. Users can take necessary actions directly from the page to streamline issue resolution.

1. Introduction of Bulk Actions for 2B vs PR Comparisons

A new feature allows users to perform bulk ITC actions on GSTR-2B vs PR reconciliation results, making it easier to take ITC actions.

• Users will now see documents grouped logically, along with recommended actions to take ITC action in bulk.

• This reduces the need to apply multiple filters and perform actions individually, streamlining the process and improving efficiency.

1. Enhanced Reconciliation Accuracy and ITC Document Inclusion

   E-commerce operator transactions in GSTR-1 Table 15 (section 9(5)) are now included in the GSTR-2B vs PR reconciliation, improving accuracy and computation of Table 4 e-commerce transactions. Additionally, ITC actioned documents are displayed in reconciliation results if the ITC action month aligns with the return period, regardless of GSTR-2B or purchase register periods. This resolves previous visibility and pending status issues by including ITC documents from prior months in the current return period.

4.Other Enhancements Users can now access the original transaction details for any amended transactions, enhancing transparency.

• Original Transaction Information: The GSTR-2B report now shows the original details of amended transactions.

• Data Fetching: System retrieves original details to display alongside the amended ones for a comprehensive view.

E-INVOICING & EWB

1. Insights and Analytics dashboard for E-invoicing and E-way bill EA

Launching the Insights and analytics dashboard for the users to enable them take informed decisions and improve operational efficiency

• Sales Revenue Insights: Key sales revenue trends, YoY, YTD, and MoM metrics, Insights on top buyers and product lines from E-invoices.

• Tax Liability Insights: Track YoY, YTD, and MoM metrics, view splits by CGST, IGST, and SGST.

• Usage Dashboard: Monitor E-invoice and E-way bill usage and track success rates for product usage.

• Error Reports: Identify and monitor errors encountered during E-invoice and E-way bill generation

The reports will enable informed decision-making, enhanced operational efficiency and improved financial management.

1. Improving business continuity by onboarding on both NIC and ClearIRP

• New User: Add multiple GSTINs during onboarding. Create or add already created authentication credentials for NIC and ClearIRP for multiple GSTINs

• Existing Users: Add/create authentication credentials for the GSTINs from the API credentials setting for both NIC and ClearIRP

Clear Supply Chain

US Expansion: The Clear Supply Chain Suite, encompassing Accounts Payable, Vendor Management, and Vendor Portal modules, is live in the United States.

ACCOUNT PAYABLE

• Enhanced OCR Model for better extraction: The Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system for digitizing invoices and other documents in Accounts Payable (AP) now supports multiple models and includes fallback options for improved accuracy and reliability.

• Improved search for Vendor Code: Users can search and select vendors by Vendor Name or Vendor Code for Purchase Invoices, removing the need to know ERP and Vendor Code details.

• Units of Measurement - Invoice <> Purchase Order Comparison: To streamline the posting of invoice line items, users can now compare units with the Purchase Order (PO) before posting. Aliases for each unit have been added to enhance efficiency.

Improvements to support posting of PO related invoices

• The Tax Code field in PO invoices is now editable for updating tax details pre-posting.

• Business hierarchy fields are now available for reviewing and modifying business details pre-invoice posting.

VENDOR PORTAL

Vendor Portal Module is Live.

• Invoice Sharing: Vendors can now share invoices directly linked to Purchase Orders (POs) with Anchors through the portal. This feature eliminates the need for manual processing and streamlines invoice handling.

• Vendor Chat: The portal supports direct communication between Vendors and Anchors. Notes and messages can be exchanged against any invoice, facilitating better collaboration and faster issue resolution.

GCC

CLEARTAX E-INV

Enabling business to print invoices in any status with a watermark

• Invoices that are not generated or failed due to an error can now be printed with a 'Draft' watermark

• Not generated invoices can be shared with your buyer for verification and sign-off

• Failed or rejected invoices can be shared with the respective team for making corrections

Never make an incorrect invoice by sharing draft invoices over email internally or externally with your buyer

• Email invoices in any status including ‘Not Generated', ‘Failed’, ’Not Reported', ’Not Cleared'

• Emailed invoices will have a 'DRAFT' watermark to help with identification

Keep your E-Invoicing web portal clean by deleting unwanted invoices

• ‘Delete' unwanted or erroneous ‘Not Generated’ or 'Failed’ invoices with a single click

  • Documents in other statuses cannot be deleted as invoice hash has to be preserved for audits

  

  Delete single or multiple invoices with a single click

Enhancements and Bug fixes:

• Additional validation to block creation of multiple invoices with same document number but different document type

  • This validation is as per VAT regulations which mention that document number should be unique by document type in a financial year

  • This validation is not done by ZATCA leading to issues during audit

• Create ‘Adjustment’ invoices with negative or positive amount due for payment

  • While adjusting ‘Advance' or 'Prepayment’ invoices the payable amount can be positive or negative depending on supplies are more or less

  • Now create adjustment invoices for both positive and negative scenarios

• Easily download attachments received in an email

  • Attachments in an email triggered are now directly accessible instead of a zip file

  • Easily download and use them for verification or sharing

• Scroll through thousands of contacts easily

  • Showing large number of contacts in multiple pages to help easily scroll through them and select

• Showing all numbers in international format on the web portal for easy understanding

  • All currency and numeric fields displayed on the web portal are now shown in millions, billions format for easy understanding

  • This is done on all pages - Dashboard, Documents, MIS Dashboard and reports, Import History

  
• View the summary of E-Invoice generation at VAT and branch level in the Dashboard screen

• Blocking multiple device registration calls at the same time to avoid duplication

ZATCA E-INV RECONCILIATION

Enhancements and Bug fixes:

• Easily modify between time periods and check the results of reconciliation

  • Change or modify the time period of recon from the date selection option at the top

  • Also understand the time period of the results displayed easily with date label

  

  Date filter and label with recon

Easily understand large reconciliation results with numbers in international format

• All currency and numeric fields in the summary and detailed view page are displayed in international format for easy understanding and consumption

Numbers and currencies in international format

Release 28 |June-2024

Jun-2024 | Streamlined Data Preparation for Compliances

This month, our primary focus has been on streamlining data transformation processes to minimize errors and manual effort. In addition, many new features and updates have been introduced across Accounts Payable, Vendor Management, TDS, e-invoicing etc.

Key Highlights of This Release

1. Automatically transform ERP data to compliant Purchase Register format, improving accuracy and reliability for compliance. (CLEAR GST)

2. E-invoicing status page will Auto-Update to include ClearIRP API health status, allowing users to monitor uptime and receive email alerts for performance issues. (CLEAR E-INVOICING AND E-WAY BILL)

3. Xpedize now offers automated email alerts for API clients. Resellers will receive notifications for both downtime and uptime issues, significantly reducing support escalations. (CLEAR IDENTITY API)

4. Identify inoperative PANs, calculate potential TDS notices and get excel reports showing tax impact and short deduction amounts for inoperative PANs. (CLEAR TDS)

5. Enhanced error handling for DRC-01B/01C notices and integration of ADT-02 audit closure reports in Notice Management. (NOTICE MANAGEMENT)

6. Improved UI for invoice review, easy Excel upload for sales demonstrations and UAT, and automated PO line item matching enrichment. (CLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN: ACCOUNT PAYABLE)

7. New validation checks on vendor submitted data including GSTIN matching, auto-mapping organization type etc. (CLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN: VENDOR MANAGEMENT)

India

Clear Compliance Cloud

CLEAR GST

ERP outputs generally do not align with compliance standards, leading to extensive manual efforts and data preparation tasks. In particular, generating a purchase register is a laborious process. Clear unveils ‘PR Data Transformation’, a new feature designed to tackle the obstacles encountered by tax teams when manually preparing data for compliance. EA

Users can now simply upload raw ERP data (no template changes needed). Through a one-time setup process, Clear automatically transforms it into a compliant purchase register format, eliminating the need to modify raw file templates. With PR Data Transformation,

• Automate repetitive tasks: Reduce time and effort for data preparation.

• Minimizes errors, ensuring higher accuracy in compliance and reporting.

• Reduces the risks associated with Excel, minimizing data corruption or loss.

Experience a simplified data onboarding process, reduce operational inefficiencies and streamline compliance workflows.

CLEAR E-INVOICING AND E-WAY BILL

ClearIRP: Health Status page

• Clear E-invoicing status page is now updated with ClearIRP API health status. Users can view the ClearIRP uptime and API health status on the status page.ClearTax EInvoicing Status
• Users can subscribe to the status page to receive email alerts for any API performance issues.

• Fixed Duplicate E-way bill generation issue - Avoid generation of multiple E-way bills on the same invoice number by recalibrating the retry logic in case of govt infra (server downtime or slowness) issues.

• Partial document number search in filters - Improved the document number filter on the invoices and E-way bill screen to include partial search

  • At-least 3 digit needs to be provided to complete the partial document number search

  • The digits provided is matched against the initial digits of the document number. Pattern search within the document number is not supported

• Added a 'Generation source' filter on the invoices screen to check which invoices are generated on NIC and ClearIRP. Based on the filter selected the data in the invoice table is refreshed.

• Improved the HSN code validation for E-invoice and E-way bill for a higher success rate

  • Business turnover >=5Cr - At least 6 digit HSN code is required to generate IRN and E-way bill

  • Business turnover <5Cr - At least 4 digit HSN code is required to generate E-way bill

CLEAR IDENTITY API

Automated Customer Alerting: Customer Alerting is now live for all API clients. Now, customers will get an automated email from Xpedize support whenever any API is facing a low success rate. Alerting is live for both downtime and uptime.

CLEAR TDS

Form 24Q Q4 Updates:

• Identifies inoperative PANs in salary details and calculates potential TDS notices with 20% tax.

• Excel reports show tax impact and short deduction amounts, along with error message, for inoperative PANs.

Other Updates

• Download challans from ITR portal instead of OLTAS (after April 1, 2023)

• Filter Form 26Q salary details by Section 115BAC filter option based on the financial year.

NOTICE MANAGEMENT

Bug Fixes & Enhancements

1. More robust DRC-01B and DRC-01C notice handling. We’ve updated the error handling for DRC-01B/01C cases when notices cannot be found on the Return Compliance section of the GST Portal.

2. Notice Management now fetches Audit Closure reports for ADT-02 notices issued on the Notice Management portal.

Clear Supply Chain

ACCOUNTS PAYABLE

1. Improved UI for Invoice Review: With the new right navigation panel, user can easily toggle off the errors while they are reviewing or working on data extracted via OCR

1. Easy Excel upload option to enable Sales POCs and Non-Integrated UAT: An option in Sandbox Environment is now available to upload the master and transaction data via excel. New users can now start UAT for SaaS in Sandbox, without the need for integration

PO line item matching enrichment with LLM classifier

There was always a manual intervention in entering PO Line item number for invoices as this field was not available in Invoice PDF to extract via OCR. We have taken a step towards improving this experience by autofilling this field based on the following criteria -

1. If the invoice line item has a direct match wrt to PO Line on - HSN or SKU Code or Item Description

2. Partial Item description matching with LLM

Bugs & Enhancements

1. VAPT related fixes: Issues identified after security check across the AP solution have been fixed

   1. Improper error handling, where Java text was being exposed

   2. Blocking of any kind of malicious file upload

   3. Implementation of rate limits for the API calls

   4. Fixes for vulnerabilities while accessing data with specific user roles

2. Other fixes Fixes

   1. Preview Fields - Incorrect values which was coming in Preview screen has been fixed now

   2. Source data was returning blank in the STP, a Backend fix was deployed for it

VENDOR MANAGEMENT

New Validation checks on Vendor submitted data added:

• State of GSTIN and registered address Match Check

• Type of Organisation in Customer’s ERP can now be auto-mapped from Constitution of Business in GSTIN t

• Public/Private Limited Companies not providing MCA cannot proceed

• MCA Director Name, DIN auto-fetched

• PAN MSME Name Mismatch Warning

• Bank Branch Details auto fetched from IFSC Code

Enhancements and Bug Fixes

1. Update Vendor Code: Customers now have the capability to update the vendor codes in non-integrated versions, ensuring sync with the ERP.

2. Re-order Columns: Users can now configure the columns available in the existing vendor’s list view as per their needs

3. Support for International Vendors ( Country and Mobile no.): For customers having international vendors, earlier there was no option to add details of vendor country and phone no. To address this, support for the same is provided out of the box for all existing and new customers, at the time of inviting the vendors itself.

GCC

CLEARTAX E-INV

Enhancements and Bug Fixes

• Additional custom fields at document and line item level to help businesses

  • Supporting a total of 150 custom fields at document level and line level combined to give flexibility to businesses to include all information helpful to their sales/operations teams

• Displaying warning messages of an invoice in the edit screen to help corrections

  • Warning messages given by ZATCA for reported invoices are now displayed in the invoice edit screen

  • This will help the IT and finance teams of taxpayers to plan any corrections needed to future invoices

Sample screenshot of an invoice containing errors and warnings.

• Issue time and generated time will be in KSA time for all B2C invoices to help operations teams

  • Generated time which is based on the system time of the signing system is now fixed to be always same as generated time. Both will be in KSA time

  • We have updated the ZATCA SDK file to consider the system time in KSA standard time and the new version of the SDK can be incorporated in those systems generating invoices offline. Please reach out to your CSM to get access to the updated SDK

• Easy options on the web interface for users to switch from phase 1 to phase 2

• Also displaying incorrect Arabic values in the error correction screen

  • Arabic values part of the invoice and incorrect are now shown in the error correction screen to help user make corrections

Release 27 |May-2024

Introducing GL-Stream: Directly stream your GLs for indirect tax compliance

This month, we are delighted to introduce GL-Stream, a transformative solution driven by a commitment to simplifying tax compliance and assuring your peace of mind.

GL-Stream removes the burden of managing specific GSTN formats, data transformation, general ledger changes, etc. for tax teams. Instead, it empowers them with complete and accurate data for compliance, ensuring accuracy, efficiency, and peace of mind for the enterprise.

Let's explore the updates we've made across all our products this month!

Key highlights of this release

1. Introducing GL-Stream: Integrates with general ledgers for automatic, accurate tax compliance (GL-Stream)

2. Improved data insights, ingestion template fixes, and bug resolutions (Clear GST)

3. Introduction of a unified Form 24Q template, support for new government changes, and proactive identification of potential notices applicable due to short deductions for inoperative PANs. (Clear TDS)

4. Faster response time, unified generation, E-way bill support via ClearIRP, advanced filtering options, and back-dated invoice restriction, enhancing business continuity and user experience (Clear E-INV)

5. Enhanced features include auto-fill tax codes, saved filters, OCR value verification, project element allocation, invoice preview at all stages, increased line item support, and improved PO selection. (Clear Supply Chain & Accounts Payable)

6. Enables Arabic translation of invoice fields, in-product support ticket creation, and improved reports with detailed tax breakdowns (GCC)

India

Clear Compliance Cloud

GL-Stream EA

GL-Stream is designed to streamline your tax compliance by integrating directly with your general ledgers in a matter of days. It eliminates the need to adapt your workflows to government tax reporting formats, enabling your company to avoid errors and notices and enabling your teams to work at unparalleled efficiency.

The first release of GL-Stream covers Indirect Tax Compliance (i.e., GST-Purchase Register, GST-Sales Register)

How does it work?

• One-time installation: Single integration for all product modules, enabling seamless addition of new features without connector updates. (e.g. When future support of GL-stream is extended to Account Payables, TDS Deductions, Invoice Discounting, etc., additional changes in the ERP will be minimal).

• Auto Scheduler: Automatically pulls raw data from GL as per a scheduled frequency, ensuring your tax data always reflects the latest information.

• Data Quality Score: Proactively identifies data gaps and potential errors upfront, minimizing inaccuracies and maximizing reporting confidence.

• Transformation Engine: Complex data transformations are handled at lightning speed without requiring any code changes within your ERP system. This ensures that right data is fetched and transformed into relevant compliance registers.

• Automated 3-Way User Acceptance Testing (UAT): Clear will validate the accuracy and completeness of your PR and SR, by comparing them against your Tax GL data and government reports (Filed G1, 2B). This eliminates the misses during UAT, ensuring accuracy.

Support limitations:

• GL-Stream is currently available only for SAP ECC, HANA. We are working to extend support to additional ERPs

• This capability is currently in Early Availability upon request

What does this mean for you?

• Achieve 100% accurate and complete sales and purchase registers.

• Prepare your annual return with confidence every month, avoiding year-end surprises.

• Adapt to changing regulations and business processes without modifying your ERP.

• Reduce IT workload with a low-code integration project.

• Be up and running with GL-Stream in a matter of days, not months.

Clear GST

1. Addition of document view for GSTR-7 form in the data overview page: We will now support document view for GSTR-7 in the data overview page, this will give an insight to the user for all the documents in GSTR-7 for TDS and TDSA

1. Fix in ingestion template for Quarterly month selection: Users now can select the quarter month for the period for which they want to ingest the data, earlier the quarter month selection was not getting updated as per the month applicable for quarterly filers in the template, this was also throwing error during ingestion which was leading to failure in the ingestion.

Clear Max ITC

Stability Improvements

Vendor Payment Fiscal Year Issue: Companies have payment settings enabled for their vendors basis the GSTR filing status. We have improved the logic to provide better clarity for cases of transition between financial years (e.g., from 2023-24 to 2024-25)

Clear E-invoicing & E-way bill

Supporting E-way bill generation via ClearIRP EA

• Faster response time and higher uptime with unified e-invoice and e-way bill generation powered by ClearIRP.

• Clear E-invoicing and E-way bill users can now generate both IRN and IRN based E-Way Bills on ClearIRP.

• This will enable uninterrupted business continuity with multliple IRP back-ups (ClearIRP & NIC)

Support Limitations: Only IRN based EWB generation is supported on ClearIRP, other actions like Non-IRN EWB generation, EWB cancel, EWB update etc will be supported via NIC.

Optimization of Filters

• Users can now apply multiple filters to filter the data by providing the input for different filters and then clicking on “Apply Filter” button to filter the data. Users can click on “Clear” button to remove the filters.

• Reduction in data filtering and data loading time on screen by taking all user inputs at once and then filtering the data

Restricting back-dated invoices ingestion

• Users can restrict the ingestion of invoices before a configured date through the import settings. Under the Local Settings → “Import Settings” , user can configure a date and click on “Apply” button.

• Any invoice before the configured date cannot be ingested and tried for IRN/E-way bill generation.

Product improvements and enhancements

• Resolved e-way bill quantity issue by replacing missing government API response with user input, now reflected on e-way bill print.

• Validation added for 6+ digit HSN code to generate IRN and EWB for >= 5Cr turnover, and 4+ digit HSN code to generate EWB for < 5Cr turnover.

Clear TDS

1. Support available for new government changes for Form 24Q Q4 return

   • New tax regime becomes the default option & users need to opt-out to avail old tax regime.

   • Special allowances under section 10(14): Report utilized per diem expenses (daily allowances provided by companies for business travel outside India) so that the un-utilized expenses are accounted as Taxable Income

   • Deduction under section 80CCH by self contribution (Gross and Deductible)

2. Unified template to import Salary and Annexure data for Form 24Q Quarter-4 return: TDS import is cumbersome for large payroll companies due to separate salary and annexure templates with repetitive data entry across annexure sheets.

   • Introducing a new unified Form 24Q template, eliminating the need for separate salary & annexure templates.

   • Users to import the unified template twice: once for Form 24Q return preparation and again for Form-16 certificate generation. This reduces import complexity and saves valuable time.

   • Single-sheet design in Annexure details template for all columns simplifies data entry

Clear Identity API

Pan Verification API: This API will take PAN, date of birth and Name as input parameters and will verify all the input fields, along with PAN status and Aadhar linking status of the PAN. This API is useful for companies providing KYC service, Customer and Vendor Onboarding services.

Clear Supply Chain

Accounts Payable

1. Auto-fill tax codes: For non PO invoices, we are now automatically populating the Tax Code based on the Tax Type and percentage extracted from the invoice. If a unique tax code is identified from the tax code table, it will now be auto-filled in the line item dropdown, eliminating manual selection for users

2. Saved filters and views: Users can now save a combination of filters for easy viewing

1. Bounding box: For values extracted from OCR for an invoice, upon selecting the field the corresponding values picked up from the invoice will be highlighted. Users an use this to quickly pinpoint the value on the document and can verify the values extracted.

1. Added support for project elements (WBS): Companies can now allocate invoice line items directly to specific projects, enhancing expense tracking capabilities.

Enhancements and Bug Fixes

• Preview at all stages: Users can now access the ‘Preview’ page for all invoice states, not just ‘In Process.’ This lets you see simulated ERP calculations for any invoice, regardless of its current stage. Previously, the "Preview" was limited to 'In Process,' leaving users blind to ERP calculations after sending to ERP or in any other state post ‘In process’.

• Support for 500 line items in invoice: Users can now process invoices with upto 500 line items from earlier support for 50 line items

• Auto-fill GRN: If only one GRN is available for a PO, then it will be automatically filled instead of user needing to manually selecting it.

• Filtering of open POs based on vendor selected: Users will now see only open POs available for a vendor for selection of PO number within an invoice, instead of all PO numbers, making it easy to identify and select the required PO number

GCC

ClearTax E-INV

1. Translation of standard and custom fields at document and line level from English to Arabic:

• Translate custom fields (document and line level) from English to Arabic helps businesses to share invoices with local entities for easy understanding and payment clearance.

• Download the translated info in the detailed Excel report for internal tax teams.

1. Support desk to raise tickets in product:

• Now users can easily create support tickets on both sandbox and production from the product itself with 2 attachments of up to 24 mb

• Attachments allowed can be in csv, json, xml, xlsx and pdf formats

• The application has been enhanced to automatically capture entire page screenshots, offering a comprehensive view of full web pages, including scrolling pages and modes

• You can also track the status of the tickets and the previous tickets all at once place

Enhancements and Bug Fixes

• Enhanced summary report includes break-up of tax amount, taxable amount, and total invoice by tax category code for VAT filing preparation. Download from Reports section.

• Improvements to invoice level Lite and offline reports

  • Inclusion of the break-up of tax amounts at tax category code level to help tax teams to reconcile easily with sales data from their source systems.

  • Inclusion of prepaid amount, payable amount and rounding amount to help tax teams track the payments received against advance invoices

• Document and invoice numbers are now part of the email subject of the emails sent to buyers after invoice generation for easy identification and payment processing

Release 26 |Apr-2024

Improved Vendor Management

This month, we empowered customers with greater control and efficiency in vendor management and tax workflows. The new features are designed to effectively handle vendor details, facilitate seamless onboarding, expedite invoice processing, improve communication efficiency, and ensure tax compliance for improved business outcomes.

Key highlights of this release

1. Enabled one-way bulk email functionality to request missing documents from vendors and safeguard working capital (Clear GST & Clear Max ITC)

2. Updated GSTR-1 and GSTR 2B report flows with Tables 14 & 15 details (Clear GST)

3. Integrated new APIs for generating IRN-based E-Way Bills on ClearIRP and other improvements and fixes (Clear E-INV)

4. Accounts Payables has been improved with SRN for service invoice matching, estimated tax values preview, up to 5 custom fields addition, prefilling line items from selected sources, and viewing linked documents within an invoice (Clear Supply Chain & Accounts Payable)

5. Update vendor details (MCA CIN, MSME Udyam) or contact/address information. Reassign or add missing approvers in new vendor onboarding requests (Clear Supply Chain & Vendor Management)

6. Improved web interface for faster data upload, multi-error correction, new invoice edit flow, refreshed visuals, and MIS dashboard with reports. Introduced E-Invoice vs. Sales data reconciliation feature (GCC)

INDIA

Clear Compliance Cloud

Clear GST & Clear Max ITC

One-way vendor email functionality has been enabled in GST 2.0 and Max ITC 2.0

Users utilizing this feature can now efficiently communicate with their vendors, prompting them to take corrective actions on any missing or mismatched documents, thereby safeguarding their working capital from being blocked.

Quick Look

• Go to global settings and choose the vendor contact master flow. Vendors can be added individually through the interface or uploaded in bulk using the provided template.

• Users can also access the contact master inside the send email flow. For this, the user access should be enabled. Admins will have access by default if resource for same is added.

• Add vendors, then access email flow by clicking vendor communication card on Max ITC landing page or from ‘vendor view' in '2B vs PR Reconciliation'. Select vendors for communication to activate 'Send Email' button. If vendors are not added through vendor contact master, you can directly send email to vendors from vendor view in reconciliation, 'Select vendor’ and then click on send email. After clicking on send email button users can add email in the email flow.

• After selecting vendors and landing on email flow, users have option to apply filters according to their preferences for sharing the email with vendors regarding documents that need corrective actions.

• Upon sending the email, vendors can easily access the report from the received email to take corrective actions. The report has been enhanced to help vendors identify documents that need corrective action. It will only include the essential fields for corrective actions, rather than the entire reconciliation report.

Note: Our current email functionality only supports one-way communication, and we no longer provide a two-way communication facility. Also user access management flow will work in the same manner as in the old flow.

Clear GST

1. GSTR-1 Table 14 and 15 report changes: Enhanced GSTR-1 report flow now includes the capability to download government data for tables 14 and 15. Users can now conveniently view detailed information for table 14 and 15 directly on the UI, as well as add section-level details for these tables in various reports.

Quick Look

• View details of table 14 and 15 on UI for GSTR-1 filed report flow

• Download of government data for table 14 and 15 in GSTR-1 filed report.

• Addition of Table 14 and 15 section level details in GSTR-1 filed pdf, summary level report, document level report and insight report

1. GSTR-2B report changes: Improved GSTR-2B report flow now supports downloading govt data for table 14 and 15.

Note: This will be available at PAN/GSTIN Level

1. Improved GSTR-9 table 8A report

   1. Improved data handling: Previously, users with more than 25 lakh line items encountered difficulties in accessing the report. With our latest update, we now accommodate up to 3 crore line items, ensuring seamless access and consumption for users with larger datasets.

   2. When downloading an Excel file, users will receive the data in chunks if the file contains more than 8 lakh entries.

Note: This is being supported at GSTIN level

CLEAR E-INV

E-Way Bill generation on ClearIRP

• Faster response time and higher uptime with unified e-invoice and e-way bill generation powered by ClearIRP. Users can now generate both IRN and IRN based E-Way Bills on ClearIRP.

• Implementing the new APIs shared by GSTN with ClearIRP to enable generation of IRN based E-Way Bills.

Product fixes and improvement

• Enabled the editing of shipping details for export transactions during E-Way Bill generation. Users can now modify the shipping details that were initially provided during IRN generation when generating E-Way Bills, and include the required Indian port details.

• Enabled the ability to update transporter ID in the ‘Edit Invoices’ flow for generated E-Way Bills.

• Added the option to import invoices settings to restrict the ingestion of backdated invoices. If an invoice with a date before the configured date in the settings is ingested, it will not be allowed for ingestion and IRN generation.

• Fixed the issue where address 2 was not being picked and mapped during ingestion for shipping and dispatch details.

• Fixed the bulk contact addition through Excel template ingestion. The vendor contact can be configured at a business hierarchy level.

• Fixed the redirection and viewing of the downloaded E-Way Bills from NIC via the option provided in the notifications

• Showing the full description name instead of enums for supply type, transaction type etc on the product UI for better user understandability

• Fixed the issue in loading of captcha in NIC API credentials creation automation flow

• Added an option on the invoice and E-Way Bills page to select all invoices at once

Clear Supply Chain

Accounts Payable

• Service invoices processing: Users can now process service invoices using Service Reference Notes (SRN) similar to goods invoices and can perform 2/3 way matching using invoice, SRN, and PO

• Improved ‘Others’ section experience

  • The 'Others' section, designed to manage non-invoice documents, has been enhanced to improve visibility on duplicate invoices or other junk files. Users can now download all items within this section.

  • Additional details have been added to each document entry, if available, like Vendor name, Location, Invoice number, etc. to enable users to make a decision and take action on the duplicate/junk files

• Preview and Adjustments:

  • Users can now preview estimated tax values for line item entries posted via ClearAP. The ERP handles these tax values directly. Users can compare extracted values from the invoice document with calculated values from the ERP to identify discrepancies, mainly rounding-off values on the invoice documents.

  • To account for these differences, users can add the differential amount as 'Adjustments' as additional line items. This gives users the flexibility to add ad-hoc line item entries for adjustments specifically for invoices backed by POs that need to adhere to entries accounted in the PO, a feature which was previously unavailable.

• Custom fields: Support has been added for users to add custom fields (up to 5) under each section of an invoice. These can also be configured and posted to ERP

• Source selection for line item data prefills: Users don’t have to manually fill in all line items, which is a tedious process when the line items in an invoice are in tens or hundreds. They can choose from a reference-linked document GRN/SRN, PO, or e-invoice apart from the OCR extracted values to prefill all line items. Priority of prefill from available sources can be configured as well.

• Enhancement on the ’Reference doc’ section within an invoice, to show all linked documents (PO, GRN added). Users can directly click on the available linked documents and view the details of these documents

Vendor Management

• Update Vendor Details

  • Customers can send an update request to their vendors to add missing details (eg: MCA CIN Number, MSME Udyam Registration Number) or Update existing details (eg: Contact or Address details). Updated details submitted by the Vendor are reviewed and approved.

• Reassign or Add missing Approvers in New Vendor Onboarding

  • When a specific new Vendor onboarding request’s approver is on leave an Admin can reassign it to a different approver. Approvers can also be added to an existing request.

GCC

Cleartax E-Inv

E-Invoicing web interface has been upgraded for a brand new experience with refreshed visuals, faster page loads, quicker data upload, easily correct multiple errors and intuitive interactions.

1. Dashboard page with E-Invoice generation timeline and announcements section

   • Timeline gives details of E-Invoice generation for the last 30 days as compared to 7 days earlier

   • Easily access government and other announcements immediately after you login

1. Lightning fast data upload with multi-error correction feature

• Now upload 40,000 documents in less than 2 minutes

• Easily navigate between multiple errors and correct them all at once and save it

• Real-time validations that help you identify if corrections made are right or not

• New invoice edit flow with capabilities to add new line items

• Refreshed ‘Documents’ and 'Reports' pages with faster load time and filter interactions:

  • Improved the page load time and filter actions for data larger than 5 mn documents

  • Refreshed visuals to easily navigate through the page and accomplish tasks easily

Launching E-Invoice vs. Sales data reconciliation to ensure that VAT amount calculated from E-Invoices submitted to government is the same as VAT Amount filed to the government by enterprise.

Key functionalities:

• Auto sync all E-Invoices generated from ClearTax for the selected return period

• Upload sales data in ClearTax format for the selected return period:

  • Data will be validated upon upload for correctness

  • Multi-document error correction flow to quickly correct errors during upload

  • Add more data to an historical return period i.e. add new documents or overwrite existing ones

• Reconciliation algorithm which primarily matches on 9 fields to bucket the results into 7 buckets

  • Algorithm can be tweaked to include additional fields and modify thresholds to boost matching accuracy

  • Bucketing logic can be modified as per needs to enable quick decision making

• Summary and detailed output reports of matching:

  • User can view summary of matching results on the web interface to filter for specific results and plan next steps

  • User can also view document level results to understand the reasons for mismatch and compare the values of the corresponding fields from both datasets

  • Summary and detailed reports can be downloaded in .csv files for further action

Release 25 | Mar 2024

Stability improvements

This month, we made significant improvements across key product modules, enhancing usability, flexibility, and performance.

Key highlights of this release

1. Enhancements in Tables 14 and 15 in GSTR-1, ensuring ease of use and accuracy in reporting for e-commerce operators (CLEAR GST)

2. Enhanced ERP data sync logic to ensure ERPs with limitations can still efficiently handle large-scale data (CLEAR MAX ITC)

3. Performance optimization for faster loading of vendor payments data (CLEAR MAX ITC)

4. Enhanced reconciliation actions ensuring the integrity of reconciliation actions during concurrent user activities (CLEAR MAX ITC) (CLEAR GST)

5. New API for Bank Account Verification now available (CLEAR IDENTITY-API)

6. Support Desk now enables users to submit tickets with uploads in multiple file formats, and other enhancements in the application for a smooth and interactive support experience (SHARED SERVICES)

7. Multiple fixes like e-way bill bulk operations, mapping and display of feilds etc. were released to stabilise the latest product version release (CLEAR E-INV)

8. Enhancements to eliminate duplicate invoices and functionality introduced to download archived XMLs (GCC)

INDIA

Clear Compliance Cloud

Clear GST

• Enhanced Support for Amendments in Sections 14 & 15: Building on our previous release, which introduced support for Table 15, this update extends our support to include amendments for Sections 14 & 15 in GSTR-1. This ensures that your filings are accurate and reflective of the latest regulatory requirements.

• Direct Ingestion of Summary Data for Tables 14 & 15: Recognizing the need for flexibility in how our users report their e-commerce transactions, we now offer the option to directly ingest summary data for Tables 14 & 15. This feature is designed for users who prefer not to enter document-level details for the supplies made through e-commerce platforms. To facilitate this, users can utilize the government-provided template attached to this release note.

Quick look

Accessing Tables 14 & 15: Navigate to the GSTR-1/IFF section within our platform. You will find the options to enter data for Tables 14 & 15 for the January 2024 tax period onwards.

Using the Government Template for Summary Data: Download the attached government template for summary data ingestion. Once filled, upload it directly to the designated section for Tables 14 & 15 within our platform.

Clear Max ITC

Purchase recon actions stability improvements

Recon actions being taken by multiple users can be corrupted between GSTIN and PAN levels without user knowledge in a few scenarios. We have added some redundancies to help users avoid such cases.

1: Actions taken at the GSTIN level affect PAN level recon results, and vice versa.

For example:

• Suppose a user runs GSTIN-level recon and takes actions on GSTIN level recon results

• If another user views PAN level recon results without rerunning, the updated actions are missed until a PAN level rerun occurs. If this user takes different recon actions on the same documents, actions by 1st user may be overwritten unknowingly.

Update: Recon actions will be restricted, requiring a PAN level recon rerun for subsequent actions.

1. Actions taken at GSTIN level recon results when PAN recon run is in-progress (or vice versa)

   • Suppose User 1 has already run GSTIN level recon results.

   • User 2 runs a PAN level recon, and User 1 simultaneously undertakes recon actions on the GSTIN level recon results.

   • In such cases, there are possibilities that the actions taken by User 1 will not be updated in the PAN level recon results.

Update: In such cases, the recon action will not succeed for User 1, requiring her to rerun the recon after some time.

Processing of huge matching and vendor payment status results in ERP

Challenges arise in processing huge matching and vendor payment status results in ERP due to system limitations, like 2GB Memory size limitation in SAP, etc.

Update: Matching and vendor payment status results data sent to ERP is now split into multiple chunks which can now be processed at ERP.

Performance optimization in processing vendor payment results

• Vendor payment data loads 3X faster in Vendor and Document level views.

• Time for sending matching and vendor payment status results back to ERP decreases by 60-70%, particularly for large datasets (e.g., 100,000 invoices).

• Reduced system/timeout failures.

Clear e-Invoicing

Stability and bug fixes in the new product UI and ingestion

Multiple fixes were released to stabilize the latest product version release:

• The scale of e-way bill bulk operations on the product was not the same as in the earlier version. Bulk flows are now enabled to support operations at scale, update transporter flow added, and bulk selection and generation of consolidated EWB is enabled.

• Improper mapping and display of some ingested fields in the UI under invoice details.

  • ‘Tax collected at Source (TCS)' value mapping is fixed. It is no longer shown under 'Other charges’

  • Mapping of the Address-2 field for shipping and dispatch details is fixed. It is now visible on UI.

• Emails sent from the product were being sent to all contacts from the contact master instead of only for corresponding GSTIN. The contact master settings is now fixed. The email will now be sent to the correct contacts for the buyer GSTINs.

• Resolved the issue where shipping details were automatically populated even if the user had not provided this information.

Clear Identity (API)

Bank Account Verification Penniless API: Simplifies bank account verification by eliminating the need for micro-deposits into bank accounts for the supported banks on the list.

Ideal for companies providing eKYC & Onboarding solutions, or any other companies who wants to verify their employee or vendors' bank account numbers.

Shared Services

Support Desk in Product

• The Support Desk now allows users to directly upload Excel files (as well as csv, xml, and pdf files) when submitting a support ticket, with a maximum file size of 24MB and a limit of two files per submission.

• Support desk functionality is now live in the sandbox as well, allowing users to report any issues encountered in the sandbox environment.

• The application has been enhanced to automatically capture entire page screenshots, offering a comprehensive view of full web pages, including scrolling pages and models

• Experience seamless support with our co-browsing feature, available across all our products. EA

  • Connect with our support team effortlessly, without the hassle of installing third-party apps or using external links.

  • On CFC, our co-browsing allows agents to guide you effectively by highlighting and controlling the screen through scrolling and clicking. This functionality extends to various applications beyond app.clear, providing comprehensive screen sharing capabilities.

  • The functionality extends beyond visuals, incorporating audio and video support to enhance communication between our agents and you, ensuring a smooth and interactive support experience.

GCC

ClearTax e-Invoicing

• Users can now download archive XMLs from the 'Archives' section. This is an additional option alongside existing reports.

  • This feature allows the retrieval of Signed XMLs used for E-Invoice generation from all sources, including store-generated offline invoice XMLs, with a one-day-at-a-time download limit to accommodate large volumes of both standard (B2B) and simplified (B2C) tax invoices.

  • The downloaded zip file organizes data into multiple folders for each branch/store on the ClearTax E-Invoicing platform.

• Fixed the issue of incorrect unique identifier used while generating an edited invoice from web portal. This eliminates duplicate copies of the same invoice on the web portal and avoids confusion.

• Custom fields sent through the API will now be included in the E-Invoice payload when the invoice is edited and regenerated from the web UI.

Release 24 | Feb 2024

Seamless compliance with new government regulations

This month, we have introduced an update to GST reporting per the latest government notification. Additionally, stability improvements have been done across modules, to enhance product performance and user experiences.

Key highlights of this release

1. Introduction of Table 14 and 15 in GSTR-1 forms, ensuring accurate and efficient reporting for e-commerce operators (CLEAR GST)

2. New APIs added to ensure reliability and operational efficiency (CLEAR E-InV)

3. New API to access and fetch eInvoice details for a GSTIN and return period (CLEAR IDENTITY - API)

4. TDS feature, allowing users control over TDS posted in ERP, and enhanced invoice posting with new cost allocations and backdated posting controls for Non-PO invoices. (CLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN)

5. Improved validations and ICV generation logic for better performance (GCC)

INDIA

Clear Compliance Cloud

Clear GST

Our GST filing product has been updated to align with the latest government notification (No. 26/2022). Now, it includes two new tables- Table 14 and Table 15, in GSTR-1 forms, enhancing reporting for e-commerce transactions as per section 52 and section 9(5) of the CGST Act, addressing tax collection and payment responsibilities for e-commerce operators (ECOs) and specified services.

These tables capture comprehensive details of supplies made through ECOs, facilitating compliance with the updated regulations. These additions are effective for GSTR-1/IFF forms starting from the January 2024 tax period, enabling

• Enhanced Compliance: Ensure accurate reporting of e-commerce transactions, complying with the latest GST regulations.

• Streamlined Tax Filing: Experience a more efficient tax filing process, minimizing the risk of errors and omissions.

Quick look:

1. For Table 14(i) - Supplies by E-commerce Supplier (Section 52): Input the ECO's GSTIN in the ClearTax Excel template to automatically populate values for supplies subject to tax collection under section 52.

2. For Table 14(ii) - Supplies by E-commerce Supplier (Section 9(5)): Set the flag to "3.1.1(ii) Furnished by person making supplies through ECO" in the ClearTax template's "Supplies u/s 9(5)" column to report supplies liable for tax collection under section 9(5).

For Table 15 - Details Furnished by ECO: Use the flag "3.1.1(i) Furnished by ECO" in the "Supplies u/s 9(5)" column and provide "E-Com Supplier GSTIN" and "Recipient Billing GSTIN" where applicable for accurate transaction reporting.

Clear E-Inv

• Introducing 2 new APIs for E-invoice compliance validation.

  • API to validate the data for E-invoice generation to check the success of IRN generation. Sends success response upon passing validations and provides detailed error messages for failures.

  • API for validating IRP authentication credentials enabling users to check if credentials are correct or not

• Added support to aggregate line item level details (also supported for transformations) at the invoice level and print them on the invoice PDF.

• Introduced API to attach digital signature to PDFs from SAP and Microsoft Dynamics ERPs, supporting file input in base64 format.

Clear Identity (API)

Purchase & Sales eInvoice Download API: Provides access to details of all eInvoices generated for a specific GSTIN and Return Period.

• Key Features:

  • Accesses data of both Purchase and Sales eInvoices.

  • Retrieves comprehensive information including buyer and seller details, item descriptions, HSN/SAC codes, total invoice value, etc.

  • Capability to generate PDF of an eInvoice complete with IRN and QR code.

• Ideal for lending companies for leads evaluation, eCommerce businesses, companies offering financial services aiming to automate the Sales and Purchase register recording process.

Clear Supply Chain

Clear Supply Chain

1. TDS: Allows the user to select TDS types applicable while posting an invoice. User will get an option to view all the TDS codes assigned against a vendor, select the applicable TDS codes for a particular invoice & then calculate & post TDS in ERP

2. Invoice upload via FTP: In addition to manual upload of invoices with FTP now users can upload the invoices to Clear AP using an SFTP folder

3. Invoice Posting Improvements:

   1. Supporting new cost allocations for Non-PO invoices like Profit Centers and Work Breakdown Structure, for budget allocations

   2. Backdated Posting - with proper controls, so that accounting team can do the posting mainly during the financial year-end

GCC

Clear E-Inv

• Values forming the ‘Tax subtotals’ object are now validated at an aggregate level corresponding to each tax category codes against the aggregate value computed for the same tax category code from the line items. This is done to enable users to pass multiple 'Tax subtotal’ object for the same tax category codes.

• The web portal now shows numbers in universally recognized comma-separated format, enhancing readability.

• If a failed invoice is retried without correction, a new error message indicating duplication is returned. Also, the original error messages are now shown alongside to aid users in correcting validation errors effectively.

Release 23 | Jan 2024

Intuitive workflows and enhanced efficiency

Throughout this month, our emphasis has been on optimising your operational processes and ensuring adherence to regulatory standards. We've implemented measures to minimise repeated tasks, make workflows intuitive, and prioritise critical business requirements.

Key highlights of this release:

1. Electronic Credit Reversal and Reclaimed Report to comply with new government rules for reporting ITC (CLEAR GST)

2. Higher control and efficiency with ‘Bulk Error Report Download’ and ‘Delete History Flow’ (CLEAR MAX ITC)

3. Improved IRN/EWB generation success, better data handling, and enhanced handling for Eway bills, ensuring reliability and efficiency (CLEAR E-InV)

4. E-Invoice QR Code Validation API and GSP API Stack for efficient operations and reliability (CLEAR IDENTITY - API)

5. Direct ticket creation within the product, reducing the need for extensive interactions and touchpoints with customers and CSMs (SHARED SERVICES)

6. Autofill invoices with data from the government portal, 3-way matching, to identify discrepancies between GRN and invoices, and accelerated MSME invoice processing (CLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN)

7. Fixes and improvements like FU creation, auto bid acceptance, holiday aware action, multi-level authorization support for better user experience (CLEAR ANCHOR-ID)

8. Improved validations and ICV generation logic for better performance (GCC)

INDIA

Clear Compliance Cloud

Clear GST

Introducing ‘Electronic Credit Reversal and Reclaimed Report’ at GSTIN and PAN levels

• Notification 14/2022 introduced changes to Table 4 of Form GSTR-3B to improve reporting of ITC:

  • The re-claimable ITC earlier reversed in Table 4(B)2 can be re-claimed later in Table 4(A)5 on fulfillment of necessary conditions

  • Re-claimed ITC must be explicitly reported in Table 4D(1).

• To avoid errors, a new electronic credit and re-claimed report is introduced:

  • Tracks reversed ITC in Table 4B(2) and re-claimed ITC in Table 4D(1) and 4A(5) for each return period (starting August).

Benefits:

1. View/ download both at GSTIN as well at PAN level in a single shot to save time

2. Check opening and closing balance for different time frames to know about the unutilised ITC

3. View/ download the report for the larger time frame in a single shot for efficiency

Clear Max ITC

New ‘Bulk Error Report Download’ Streamlines Data Ingestion

• Key feature: Combines multiple error files from different ingestion activities into a single, downloadable file.

• Primary users: ERP customers who prefer batch error correction.

• Current availability: Purchase use case.

• Error file timeframe: Downloadable for the past 2 months.

Benefits:

• Significant time-saver: Users can address errors in bulk, reducing overall time required for correct data ingestion.

• Enhanced efficiency: Eliminates the need to access and manage multiple error files individually.

Introduction of ‘Delete History Flow’ in Max ITC

• Details of deleted documents and a complete audit trail.

• Recover deleted information from the past two months without raising support requests.

Improvements to existing features: Stability improvements to reconciliation, Table-4 and vendor payments.

Clear E-Inv

• Improved IRN/EWB generation success with GSTIN status validation check and validation to prevent IRN generation for invoices over 30 days, for taxpayers with 100+ Cr turnover.

• Improved Data Handling: Increased speed and efficiency in searching, filtering and saving e-way bills

• Enhanced Error Handling for e-way bills: Improved handling of failure for duplicate EWBs and updating details on the portal, fetched from govt systems.

Clear Identity (API)

E-Invoice QR Code Validation API: Scan and validate e-invoices instantly, extracting detailed line item line item level details of the e-invoice.

GSP API Stack: Interact with the GST system to access taxpayers' information for compliance and KYC purposes. Key features:

• Lookup Capabilities: Access data of return filings, HSN summaries, and sales/purchase registers, etc.

• Popular APIs: Return APIs (GSTR1 Details, GSTR3B Details), Public APIs (Search Taxpayer, View & Track Returns Filing)

• Ideal for E-commerce platforms onboarding sellers, Consumer and SME lenders, Companies providing KYC solutions

Shared Services

Support Desk in Product

• 'Get in Touch' interface is replaced with a more robust Support Desk, with auto-capture functionalities for product-related data to provide faster resolution of tickets

• Users can easily log support requests through the product UI, tickets will be automatically created and users will receive a unique ticket number immediately within the UI and through email.

• Convenient tracking and management of tickets in the "All Tickets" section.

1. Direct Ticket Creation via Product:

• User details are automatically captured, reducing the need for extensive interactions and touchpoints with customers and CSMs.

  • This includes a screenshot of the active screen, user email, product, GSTIN/TAN, and the last 10 API requests for efficient debugging.

• Users can alternatively use the shortcut Ctrl+Q to open the ticket-raising window.

• This flow functions best when customers report issues directly from the page where they encountered the problem.

1. History of Tickets: Users can now access a comprehensive history of their tickets directly within all products. This feature allows users to review previously created tickets, enhancing transparency and ease of reference.

Clear Supply Chain

Clear Supply Chain

1. Autofill invoices with e-invoice data directly from the government portal, reducing OCR dependency. The system fetches details from the GSTIN portal directly based on IRN, reducing manual review time and ensuring accuracy through a reliable data source.

1. GRN & 3-way Matching: AP users will have the option to manually enter or autofill the GRN for a particular invoice. Once the GRN is identified, they can also configure 3-way matching, to highlight any quantity discrepancies between GRN and invoices.

1. Accelerated MSME Invoice Processing: Processing MSME invoices within 45 days is a priority for Claer AP. The classification feature allows users to swiftly filter and process invoices from MSME vendors, streamlining the workflow for faster processing.

1. Introduced keyboard shortcuts for reloading pages and performing actions such as opening, navigating, editing, and filtering invoices. This improves the overall performance of invoice processing.

CLEAR ANCHOR-ID

1. Invoicemart 3.0: Tech enhancements for better user experience:

• FU Creation eliminates duplicate invoices and resubmissions from Invoicemart End.

• Auto Bid Acceptance for faster processing

• Holiday Aware Action adjusts maturity dates to account for holidays etc.

• Multi-level Authorization support for better management

1. Return Posting Failure Intimation: In case an invoice fails to be posted to the client's ERP, an email notification will be automatically sent to the Key Account Manager (KAM) and the Technical Support team, prompting them to look for the reasons and reinitiate resubmission.

2. Invoice Uniqueness Logic Change and Update values: The invoice duplicity maintained in the system is changed from ‘Vendor ID + Internal Invoice number + Vendor Invoice Number + Fiscal year’ to ‘Vendor ID + Internal Invoice number + Fiscal year’

3. System Update for Invoice Value Changes:

• The system will automatically update the invoice details if there is a change in the invoice value.

• This update applies to invoices in the open stage and uniqueness logic defined for invoices must be the same.

1. Platform Fixes and Improvements:

• Performance Dashboard: Arrow buttons are added to give results for next 6 months.

• Rejected Recovery and Auto Offer: Rejected recoveries and invoices are no longer automatically resubmitted through auto offer after rejection.

• User Role Mapping Screen: Permission for new banks (Axis Bank/ DBS Bank/ HSBC Bank/ ICICI Bank/ Invoicemart) added in the user role mapping screen to ensure visibility of ‘Rejected Invoices.’

• Bank Financing Display Improvement: Modified the bank financing case to display individual invoice-level interest rate in CSV.

GCC

Clear E-Inv

• Validations for improved experience:

  • Relaxed validation on buyer country code for all invoices in line with ZATCA update. Now export invoices with country code ‘SA’ can be generated

  • Added a validation to prevent the generation of another document with the same document number in the same financial number irrespective of the type i.e. invoice/credit/debit note/prepayment receipt

• Print PDFs can now be generated or converted using the APIs for prepayment or advance invoices

• Updates to the ICV generation logic

  • For all cases where there is a genuine validation error from ZATCA which is corrected then a new ICV will be assigned otherwise the same ICV will be used

  • In case of retriable errors or if the ZATCA server has issues, or if there are validation errors from Clear, then a new ICV will not be assigned

• Increased the number of digits that are accepted in the invoiced quantity field to avoid conversion of the value to scientific format

• Fixed issues in all CSV reports where error messages are not populated correctly for failed invoices.

Release 22 | Dec 2023

Elevating User Experiences

Enhanced user experience is not just a goal but a guiding principle for Clear. This month, we have focussed on elevating each user touchpoint to ensure ease of use, seamless flow of documents, and improved efficiency. You will see this reflected in all the 30+ features launched this month across all Clear products. A few key highlights from this month’s release are:

1. Actions in 6A vs PR recon seamlessly flow to GSTR 6, and other improvements such as reports and delete history CLEAR GST CLEAR MAX ITC

2. Stability improvements in 2B vs PR recon to handle scale, and other improvements such as link / de-link documents via. excel ingestion and vendor’s G3B status in workbench CLEAR MAX ITC

3. Now create and pay challans directly from the product, and use token-based DSC instead of e-mudhra CLEAR TDS

4. Renew or upgrade within the product. Test out higher plan features for 30 days, free of charge! CLEAR GST

5. E-invoicing UI is revamped to make it more user-friendly, addressing gaps for easier and more intuitive interactions CLEAR E-INVOICING : INDIA

6. Improved invoice reviewing experience is enhanced with a summary listing completed checks and next steps for invoice processing CLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN

7. Paid invoices can now show payment reference number, payment date, and payment amount, and other improvements CLEAR SUPPLY CHAIN CLEAR ID

8. ClearTax E-Invoice utility for POS systems: Generate ZATCA compliant E-Invoice from anywhere without the requirement of continuous internet connection

INDIA

Clear GST

1. Enhanced Reports for Quicker Data Interpretation

   1. One single sheet for all the GSTINs and PAN level summary

   2. Headers are aligned to enable users to easily filter and get insightful information.

   3. Changes made in the following reports:

• Filed G3B

• GSTR-1 vs 3B vs Books

• GSTR-2B vs 3B Vs Books

• GSTR-2A vs 3B vs Books

1. Support for 6A vs PR Reconciliation:

• Distribute accurate ITC to branches by seamlessly linking documents from 6A vs PR to GSTR-6.

• Just have to follow three simple steps

  • Run 6A vs PR recon

  • Taken actions on documents

Select the source as “6A vs PR”

All the data and documents accepted either in 6A or PR will seamlessly flow into GST-6, with pending documents automatically carried forward to the next months.

This streamlines the manual creation of the Final Purchase Register based on 6A and PR, enhancing overall efficiency.

1. Delete History Dashboard for clarity on deletions, audit trail, and reduced support requirements.

   • New dashboard for deleted document details and audit trail.

   • Recover deleted information from the past two months and minimize the need to raise support requests.

     • Track deleted invoices in the Document and Import History sections.

     • Currently supports GST (Sales, Purchase) at the document level.

     

Clear MAX ITC

1. Ingest ITC Action via Excel: The user can now export the recon results, take actions on excel, and re-ingest on the platform. The user can now not only take actions and remarks but can also link / de-link documents via excelNEW

Use the document linked to following the usage mechanism Excel Ingestion - User Manual

1. Now users can check G1 / G3B filing status in Recon in 2B v PR. Even though the GSTR 2B does not share the said information, we are running GSTIN verification to populate such information

1. Toggle button on / off in VP 2.0 for ease of use of Vendor Payment for existing & new customers, without any delivery team dependency

1. Introduction of Sub-buckets INDUSTRY FIRST

• Sub-buckets will give users a granular view of the matches enabling them to take actions at a higher speed and accuracy (Examples of sub-buckets are ‘Matched within tolerance’, ‘Matched at Vendor-PAN level’, ‘Matched but PR or 2B in-eligible’)

• This feature enables users to:

  • Ease of use for the user since the sub-bucket automatically bifurcates the links in smaller buckets mentioning the reason of the link in that bucket

  • Easier way to claim ITC since the sub-bucket can be used instead of match status filter

  • Ease of correcting data due to incorrect accounting or incorrect reporting by the vendors

  

Clear Supply Chain

1. Invoice Reviewing Experience

   • The banner enhances the invoice reviewing experience of an AP user & helps save time by highlighting a summary of what validation/compliance checks have been done & nudges the user to take the next steps to process the invoice

   
2. Productivity: Features that enhance AP users' productivity & efficiency in processing invoices:

   • Expanded line items edit option

   • Quick Copy functionality in table

   • Custom columns/reordering List View

   

1. Labels allow users to tag an invoice for below use cases

   • Invoice Classification based on common errors, blockers

   • Workflow management using tags & filters

   
2. Import Invoice allows users to upload Import invoices (foreign invoices), extract the data, process & send them to ERP

1. Item Level Configuration sllows users to enable/disable columns at line item level & allows her to keep these as mandatory/optional

Clear E-INV

1. Enhanced User interface

   • Web product is revamped to make it more user-friendly, addressing gaps for easier and more intuitive interactions.

   • Accelerated page and filter interactions to provide quicker response (2x faster page load and filter refresh as compared to earlier)

   

Optimized ingestion process

• Improved invoice ingestion speed and efficiency.

• Streamlined error correction and updated workflows, making them more user-friendly.

• Minimized the need for manual steps, simplifying the overall user experience.

Clear Supply Chain: Clear ID

Program Performance Dashboard Changes:

1. The dashboard is updated to show only the currently active bank products.

2. Now, when you switch companies, the dashboard accurately reflects the current company's results.

3. Added arrow buttons to easily navigate and view data from previous months/weeks in the dashboard.

Payment Reference Number introduced for Paid Invoices:

For paid invoices, you can now see the Payment Date, Payment Number, and Payment Amount. This information is retrieved from your ERP and is visible to both buyer and seller.

Password Format Changes - New User Creation:

When a new user is created, a default password is generated and sent to the user via email. The password format has been updated to include one special character (like @, #, $, %, ^, &, +, =!), one numeric character, one lowercase letter, and one uppercase letter.

Platform Fixes and Improvements:

1. Invoice Date Visibility: Invoice Date is now visible for vendors when they download CSV in all the screens - Amount under offer, Amount under clearing, Days received early

2. Default invoice data upload template: Lots of columns were present in the default invoice data upload template earlier. The count of columns is now reduced to 9 mandatory fields only, to simplify the process. These fields are - Vendor ID, Invoice Date, Buyer Invoice Number, Vendor Invoice Number, Invoice Amount, Due Date, Location, Fiscal Year, Invoice Type

3. Internal document number has been added in the Recovery section for both vendors and anchors, to eliminate duplicity.

4. Default posting configuration: Whenever a new anchor gets onboarded, a default posting information has been added to the system.

5. Invoice duplicity logic change and updation: The logic for handling invoice duplicity has been updated from “Vendor ID + Internal Invoice number + Vendor Invoice Number + Fiscal year “ to “Vendor ID + Internal Invoice number + Fiscal year”

Clear TDS

1. Challan creation and Payment: Now create and pay challans directly from the product!

   1. Determine the monthly TDS liability and create challans based on deductions

   2. Alternatively, create independent challans by Excel import.

   3. Generate CRN for the generated challans in the Income-tax portal

   4. Post payment direct import and tagging of challans to the deductions.

1. Based on customer demand, we have now introduced Token-based DSC support to digitally sign the TDS certificate:

   1. Only the e-Docu signer provided by eMudra was supported to digitally sign the TDS certificates.

   2. Now any token-based signature provided by any provider can be used to digitally sign the TDS certificates

   3. Request, Annexure, Generation and Emailing of digital signature remains unchanged.

   

Clear Identity (API)

1. GST Unregistered Applicant Details & Verification (2 APIs): Designed for seamless onboarding and verification of GSTIN unregistered sellers/vendors. Useful for e-commerce platforms for Seller Onboarding, LCs for verification of unregistered Vendor during onboarding

2. UPI ID Verification: Validates authenticity of a given UPI ID. Useful for corporates, e-commerce companies, and startups, both during onboarding as well as during payment journey.

3. MCA Detailed API: Offers extensive breakdown of company details, including directorships, signatories, potential related parties, and charges. Useful for verifying legal compliance, financial position etc.

4. Company Financials: Provides comprehensive financial details of a company, including summaries, establishment details, employee numbers, and credit ratings. Useful for Lending Companies.

Shared Services

GST Auto-Renewals: Exclusively for selected customers- renew or upgrade within the product itself!

• Alerts: Timely email and product reminders ensure you never miss a renewal.

• Simple 3-Step Process: Review details, update billing, and choose payment method to renew.

• Complementary License Upgrade: Test out higher plan features for 30 days, free of charge. After the offer period, you can revert to your current plan, or upgrade to the new plan.

• Payment Process: Track payment clearance and receive receipts on successful payment.

Renewal & Upgrade flow: 60 days before expiry, users get notified via email and within the product to:

• Renew their current licence

• Upgrade to a higher tier and test it for 30 days, for free!

The GST Advantage user upgrades to Premium and sees details of the 30-day free trial, including the end date.

Click ‘Start’ and begin the free Premium trial for 30 days. Reminders on email and in-product keep you informed.

Review billing, choose payment, and close the renewal/upgrade.

GCC

Clear E-INV

ClearTax E-Invoice utility for POS systems: Generate ZATCA compliant E-Invoice from anywhere without the requirement of continuous internet connection

A truly offline utility that functions without internet to validate your invoice data, add mandatory fields and generates a ZATCA compliant E-Invoice with signed QR code that can be readily shared with the buyers on the spot. This offline utility is compatible with any POS system and can be installed easily to register devices to generate E-Invoices and also to generate E-Invoices itself. Accepts input data directly from the POS system and enriches it to make it a buyer sharable compliant E-Invoice. Reporting can be done to the government systems subsequently via a file upload strategy. All the E-Invoices generated would be visible on the ClearTax web portal and reports/corrections can also be made if required. NEW

More improvements and Fixes:

1. Added support to print/generate PDF for prepayment invoices

2. Added support to convert normal PDF to ZATCA compliant PDF/A-3 invoices for type prepayment invoices

3. Now force retry is accepted for invoices that are in ‘Pending’ status due to ZATCA server being unresponsive. Retry happens from our cron every 1 hour but in case a taxpayer retries a pending invoice then it will be attempted immediately

4. Updated the ICV logic for invoices that are failed by ZATCA with a blank error message. New ICV will not be generated and the previous one will be reused during subsequent reattempts

5. Updated the logic of business hierarchy API calls to handle 4040 errors in async E-Invoice generate calls

6. Updated the error message for cases where ZATCA error message is blank or in a different format so that no error messages in the response or reports is blank

Release 21 | Nov 2023

Date: 8th Nov, 2023

Boost your cash flows

Managing and improving cash flow is a key agenda for any CFO. For businesses to continuously invest in their growth, it is imperative to be cash-rich. Clear’s product and engineering teams have worked with a laser-sharp focus to launch products and features that help Indian businesses boost their cash flows. This month’s release focuses on three main pillars to accomplish this:

1. Fixing your cash flow problems at the root with faster and accurate invoice processing

2. Improving your working capital with an industry-first hybrid early payments program

3. Maximise ITC with innovative sub-bucketing and ‘terminal state’ of vendor payments

INDIA

Clear Supply Chain

Fix cash flow problems at the root: AI-powered invoice digitisation, validation, approvals, and automated invoice posting to ERP

AI-powered invoice digitisation NEW

Clear’s superior AI-powered OCR technology provides higher accuracy than other competitors. Invoices can be uploaded to the platform via multiple ways: E-mail, FTP, direct bulk upload, and vendor portal.

Once the invoice is uploaded on the platform, all header and line item data is extracted via OCR.

Invoice enrichment and validation NEW

On top of our OCR, we also have the capability to enrich the invoice fields from multiple other sources like EINV, QR, EWB, 2A, Purchase Order, Goods Receipt Notification, and Vendor Master. This feature adds value especially when invoices are of poor quality and OCR accuracy drops, the feature will ensure your overall digitisation accuracy stands at 95% on key fields.

45+ validation checks against EINV, QR, EWB, Purchase Order and Vendor Master to make sure the invoices are booked accurately in the ERP. This will also ensure there are no downstream impacts during payments or ITC.

Ability to run extensive 2-way and 3-way matching on invoices to make sure you account/pay accurately. The 2-way and 3-way matching feature is also completely configurable to suit every business need.

Approval workflows NEW

Once invoices are all digitised, validated, and assured of accuracy, some of them might require approvals from other stakeholders/P&L owners before they get posted to the ERP. You can use Clear’s robust approval workflow to set approval policies, so that the required invoices are approved before being booked in ERP.

In case you need to follow up with the approver or collaborate with other team members on a particular invoice, you can do that from the platform too. There is a built-in chat facility for seamless communication.

Automated invoice posting NEW

All invoices can be automatically booked in ERP. It seamlessly works both for PO and Non-PO invoices. And we have the feature of tagging the expense to the right cost center so that the expenses are booked at the right place.

We are currently live with a 2-way integration on SAP ECC and SAP HANA. Integration with other ERPs such as Oracle, Microsoft, and Tally will be live soon.

Clear ID

Improve working capital with an industry-first hybrid early payment program, new financing partners, convenient ways to onboard vendors and finance dashboard

Hybrid Early Payment Program INDUSTRY FIRST

Extend DPO (days payable outstanding) at no cost with Hybrid Early Payment Program: A unique product to avail longer credit periods with suppliers by leveraging funds from external financiers at lower interest rate. This provides a significant boost to the company's cash flow, offering more time for repayment and reducing immediate financial pressure.

Program performance dashboard NEW

A new dashboard has been launched to aid cash flow planning:

1. track due dates of payables across vendors and banks

2. identify gaps in available capital vs cash outflow due in the next 6 weeks

3. identify the savings generated from early payment programmes

4. impact on DPO (days payable outstanding)

Unified WhatsApp based vendor onboarding and transacting NEW

Improve vendor participation with a convenient channel for onboarding and transacting. Vendors can now be onboarded via a convenient WhatsApp channel owned by Clear. Vendors can also directly raise discounting requests via their mobiles.

Previously there were two separate flows for onboarding and transaction, but we have now integrated these two flows in one WhatsApp business number and incorporated additional features such as "Raise a ticket," "Contact us," and "Visit our website."

HSBC Bank as Financing partner NEW

Yet another banking partner has been added to the platform. You now have the option to select from the following financiers:

For MSMEs Only - Invoicemart and RXIL (TREDs Platform)

For MSMEs / Non MSMEs - Citi Bank, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, DBS Bank, HSBC Bank

Clear Max ITC

Maximise ITC with innovative sub-bucketing and 'Terminal State' of vendor payments

Introduction of Sub-buckets INDUSTRY FIRST

• Sub-buckets will give users a granular view of the matches enabling them to take actions at a higher speed and accuracy (Examples of sub-buckets are ‘Matched within tolerance’, ‘Matched at Vendor-PAN level’, ‘Matched but PR or 2B in-eligible’)

• This feature is very powerful to -

  • Reduce mind-space for the user since the sub-bucket automatically bifurcates the links in smaller buckets mentioning the reason of the link in that bucket

  • Easier way to claim ITC since the sub-bucket can be used instead of match status filter

  • Ease of correcting data due to incorrect accounting or incorrect reporting by the vendors

More Improvements and fixes:

Clear GST

1. G1 Settings for Document Series and HSN Summary Auto-compute: You can now configure how Document series and HSN summaries are auto-computed, making it easier to manage these activities for PAN and multiple GSTINs, eliminating any confusion.

1. Pre-upload Validation for Inactive GSTIN: Enhanced pre-upload validations in GSTR 1 now provides accurate results for inactive GSTINs, improving data accuracy.

2. Increase in the Number of challans shown per page in G3B: You can now view and download a higher number of challan details on a single page. This allows for more efficient data retrieval in a single Excel file, simplifying your workflow.

1. In Product Announcements by GSTN: Stay updated with in-product announcements about advisories and GSTN changes, ensuring you are always informed of the latest developments.

2. Performance Boost for G9 and 9C Form: We've optimised data retrieval for G9 and 9C forms, enhancing overall productivity when preparing these forms.

3. Bulk Error Report Download: Using this functionality ERP users can now download multiple error files belonging to different ingestion activities in a single consolidated file. This will significantly reduce the time taken to correct errors. This is currently supported for Purchase documents and users can download the error files for the latest 2 months.

1. Licensing and Metering: Users can now track number of invoices ingested by them against the invoice count limits as agreed upon in the signed order form. An invoice will not be accounted:

• If a document is duplicate and being overwritten

• If a document is ingested and then deleted same

Note: This has now only been enabled for GST 2.0 for Sales and Purchase documents

Clear TDS

1. Challan and LDC tagging from UI:

   • Now TDS product can be used for monthly compliance checks rather than only for quarterly filing.

   • Challan details are no more mandatory while ingesting deductions details.

2. Option to append Digital signature only on the last page of TDS certificate: Now users can add digital signature only to the last page of the TDS certificate in addition to All pages and Custom pages.

3. Removal of PAN-Aadhaar linking status column from Deductee tab: Reporting portal is not providing the PAN-Addhar linking status. Now PAN-Adhaar linking status is available in TRACES, non-linked PANs will be flagged as 'Active & inoperative'.

4. Import Conso file changes: New section codes 194BA, and 194NF were introduced as a part of FVU 8.2 along with other changes. Conso files having those sections can be easily imported for making necessary corrections.

5. Validation for ITDREIN during 206AB check: Validation check for ITDREIN format. Expected value <TAN>.<2 Alpha><3digits>. Sample JLDA05637C.TU683

6. Other improvements:

7. Updation of latest utility to extract Justification Report - v3.0

8. Enabling removal of LDCs not tagged to any of the deductions from the return.

9. Correction return optimisation to fasten the detection of changes in correction return

10. Accurate definition of date range for challan file download during FVU generation.

Clear Identity (APIs)

New APIs have been added to the API Suites:

1. GSTIN Ownership Verification API: Verifies ownership of a GSTIN against provided Mobile and Email ID.

2. Contact Validation APIs: Validates Phone and email using OTP. Useful for Corporates that need a plug and play service to verify contact details during partner onboarding.

3. GST Unregistered applicant Verification APIs: Validates and provides details of unregistered GST applicants. Useful for ecommerce companies in Seller onboarding, NBFCs and other corporates for KYC of unregistered vendors/partners.

4. MCA Company Details API: Provides Company’s status as per MCA and additional information on as registration details, directorship information, filings, compliance status. Useful for due diligence of potential. Useful for Large corporates (partner due diligence) lending institutions.

5. Company Financials API: Provides extensive data on company’s financials such as paid-up capital, turnover, profits or losses, total equity, liabilities, and assets for a specific financial year, along with whether the data is standalone or consolidated. Useful for lending institutions.

Clear Supply Chain

1. Vendor Onboarding:

• You can create a customised vendor onboarding form with document upload, validations (e.g., if PAN entered for AADHAR). You have the flexibility to decide which fields are optional or mandatory. Clear will provide a few standard templates.

• Anyone in your org can send this form to any vendor to be onboarded. Vendor gets the form, fills it quickly like a Google Form / Survey Monkey

• Vendor details are verified using 20+ KYC APIs while being filled out (viz. GSTIN validity, Bank Account validity and ownership, MSME status etc.)

Clear ID

1. Integrated ERP - Invoice Retrieval and seamless Return Posting: Invoices and vendor details are automatically fetched from Client’ ERP on a daily basis. It seamlessly works for PO invoices / Non - PO invoices / Credit- Debit Note/ Quality Rejects and all types of Recoveries. After the Financing is done, the system also does the return posting of all invoices. We are currently live with a 2-way integration on SAP ECC and SAP HANA, Oracle and Microsoft.

2. Anchor based Configurations: Platform allows multitude of configurations for anchors to manage the program construct:

• Setting up Approval Workflow

• Managing Payment Dates & Holiday Calendar

• Interest Rates Assignment (Fixed/ Variable / Flat Rate)

• Activate- Deactivate Vendors

• Minimum Discount Config

• Ability to add/delete banking product

Release 20 | Oct 2023

Date: 16th Oct, 2023

Uninterrupted compliance with new rules and tight deadlines for businesses in India and GCC

So far the year of 2023 has brought with itself 15+ new regulations for businesses in India and GCC. All of these changes have increased the cost of non-compliance for businesses.

In India, a new electronic credit and reversals ledger was introduced. DRC-01B and DRC -01C intimations were announced. 2 factor authentication was mandated on NIC for E-Inv and EwB generation. TDS for gaming companies was introduced.

The second half of the year is a fairly busy time for finance professionals. In addition to dealing with audits and the regular monthly compliances, there are indirect and direct tax related annual compliances to focus on. Businesses also need to prepare for seeing an increase in notices since the government will be sending out notices for FY 18-19 from Oct 2023 to 31st Dec 2023.

In GCC, phase 2 of ZATCA E-Invoicing was announced on 1st Jan 2023, creating another level of complexity for businesses. This move mandates that all businesses with annual turnover greater than SAR 3 Bn (wave 1) to generate ZATCA compliant E-Invoices for all B2B and B2C transactions.

To ensure that our customers have the assurance of compliance despite new rules and upcoming deadlines, Clear has enhanced its products. In this release, you will see 13 exciting new features and 15+ improvements to existing features across all products.

INDIA

Clear Max ITC

Track all deferred/unclaimed ITC claims with ease: first in market Table 4 automation, convenient ways to take claim actions and avoiding double claims

It is now mandatory to accurately declare all ITC reversals in the new ECRS. This means that every business in India will now have to improve the diligence on tracking all unclaimed ITC month-on-month, adding more burden to an already burdened tax team. Clear has released several new features to ensure all reversals are tracking accurately and with absolute ease.

Table 4 automation IMPROVED

Instead of a completely manual, complicated process of maintaining multiple excel sheets, tracking unclaimed ITC has been reduced to a simple 3 step process:

• Run 2B vs PR reconciliation

• Take ITC claim actions on each document (use filters to take actions in bulk)

• Generate and review Table 4 (detailed calculation trail is downloadable from the platform)

  • You can now add custom columns in the downloadable excel to meet company-specific reporting requirements

  • A new column has been added in Table 4 excel report to clarify whether ITC has been claimed as per PR or 2B

Table 4 automation is also available in ClearGST.

Here is the user manual for running reconciliation and generating Table 4.

Convenient ways to take claims actions

Configurable settings: Users can now configure the reconciliation rules and match buckets (exact, suggested match etc.). Based on their accounting practice and risk tolerance, they can now determine which match should go under which match bucket. NEW

Example: Currently any transaction where the tax tolerance is within the limit (eg: Rs. +/-10) goes to Suggested Match bucket, and anything beyond that always goes in Mismatch bucket. With the new configuration, users now have an option to configure cases where Tax value as per 2B > Tax Value as per PR and beyond the tolerance limit under suggested bucket.

Actions via excel re-ingestion: Now update actions and remarks (including claim %) using excel. Simply export the recon results, take actions on the excel and re-ingest on the platform. NEW

Enriched recon results: 25 new columns have been added to the recon results excel. Some of the new columns added are filing frequency, vendor risk, amendment / deletion flag etc. This will provide you with information that help you take the right decision on ITC claims. NEW

Avoiding double claims

Actions taken on 2A v PR reconciliation(where G1 is filed) will now automatically traverse to 2B v PR recon thereby reducing double effort and avoiding dual claims. NEW

Clear E-Inv & EwB

Skip the OTP: No 2 factor authentication required on Clear

With Clear, you don’t have to worry about dealing with OTPs every time you login to NIC to generate E-Inv. This not only saves you time but ensures a hassle-free E-Inv generation experience. NEW

Clear GST

Meet your annual compliance needs: File GSTR 9/9C accurately in less than 1/10th time

Enterprises spend days to file GSTR 9/9C each year. Businesses can now rely on Clear to ensure that this return form is filed accurately in the minimum time possible.

• One Click Download of Filed G1, 3B, 2B, 8A (Documents details), G9 (PY), Draft G9 for 19months for all GSTINs

• PAN-level data preparation, reconciliation and filing NEW

• Auto-preparation of 9C from draft GSTR 9

• A comprehensive 19-point checklist ensures only 100% accurate data is filed and highlights any possible discrepancy

• Compare different sources of data to determine the right turnover (TO), net ITC available/claimed etc.(Example: TO from filed G1, SR, filed 3B, G9 (CY)) NEW

• View a month-wise break up of each source of TO, tax liability, ITC claimed to determine the right source for filing NEW

• Option to select the source of data for filing the different tables of the form NEW

  (Example: Table 4, 5, and 9 can filled from GSTR-1, or SR)

• View important reports right on this screen - G1 vs 3B vs SR, 2B vs G3 vs PR, Filed G1, Filed G3B, Filed G9 NEW

Here is a step-by-step guide for filing GSTR 9/9C on Clear.

Clear TDS

Improved user experience: Updated version of FVU, Edit challan details from UI and integrate with ERP

To make our customer’s experience even better and help them meet all upcoming deadlines for 27EQ, 24Q, 26Q and 27Q, the below new features have been released:

Updated version of FVU generation NEW

The govt released an updated version of the RPU utility on 1st Sept 2023. Accordingly, the FVU generation of forms 24Q, 26Q, 27Q and 27EQ has been updated on ClearTDS.

Edit challan details from UI IMPROVED

User can now make changes to

• all the challan fields, where challan status is blank or unmatched

• amount break-up only without impacting Total challan amount, where challan status is Matched

• none of the fields if the challan is tagged to correction return

Integration with ERP NEW

Users can now send all relevant data for filing Form 26Q from their ERPs to ClearTDS

Clear Managed Services

For enterprises that want additional support in meeting their annual compliance needs, Clear’s expert managed services team can provide the below services:

• Filing of GSTR 9/9C

• Claiming of airline credits

• Preparation of Form 3CD

More Improvements and fixes:

Clear GST

1. GSTR 7 and GSTR 8: Users can now perform the following actions in addition to PAN level capabilities already supported on the platform

   1. Download the “Rejected By Supplier” information from GSTN

   2. File NIL returns

   3. PAN level error file post Upload to GSTN, similar to GSTR-1

   4. Download Draft and Filed PDFs from GSTN, like GSTR-1 draft and filed PDFs

2. GSTR 6: View late fees information, if any, in GSTR 6 filing flow

3. Data Ingestion:

   1. Support for Voucher merge option at GSTIN and Org level, while ingesting purchase documents

   2. No longer need to map Custom fields in Custom mapper. Custom fields will be directly ingested without mapping if the same is added under “Custom fields” settings.

Clear TDS

1. PAN/Deductee tab: Addition of “Active & inoperative” filter, fixed the count of invalid PANs to exclude the PANs with Active & inoperative status.

2. TRACES Requested files: Handled the use-case wherein TRACES status is Available but no-files present in TRACES portal, there by re-setting the status to “Failed”

3. TRACES user id validation: TRACES user id should be no more 11 characters with no spaces

Clear Notice Management

1. Improved case handling experience for new cases received in case of errors in syncing with portal to ensure user knows what are the next steps to be done to resolve the error.

Clear identity (APIs)

Several new APIs have been added to the list of APIs already available:

1. HSN Search & GST Rate Finder API: Get GST Tax rate for a given HSN/SAC Code. Find HSN/SAC code for a given product/service name

2. FSSAI Verification API: Verifies FSSAI licenses by providing details such as license status, entity name, license type, address, list of products given license was given for.

3. Company Name to GSTIN Search API: Takes company name - full or partial, as input and gives list of legal names of companies that have the given search name and gstins associated with that name

4. Company Name Verification API: Takes company name - full or partial, as input and gives list of legal names of companies that have the given search name and pans associated with that name

5. International Business Name Search API: Search for, verify name of a company in ~50 countries

6. Driving License Details API: Verify validity and other details for a given driving license information

7. Vehicle Registration Details API: Verifies validity of the vehicle registration and provides details about the owner, the vehicle's details and the insurance details

Updates to existing APIs:

1. PAN Verification API: Added a new field panOperativeStatus classifying PANs based on Aadhaar linkage

2. MSME Verification API: New fields provide MSME classification history in addition to the latest year's MSME status

3. New API Versions released for 3 APIs - MSME Verification V2, MCA Status Check V2 and Bank Account Verification V2

GCC

Clear E-Inv - GCC

Be audit ready: Archive and store all your E-Invoices at a single place

As per ZATCA regulations, E-Invoicing data should be stored and archived by taxpayers for a period of six years plus one year which includes the financial year to which the document belongs to. Now, ClearTax offers you the option to easily access all the stored data which is older than 365 days from the new 'Archives' section. Access lite, detailed and offline reports from the archives page while pdf with embedded xmls can be accessed in the upcoming release. NEW

In case you have not yet opted for the data storage option then do it from the option available in the archives page or reach out to your account manager.

More Improvements and fixes:

1. Updated the ZATCA SDK to the latest version 3.2.6

2. New feedback module to capture the user’s experience with major flows within the E-Invoice product

3. Updated the QR Code generation step to match the timestamp in QR Code with the Invoice Issue time in XML which has to be in KSA local time

4. Detecting the branch code or store code from the filename of xmls

Release Note for GST: Release 19 of 2023

Date: 21st Sep, 2023

1. PAN level GSTR- 7/8

a. We are thrilled to launch the v1 version of GSTR-7/8 at a PAN level.

1. In this second version, users can now perform the following actions in addition to PAN level ingestion, preparation and upload to GSTN:

PAN level computation of liability which will calculate the Interest, Late Fee on GSTN and fetch it on app.clear bringing it more closer to E2E form

1. Autofill capability of challans similar to GSTR-3B

b. OTP active date was showing +30 days from current date and not +30 days from the date of activation. This issue has been resolved and users will see the correct date of expiry

Changes in GSTR-1

1. Pre upload validation improvements

a. Users were getting error during pre upload validation for cases which seemed incorrect. We have made fixes for the following cases which will improve user experience and user will not be facing the error

1. Validation error for suspended GSTIN

2. Validation error for active GSTIN due to status mismatch between GST portal and clear

3. Validation error for B2BA for previous FY and B2B in current FY

Changes in GSTR-6

File with EVC is now live for GSTR-6 which makes our form on app.clear an E2E GSTR-6 form. Users can complete the process easily on app.clear without even logging to GSTN portal

Changes in Reports

1. For all comparison reports like (G1 vs 3B vs Books, 2A vs 3B vs Books, 2B vs 3B vs Books) users will have the flexibility to show/hide books or G1/2A/2B data as per their need. User will also be able to download excel reports without books)

Changes in EWB vs Sales/GSTR-1 recon

1. There was a restriction to run EWB recon for a return period which is older than 12 months from the current month. This restriction is removed & EWB vs Sales / GSTR-1 recon is now supported for older return periods as well.

a. Only those users for whom the older return period EWBs are already available on the Clear Tax system will be able to utilize the same.

b. Note: When running EWB recon for older than 12 months, count of EWB docs available for the selected month will not be shown in the data preparation step prior to recon run.

c. In-case there are no EWBs to reconcile, EWB recon will fail stating there is no EWB data to reconcile.

d. EWB recon run for older return periods shall take longer time than usual as the EWB data needs to be retrieved from archives.

Changes in Ingestion

1. Adding of banner for users who only have branch level access and can’t access Forms, Reports and reconciliation

We came up with a banner on the UI for communicating with end users for no access to forms, reconciliation and reports if they have access to some branches and for getting access they need to connect with their admin for getting access for GSTIN/Pan level access to use above features.

1. Purchase and Sales Tax rate not visible on Ui while editing the documents

In the Edit flow on Ui for both sales and purchase if the user edits the tax rate having 3 decimal places and tries saving it , it gets rounded off to 2 decimal places. The above issue is now fixed .

1. Fixing of functionality of Get error file under import history

In Import history user was not able to download the error file on Ui under the actions tab, the fix for same has been done and now user after clicking on “ Get error file” can download the error file Seamlessly.

1. Fixing of amendment issue for GSTR-6 prepare page view sections for table 6A and 6C

GSTR-6 Prepare page view sections table 6A and 6C view was giving error "Error Occurred while fetching view data details" when the same file is re-ingested and duplicates are overwritten . This case is now handled and user will now be able to handle to view the sections without any error

1. Support for Purchase Government template

We now have added support for Purchase Govt Template , users can ingest the Purchase data using the govt template. Currently it has been supported only for document level data , summaries cannot be ingested using the govt template for now. Same can be used for Filing 3B and doing the Pr Reconciliation.

Release Note for GST: Release 18 of 2023

Date: 4th Sep, 2023

We are excited to introduce several new features and enhancements in this product update. These changes are aimed at improving your experience with preparing and filling GST returns and ensuring compliance with GST regulations. Here is the detail of the key features and updates:

1. PAN level GSTR- 7/8

a. We are thrilled to launch the v0 version of GSTR-7/8 at a PAN level.

b. In this first version, users can now perform the following actions in addition to PAN level ingestion:

1. PAN Level Preparation of the form, similar to other forms on CFC.

2. PAN level Upload to GSTN, which includes a comparison of Your Data vs. Data on GSTN after upload.

3. Reset Data on GSTN, even if it is not available on GSTN.

4. Bulk Challan creation, similar to GSTR-3B

2. GST Return Applicability check

1. To streamline the GST return process, all GSTINs will now be validated at the preparation step of each form.

2. This validation ensures the GSTIN's applicability for the return period, preventing issues during the upload.

3. Possible reasons for failure, such as GSTN being Cancelled/Suspended, registered after the return period, or inactive, will be flagged.

1. Changes in GSTR-3B

1. Upload time stamp in GSTR-3B

a. We have introduced a new feature that allows users to track when

they last uploaded data to GSTN.

b. This timestamp is conveniently displayed on the GSTR-3B upload page, enhancing transparency and record-keeping.

1. Logic update for Ineligible ITC in Table 4

a. We have addressed an issue related to ineligible ITC in Table 4 of GSTR-3B.

b. Previously, all ineligible ITC was accumulating in 4A(5) and getting reversed in 4B(1), regardless of whether it was for IMPG or RCM.

c. With this update, if the user selects PR for creating Table 4, ineligible ITC for IMPG, RCM, or other categories will be correctly placed in 4A(1), 4A(3), and 4A(5), respectively, and reversed in 4B(1).

Users can now include custom information in their reports, enhancing their analysis and reporting capabilities.

1. Custom Column support in Table 4 excel report

a. To provide more flexibility and insight, we have added support for custom columns in the Table 4 Excel report.

b. Users can now include custom information in their reports, enhancing their analysis and reporting capabilities.

1. ITC Claim as per PR/2B column in Table 4 excel report

a. We have added a new column to the Table 4 Excel report, displaying the ITC claim as per PR/2B.

b. This addition will easier for users to track and manage their ITC claims.

1. Edit UX improvements in GSTR-3B

a. We have made significant user experience (UX) enhancements across the "view prepared 3B" section.

b. These improvements streamline the process of editing Table 4, providing users with better clarity and ease of use.

Changes in Ingestion

1. Support for new headers in Purchase for ERP Users

a. We are now supporting additional system fields in purchase for ERP users, ensuring a seamless data ingestion experience.

b. Users can include columns such as Voucher type, ERP Expense GL code, and more during data ingestion.

c. These columns will be part of the UI and will be included in the downloaded report from data ingestion.

1. Support for new headers in Sales for ERP Users

a. Similar to the purchase module, we are supporting additional system fields in Sales for ERP users.

b. Users can include columns such as Voucher type, ERP_Business Place, and others during data ingestion.

c. These columns will also be part of the UI and the downloaded report from data ingestion.

Release Notes GST 21st August 2023

Changes in GSTR-1

Release Sept 2023

TDS

Enabling FVU v8.2 to support of Q1 of FY24 returns.

Changes in Form 26Q

1. Introduction of section 194BA - 'TDS on winnings from online games' w.e.f 1st April 2023

2. Introduction of section 194NC - 'TDS on cash withdrawal from co-operative societies' and addition of 3 new columns to capture the value of withdrawal w.e.f 1st April 2023

Changes in Form 27Q

1. Introduction new column to capture 'Whether deductee opting out of new taxation regime [u/s 115BAC (1A)]?' w.e.f 1st April 2023.

2. Introduction of new items under 'Nature of remittances' in relation to capital gains for returns belonging to Q1 of FY24 and onwards.

3. Introduction of section 194BA - 'TDS on winnings from online games', section 194B ‘TDS on winnings from Lottery’, Section 194BB ‘TDS on winnings from Horse Race’ w.e.f 1st April 2023

4. Introduction of section 194NC - 'TDS on cash withdrawal from co-operative societies' and addition of 3 new columns to capture the value of withdrawal w.e.f 1st April 2023.

5. Bifurcation of section 194LC into LC1, LC2 and LC3 to accurate reporting of transactions applicable with different TDS rates.

Changes in Form 27EQ

1. Introduction new column to capture "Whether collectee opting out of new taxation regime [u/s 115BAC(1A)]?' w.e.f 1st April 2023 returns

2. Introduction of section 206C(1G)^T - Remittance under LRS for purposes of education or medical treatment w.e.f. 1-July-23.

Changes in Form 24Q

1. Enabling original and correction returns to match the updated data structure (without incorporating the FVU feature changes).

Fixed and improvements

1. Challan Deletion from UI when challan is not tagged to any deductions within the return.

2. Under LDC tab - show only certificates that are tagged with Reason ^A

3. Re-enabling 206AB check with speed and scale optimisation

4. Certificate generation progress bar implementation and state management to cover closing the generation page while generation is in progress, add DSC if the DSC is expired etc.,

5. Visibility of LDCs in the short deduction report in a few scenarios.

6. Resolving duplicate PAN creation during deduction template or conso ingestion.

7. Fixing TRACES request with PAN - TDS combination having 0.00 TDS value.

8. Other minor fixes and improvements to enrich user experience and product capability

Release Notes GST 21st August 2023

Changes in GSTR-1

1. Auto-computation of summaries in GSTR-1 flow has now been optimzied basis the latest update time stamp. We will now not automatically compute summaries everytime if there has been no change in data. This implementation will improve performance of Preupload validation and G1 drilldown section

2. PAN Level summary generation report was failing for a few users. The issue has now been resolved and users should be able to generate and download PAN Level prepare summary in GSTR-1 flow

Changes in GSTR-3B

1. Users were facing issue while uploading data to GSTN for NIL GSTINs or upload was not working intermittently for a scenario. The issue has now been resolved and users will be able to upload to GSTN seamlessly

2. Users will now be able to access the last uploaded time stamp in the GSTR-3B upload page. This implementation will help customers to know if they already uploaded data to GSTN or not

3. In table 4 of GSTR-3B for ineligible ITC docs, the data was going into 4A(5) and 4B(1) for IMPG, IMPS and RCM PR docs. The issue has been resolved and now data will go in the right section of GSTR-3B table i.e. 4A(1), 4A(2), 4A(3)

Changes in GSTR-6

1. Users were not able to see the ingested data on Prepare page of GSTR-6 even though the data was accessible on data overview. The issue has been fixed and users are able to access the data in GSTR-6 properly

Changes in Reports

1. Users with large no of GSTINs and data in their registrations were facing failure in report generation. The issue has now been resolved and users will be able to generate reports for their GSTINs with large data

Changes in Ingestion

1. Support for Increasing the Line Item Level Limit and File Size Limit at Customer Level

We have added a support in ingestion where we can now Increase the Number of Line

items and file size limit at customer level , earlier the default support for line item was

upto 5k ,also the file size supported is now upto 200 Mb( can be configured on the user

basis)

Release 9th August 2023

Clear ID

Bank Maturity amount and Date on Confirmation pop up at Fulfilment Screen:

With this release, External Financing points like Maturity amount, Maturity date and Bank interest charges are now visible before submitting the invoices. Buyers can view the exact amount and maturity date beforehand which earlier was populated after allocation to the bank. This gives the buyer flexibility to select the correct option.

Custom Return Posting File for Buyers:

For clients which are not ERP integrated, need for custom return posting files where separate columns should be added after calculation in the CSV was there. With this release, capability of generating custom columns in the CSV is enabled.

Warning pop up if approval is being done after payment date:

Each buyer has their payment dates, and if for any reason approval is being done after payment date, a warning pop up is now shown for the buyers. This helps them better understand the calculation of discounting for invoices.

[Tech] Invoice Status Duplicity/ Active MQ Implementation:

To stop the invoice duplicity, stringent database changes were done. In future, if any issue arises for invoices duplicity, the database will mark them duplicate automatically. Along with this, active Queue is implemented. This fix will process the invoice status sequentially and change the status from Available for Posting → Sent to ERP → Posted to ERP.

Release 3rd August 2023

GST

Changes in GSTR-1

1. Error message addition and improvements in GSTR-1 upload and filing screens. The error messages which were not reflected on the UI will now appear on the UI and in a user understandable manner (E.g. : Latest summary is not generated on GSTN, please retry upload to GSTN from upload step)

2. The text in the “Upload to GSTN without fixing” modal wasn’t clear to users and what would be its implications. We have updated the text for better clarity.

1. In the prepare page drill down users were seeing a difference in value if the invoice was linked to an advance which was supposed to be adjusted. We have now addressed this, and users will see consistent values across all pages of GSTR-1 (i.e. Prepare Page, View Sections and Invoice listing screens)

2. In GSTR-1 users were facing upload error due to negative values in the doc series summary for the cancelled docs column. The issue has been addressed and now users wont find negative values in the cancelled docs column for Doc series summary. Upload failure will also no longer happen due to this.

3. NIL filing tag was getting removed in the filing page post filing was successfully done. The issue has now been resolved and users will continue to see the NIL tag even after filing is successfully done

4. There was an inconsistency is displaying Filed with EVC/DSC in the filing screen. The issue has now been resolved and user will see consistent information even after filing is successfully done

Changes in GSTR-3B

1. For table 3.2 users were getting two options in the dropdown for Andhra Pradesh (State Code : 28 and 37). Now that has been updated and user will see only one option 37-Andhra Pradesh which is the code after division

1. While editing challan is GSTR-3B, the decimal point at the end was getting removed and additional zeroes were getting added at the end. This led to sharp increase in challan values and users had top put additional effort to fix these. The experience has been updated and no longer additional zeroes will be added at the end

2. In the Tax Calculation - the taxable w.r.t sec 9(5) was getting adjusted with ITC available. However, based on GSTN notification, it should be paid via cash. The adjustments have now been addressed and tax liability of sec 9(5) will now be considered under cash payment

1. The users were not clear with what does the deferred ITC In table 4A(5) means. We have now added a ( i ) button beside it which will explain what does it mean when hovered over it. The message will be “ITC present in 2B but not claimed in current month”

1. NIL filing tag was getting removed in the filing page post filing was successfully done. The issue has now been resolved and users will continue to see the NIL tag even after filing is successfully done

2. There was an inconsistency is displaying Filed with EVC/DSC in the filing screen. The issue has now been resolved and user will see consistent information even after filing is successfully done

3. The 3B drilldowns have been made user friendly and users now don't need to scroll left-right and vice versa to edit form or view details like SGST or Cess. The form will be completely visible till cess information

Changes in GSTR-6

1. In GSTR-6 we were getting errors in different formats from GSTN. This was leading to loss of information during upload errors from a user perspective. We have now taken care of format difference and user will get complete information after there is any error during upload

2. Users were seeing upload failure for GSTINs whose OTPs weren’t active. We have updated the experience and users will not see any failure for inactive GSTINs

Changes in ITC-04

1. DSC filing isnt implemented in ITC-04, however it was available on UI. We have now disabled the option of DSC filing in ITC-04

2. Users were seeing upload failure for GSTINs whose OTPs weren’t active. We have updated the experience and users will not see any failure for inactive GSTINs

3. Asterik (*) symbol is added in the challan creation flow for ITC-04 to make sure all mandatory fields are clear to users

4. Users were not able to delete data from the import history screen by simply deleting the file. The issue has now been addressed and data will be deleted if files are deleted from import history

Changes in Reports

1. Trade name wasn’t coming in the GSTIN verification report. The issue has now been addressed and users will see the correct trade name in GSTIN verification report

Changes in Ingestion

1. Support for Branch Level Ingestion

   1. Users will now have the option to ingest the data at Branch level , samefeature was supported in GST 1.0 , we came up with this feature to support the users who migrated to GST 2.0 and were having branch level data.

   2. At UAM Level the users who will be having access to only specific Branches will not be having access to Forms or reconciliation same will also be communicated to end users on UI and user will be blocked using these feature. A Banner clearly having a communication for this will be part of next release.

2. Improving the experience of ingesting the data having multiple sheets( Sales Govt Template)

   1. Today if the user was having more than 5k line items for a document in any of the sheets we were failing the import for the entire file. Also the error message shown on Ui was incorrect .

   2. We now have improved the experience for the same, the user will get the error message clearly communicating that line item for a particular document has exceeded 5K line items( For some users we have enabled this for more than 8 K Line items and depending on use case by use case we can support the same) and also rest of the sheets and rest of the documents which will not be having any validation failure and will get successfully ingested .

1. Support for Delete column in Purchase Flat Template

   1. We have added a support for Delete column in Purchase Flat template, using the same user can delete any document from the system. User has to pass the “Y” flag for deleting any document. This feature works at document level.

Notice Management

1. Reducing notices sync effort

   1. Password for notice sync will be saved upon first usage to ensure from second attempt onwards users only have to enter captcha for syncing cases from portal.

2. Minor bug fixes to improve user experience

   1. Sorting of cases has been improved to show the latest notice/order on top for a case

   2. Due date population across all case types now being populated

E-Invoicing India

Fixes and Improvements

• Signed invoice and signed QR code field has been removed from the E-Invoice lite report downloaded from archives section to significantly reduce the time taken for download.

  • If signed invoice and signed QR code field is required, lite report can be downloaded from documents screen for last 12 months

• Generation of an einvoice is not allowed for a B2B or B2C invoice already in generated or cancelled status. This is mandatory to avoid duplicacy and correctness of invoice data.

  • A sample use case avoided because of this validation - Users generate a B2B invoice and cancel it. Subsequently they generate a B2C invoice with the same invoice number. This leads to the cancelled B2B invoice response getting overwritten with the latest response and B2C contains the govt. response earlier stored for B2B invoice.

TDS

Fixes and Improvements

Verify PAN in batches - optimized the PAN verification (from ui to api), it reduced the time taken to verify 100 PANs from 3.30mins to less than 1 min.

Improving the PAN uniqueness - optimised the PAN uniqueness criteria to reduce the write conflicts in DB - it reduces the ingestion/upload time and better handling of the multiple ingestions at a given point in time. Also, additional columns related to deductions such as Address, contact details, NR -Yes/No, PE - Yes/No (applicable for 27Q and 27EQ) are moved to deduction tables from deductee tables, thereby PAN report is simplified.

What are deductee uniqueness criteria? Identification of unique deductee. It is implemented to reduce the number of duplicate PANs thereby verifying PANs and the PAN report will clean data. Post changes, below is the uniqueness criteria..

Structurally valid PAN: TANofDeductor_PANofDeductee_RefNumber/SerialNumber_Country [Country will be considered only in case of form 27Q, If PAN and Country match Ref number will be updated]

Structurally Invalid PAN: TANofDeductor_PANofDeductee_NameofDeductee_RefNumber/ SerialNumber_Country [Country will be considered only in case of form 27Q if the RefNumber is different a new deductee will be created.]

Release 27th July 2023

eInvoicing - India

Changes in onboarding flow

• Onboarding flow will consist of just the GSTIN addition step and selection of eWay bill requirement for business

• Upon completion of onboarding steps user will be able to explore the product and ingest invoices

Authorise Clear to Generate IRNs (Adding API credentials)

• Users will be able to create and add API (NIC/ClearIRP) credentials from the IRN generation action itself

• Users can register and create API credentials for multiple GSTINs at once

• Auto detection of registration status, automation has been implemented to reduce manual effort and make process easy

eWay bill for ship transport mode

• User can provide the vehicle details - vehicle number for ship mode of transport where goods are initially moved by road

• User can either send the vehicle number details during ingestion or update the transporter details

User role permission

• User which do not have the permission to add user in other product like GST, MaxITC, but have admin role in eInvoicing would not be allowed to invite users in other product.

• User will be shown only the product for which they have permission in the user invitation flow

Release 21st July 2023

GST

Changes in GST

1. Help and Support (v0)

   1. We are launching our first version (v0) of Help and Support on GST 2.0

   2. User’s can now easily create a support ticket using Help and Support

   3. User’s will be able to provide Feedback for all flows

   4. User’s will be able to access the release notes directly from the product

1. A GSTIN can have a password length of max 15 characters and GSTN has restricted it on their UI. We were however accepting more than 15 characters as well which led to confusion amongst the user. We have added validations for it and now user can only enter a max of 15 characters in the password field

Changes in GSTR-3B

1. 4D(2) others has now been updated and user can also see the breakdown of 4D(2). The breakdown will give user details about ISD Ineligible ITC and others

1. User Experience Improvements

   1. User were seeing a shift in columns while editing prepared 3B. The issue has been fixed and user would see a consistent behavior in edit and saved mode

   2. In the edit mode, the copy paste of values was not working as per expectation and some users were experiencing page breaks. The issue has now been resolved

   3. While downloading the data from GSTN, we error messages were wrongly populated. The messages have now been updated

   4. Some users were experiencing intermittent page breaks while accessing the recon flow from GSTR-3B. The issue has been resolved

   5. Text changes have been made on several CTAs for better user understanding and clarity

2. Negative value in 4B(2) - Banner for user clarity

   1. GSTN doesn't accept negative values in 4B, however while using Table 4 autopopulation table 4 does get negative values in 4B due to presence of excess Credit Notes. We have now added a banner for user communication which will make it clear to them that how they can fix this

1. GSTR-3B Multi GSTIN Template update

   1. Null/Zero values in the template were not handled correctly on the product, which has now been resolved

   2. PoS validation didn't exist in the multi GSTIN template and that also now been added

   3. Adding additional rows in table 4 with similar description in no longer a challenge now. User can add rows with same description (e.g. “Others” can be a added multiple times)

2. Ineligible ITC was appearing in 4A(4) - Inward supplies from ISD while updating table 4. The values should have been part of 4D(2). The issue has now been resolved and the ineligible ITC will now correctly be part of 4D(2) instead of 4A(4)

3. Table 4 population from 2B vs PR -

   1. Users were seeing different values in Table 4 in 3B and Generated Table 4 in reconciliation. The issue has now been resolved. Users will see consistent table 4 across forms and reconciliation

   2. Users were seeing zero values in Table 4 after pushing data from reconciliation. The issue has now been resolved and users will see expected values in table 4 after pushing data from reconciliation

Changes in Reports

1. User Interface for Multi PAN Filed 3B Reports

2. User can now access the information for Multi PAN Filed 3B reports on the GST 2.0 UI itself. No need to download multiple excels and work on it

3. Generate report and access insights on the UI in a matter of clicks

Clear ID

I2F Banner Live: With this release Invoice to Finance Banner is visible to all proprietor companies. Vendors can login and on clicking on the banner is redirected to the I2F product.

ID to I2F

Changes in Roles and Privileges: Roles and privileges Screen is modified to accommodate all the newer features in the platform. For eg: New Banks added in the roles. And previously unused roles and privileges are removed. Now Each Action on the platform can be controlled fully by Roles and Privileges Screen.

RXIL Code Refactoring: RXIL code was refactored from previous 3 year old version to new -

1. Replaced Withdraw API from Soft Delete API

2. RXIL Logs are created

3. Transaction Withdraw - Invoice Status Issue fixed

FTP Magnet Solution: Anchor Companies can drop invoice and payment files at FTP Magnet link. This gives input capability to Clear ID to solve for more companies.

[Tech] Axis Bank Allocation Changes : Bank Allocation wrt one anchor company was modified to keep a clause that “Invoice maturity period” should not exceed 120 days than invoice date. This check was implemented in the fulfillment section and system will throw an error if the criteria is not matched.

TDS

Release dt 25th July 2023

Features

1. Enabled direct import of challans from IT portal along with Section code and Major head information.

2. Enabled Form 24Q salary reconciliation report, this will help to reconcile Annexure 1 (deductions) with Annexure 2 (salary details) and accessible only by TAN Admin, data preparation, salary admin and data preparation, not by non-salary admin and data preparation.

3. PAN Verification changes - incorporated new status to PAN

   1. Active and inoperative - this will be marked as Active and inoperative in ClearTDS - applicable for individual PANs only and represents PAN-Aadhaar are not linked. TDS is to be made at a higher rate.

   2. Active and operative - this will be marked as Active in ClearTDS - applicable for individual PANs only and represents PAN-Aadhaar are linked. TDS is to be made at a normal rate.

   3. Deleted - this will be marked as Inactive in ClearTDS - represent PAN is surrendered on account of entity closure or death of PAN holder.

4. Data preparation role access changes - restricting the user from accessing the creation of new deductor, edit of deductor, TRACES certificate generation.

Improvements

1. Blocking FVU generation for Q1 - Form 26Q, 27Q and 27EQ for FY 2023-24 until next RPU version update.

2. Due date update for Q1 - Form 26Q, 27Q and 27EQ for FY 2023-24 to 30th Sept 2023, helps in accurate calculation of late filing fees under potential notices.

3. Incorporated the short deductions in Form 27Q as per Rule 37BC of the IT Rules.

Fixes

1. Enabling FVU download option post e-filing Successful or Failure as well will help the user to download the filed FVU file and keep a copy of form 27A for future reference.

2. Fixing the issue of signing on all the pages when no cover page and signing on custom cover pages is selected.

3. Fixing the date calculation for determining the period for which the interest on the late deposit is to be levied. Number of months or part of the month = [(date of deduction+ 1 day)] till the date of deposit after the due date.

4. Minor fixes in salary details ingestion rules in Form 24Q, Q4.

Release 6th July 2023

GST

Changes in GSTR-1

1. Pre-Upload Validation - Min 6 Digit HSN/SAC code

   1. We are continuously improving our pre-upload validations and now have added the validation for the requirement of a minimum 6 digit HSN/SAC code in the HSN summary

   2. Earlier users were blocked at the time of ingestion and that took more time to import data. Now users can simply update their HSN summary after pre-upload validation

   3. The fix will also resolve the issue with the Sales sync feature where data was not getting synced directly from Clear E-invoicing to Clear GST as sales data in E-inv didn't have proper HSN details.

2. User experience improvement during Upload to GSTN

   1. After triggering the upload, users will see a banner on the upload page indicating that information is being fetched from GSTN for the "Uploaded to GSTN" row.

   2. This enhancement builds more trust with users by providing real-time updates.

   
3. Error Handling Improvement:

   1. Previously, when users encountered errors such as 403, 404, or 500 in our internal system, the product showed the data as if it was still being processed. However, we have made an enhancement to provide more accurate feedback.

   2. In case of a failed request due to internal system errors, users will now see a clear message informing them that the request has failed. They will be advised to retrigger the same request for further processing. This improvement ensures better transparency and helps users take appropriate action

4. Filtered PAN Summary

   1. Excel PAN summary will now be prepared only for the filtered GSTINs, instead of all GSTINs.

   2. This improvement ensures users receive relevant summary data based on their selection.

5. Ordering of GSTINs across screens

   1. Fixed the inconsistency in the ordering of GSTINs when viewed on different pages and dropdowns.

   2. The ordering will now be consistent based on the state code, providing a better user experience.

6. Delete document on GSTN

   1. Introduced a new action, "Delete from GSTN," allowing users to delete single or bulk documents directly from the GSTR-1 listing screen.

   2. Users can now delete documents from GSTN without the need for reconciliation.

   
7. Performance Improvement of Auto Compute

   1. We have optimized the performance of the auto computes, resulting in faster summary generation and page loading times.

Changes in GSTR-3B

1. Edit GSTR-3B UX updates

   1. Resolved an issue where number formats were not updated properly when copying and pasting values from sheets, eliminating errors and ensuring a smooth user experience.

2. IMPS SEZ details in 4A(5)

   1. Addressed the issue where IMPS SEZ details were incorrectly placed in 4A(2) instead of 4A(5).

   2. Users will now find the IMPS SEZ details in the correct line item of 4A(5).

3. Improvement in Logic of populating ISD ITC from 2B in Table 4 of GSTR-3B

   1. Fixed the issue where both eligible and ineligible ITC were being populated incorrectly in 4A(4) instead of segregating them appropriately.

   2. Now, eligible ITC is correctly populated in 4A(4) and ineligible ITC in 4D(2), ensuring compliance with GST regulations.

   3. This improvement ensures accurate reporting and management of ISD ITC.

4. Improvement in the Table 4 Excel report downloaded

   1. PAN Level and GSTIN Level Summary Sheets for Table 4 will now include a new row, 4C, representing "Net ITC Available."

   2. Reordered columns in the GSTR 3B summary Excel report for better clarity and consistency.

      1. "Original Doc IGST," "Original Doc CGST," "Original Doc SGST," "Original Doc Cess," "Original Doc Total Tax," and "Original Doc Taxable value" columns are now positioned before the "4A5 Total Tax" column.

      2. This reordering improves the logical flow of information and facilitates easier analysis of the report.

5. Delete summary from import history

   1. Users were able to the see GSTR-3B summary on UI even after deleting the file from the import history. The issue has now been resolved and data will be deleted from the UI if the file has been deleted via import history

Changes in GSTR-6

1. Error Report Generation

   1. Resolved the issue where users couldn't see data in the error report post-upload due to case sensitivity differences in the document numbers between GSTN and Clear.

   2. The error report will now provide detailed information even in cases of document number case sensitivity mismatch.

2. Previously, ISD Docs were generated for all GSTINs regardless of user selection.

   1. This issue has been resolved, and ISD Docs will now be generated only for the selected GSTINs.

   2. Generate ISD docs for selected GSTINs

Change in Sales Recon

1. EWB vs Sales / GSTR-1 Recon improvements

   1. Added support for custom fields in the Recon report, making custom fields imported as part of the Sales register available in the Recon results report.

2. E-invoice (GSTR-1) vs Sales Register Recon improvements

   1. Improved matching results

      1. Previously, differences in document sub-section details were not highlighted, leading to potential errors. Now, such differences are flagged, categorizing the documents as mismatched.

      2. Previously, scenarios with multiple documents (Invoices, CDNs) sharing the same document number on Sales and GSTR-1 did not get matched. The improved matching rules now facilitate 1-1 matching for such scenarios, improving accuracy and reducing missing matches.

   2. Customer name not appearing in Matching results issue

      1. There was a long pending issue that the customer name was not appearing in matching results for Export, B2CL and also B2B documents in some cases. This issue is resolved.

      2. Customer names present as part of the Sales register will be considered and shown in the matching results (both Product UI and Excel report). In case the customer name is not present in the sales register, the system will try to fetch & show the customer name from the Govt data

Changes in Ingestion

1. Disabling the duplicate file ingestion

   1. Disabled the option for users to ingest the same file when the ingestion is already in progress.

   2. Users will now receive an error message stating, "This is a duplicate file. Data import for this file is already in progress. Please refer to the import history section for more details."

2. Ingestion issue fixes

   1. Added support for selecting the current FY (financial year) in the Sales summary. Users can now select 23-24 from the dropdown.

   2. Supported the selection of port codes along with port names. Previously, users were unable to pass the port code and name, but this fix enables seamless data entry in the backend.

Changes in Reports

1. PAN Level G1 vs 3B vs Books - Individual GSTIN sheets

   1. Updated the G1 vs 3B vs Books report to include individual GSTIN level sheets in the Excel report.

   2. Users will now have access to specific GSTIN-level data for better analysis

TDS

Improvements

1. Enabling the users to get multiple RRR/PRN in correction returns.

2. Improving the correction return filing related to section 194Jb having no TDS with lower deduction reason.

3. Enabling manual upload of csi file for FVU generation along with existing IT portal and NSDL automation.

Fixes

1. Fixing the failures related to import and sync of LDCs where the number of LDCs to be imported is more than 150.

2. Improving the TRACES login failure use cases in case of Bulk PAN verification.

3. Potential notices - fixing the interest on late deposit calculation for Form 27EQ and short deduction calculation logic for sec 194C for non-company deductees.

4. Sec 80D calculation in case of Form 24Q, Q4 correction returns.

E-Invoicing (India)

Switchers mechanism between NIC1, NIC2, ClearIRP

A switcher mechanism has been implemented to divert the incoming user requests to a secondary source to ensure maximum uptime.

• If NIC1 is down/APIs are slow the user requests will be sent to NIC2

• If ClearIRP is down/APIs are slow the user requests will be sent to NIC1

All depended API calls like cancellation, GET_IRN etc would be sent to the source where IRN was generated

Validation addition

• Using the IRP db to check the GSTIN status for IRN generation

• Reverse charge supply is not allowed for ISD recipients

• Updated the pincode to state mapping to ensure pincode belongs to the state mentioned

Updating the master codes

• In the state master codes, 99 is removed for other country

• Added validation for country code, port code and currency codes from master code list

• Tax rates 10, 20 and 30 have been removed as these are not allowed by GSTN

• Exact pin code to state mapping have been implemented according to the master codes

Changes to DSC user role permissions

Earlier only the workspace and PAN/GSTIN admins had the permission to add digital signature to an invoices. The user permissions have been update so that users with permissions to generate einvoice and eWay bill can add digital signature. User roles einvoice only, eWay bill only, non cancel can add digital signature.

Improvements

• Index optimisation to reduce the time for loading screens on UI

• Support print pdf download for same invoice number in different FY. A suffix for FY is added to print pdf downloaded.

• Setup Alerts for the e-invoicing and clear invoicing services for CPU and memory usage

• Reverted the country code validation for export transactions as it is not implemented on NIC yet

• Changes for GST recon

  • Changes to eWay bill count API to support filter for supplier GSTIN

  • Customer billing state is included in eWay bill data to be compared against place of supply in SR/G1 for recon

ClearIRP

• Support ticket creation by users from UI tool. User will have to fill few fields and give issue description. These tickets will flow to SF from where the L2 support team can check the issue and resolve.

• Update the turnover for the GSTIN and update the einvoicing eligibility status for 5-10 Cr turnover

• Handling dedup slowness/downtime

  • Invoice can be registered even when dedup is down. However, if the same invoice is registered with any other IRP then the status needs to be changed as "Rejected"

Release 22nd Jun 2023

GST

Changes in Recon

1. GSTR-1 download improvement in GSTR-1 vs Sales recon

   1. Due to an issue in the GSTR-1 vs Recon flow, even when GSTR-1 data download is complete, the status keeps showing as download is in progress until the page is refreshed. This gave the impression that the data download is taking time.

   2. This issue is fixed. Immediately after the GSTR-1 data download is complete, status will show as success.

Changes in GSTR -3B Filed Report

1. Split of turnover in filed 3b report ( Taxable and Non- taxable)

   1. We will now provide a feature that allows users to view a detailed breakdown of their turnover in the Field 3B report, categorizing it into taxable and non-taxable components. This enhancement aims to provide users with enhanced visibility and better understanding

      

TDS

New Features

Multi TAN - Filing Status Dashboard: Single TAN-based filing tracker revamped to support Multi TAN Filing Status tracker to capture both internal and TRACES return status with recommended actions based on the return status.

Enabling Annexure to Form 16 and non-Form 16: to capture 12BA, Annexure to Part B, Password and Emails of the employee/deductee PANs.

Blocking users with no active license

Improvements

1. Enabling draft status and navigation flow for correction wherein conso file having only challan details

2. De-coupling deductions, salary details, txt file, error file in case of FVU failure for better user experience

3. Improving the E-file via ITR

   1. Get RRR number based on ack number, if initial automation is failed

4. Option to download FVU file, even after e-filing is successful

5. Removing the restrictions of data presence capability to access the Repository.

6. Re-write of LDC import capability with import + sync values

7. PAN report to provide “Not Available” status for Aadhaar linking of non-individual PANs.

8. Form 16

   1. Bifurcated the templates into 3 sections to solve the alignment issues

   2. Excel-based certificate generation report for all the Forms

Fixes and minor improvements

1. Fixing unable to view/download return data due to FSD sync

2. Salary details deductible, taxes and short deductions calculation fixes

Release 13th June, 2023

EWB recon (Sales)

• Enterprises can reconcile their EWBs against the Sale Register or GSTR-1 (Draft or Filed) at a monthly level.

• PAN level reconciliation of XX lakh invoices in less than XX minutes

• Struggling to download & prepare EWB data for Recon? We will auto download your EWBs (by me, by others) daily & keep it ready.

• Actionable matching report to quickly narrow down on the valid discrepancies in documents.

*This is an early availability release

Ingestion

PR Validation Removal to reduce Integration TAT(For ERP Users)

To expedite the integration process, we have removed certain validations from PR, allowing user data to be ingested into the reconciliation system more swiftly. This means that users can now run reconciliations without being blocked by validation errors. Instead, the system will generate warnings for any documents that have validation errors.

This new approach empowers users to take control of the reconciliation process and make informed decisions about the next course of action for documents flagged with warnings. By providing users with visibility into potential validation issues, they have the flexibility to review and address them as needed.

We believe that this change will significantly reduce integration TAT for ERP users and enhance the efficiency and ensure smooth onboarding

Changes in GSTR-3B

1. 3.1 d comparison row In 3.1d comparison with GSTN row was showing data from PR and not from GSTN. The issue has been fixed and now data is updated from GSTN

2. a. GSTR-3B source update After ingesting GSTR-3B summary the source was not getting changed to GSTR-3B summary and now that has been fixed.

b. After running the recon of 2B vs PR, the data source for entire table 4 was getting update to recon. Now the issue has been fixed and user will have the option to decide whether to update for all rows or for selected ones

3. a. Make Payment post credit to ledger - Bug Fixes The offset feature was failing because tax liability or input available was getting rounded off to a lower value. The issue has been fixed and now the values will rounded to higher/lower precision correctly

b. Clear GST smart offset was getting calculated wrongly and negative values were appearing in ITC utilization. The issue has been resolved and user wont see negative values in ITC utilization

1. GSTR-3B connected flow from recon

a. Users can now seamlessly move to GSTR-3B filing from recon (2B vs PR) after their table 4 is prepared. One CTA will take the users to GSTR-3B with all data sources pre-filled

5. Recommended source in GSTR-3B

a. The recommended source in GSTR-3B has been updated and now the recommended sources are 2B vs PR wherever data could be filled via recon

1. DSC filing failure

a. Few users were facing failures while filing returns using DSC method. We have fixed the issue

1. Multi GSTIN summary template - Fixes

a. Deleting of sub rows in template lead to ingestion failure and users were not clear with the issue. The bug has been fixed

b. Deleting of sub rows in template also lead to duplication of rows in table 4 and also led to upload failure. The issue has been fixed with the release

1. UX improvements

a. In table 4 users were facing an issue where an edit was not saved even after doing multiple attempts. The issue has been addressed and now values will be saved immediately after the user clicks on save

1. Difference in value between prepare and review tax calculation page

a. Users were noticing a difference in prepare page and review tax calculation page due to the rounding error. The issue has been addressed and now there will be a parity between the pages for all values

1. User edited table 6.1 on upload page

Users who were using user edit mode of ITC offset were not able to see the table 6.1 on Preview 3B page in the Upload screen. The issue has been addressed and now users will be able to see what mode of tax calculation they are using in the upload screen as well

1. Download failure messages of 2B and Interest/Late fees Users were seeing download failures in the data source page of 3B and were not able to get clarity why is it failing. Messages have been added for better clarity for our users

2. Ingestible GSTR-3B recon report

The table 4 recon report coming out of 2B vs PR is now ingestible and users can easily use that report to seamlessly work with their GSTR-3B

Release 6 June, 2023

Changes in GSTR-1

Sequencing for Sub section drill down in G1 GSTIN Summary

• The drill down sequencing of sub-sections for Credit Debit Note - Registered (9B), B2B Amendments (9A), and CDN Registered Amendments (9C) in the GSTR-1 Prepare page did not match the sequencing on the GSTN portal.

• The sequencing has been updated to align with the GSTN portal, allowing users to easily compare the information.

GSTR-1 Amendment linking issue

• Users were experiencing issues in the amendment section, where documents related to the current financial year were incorrectly linked to older FY invoice numbers during amendments.

• This issue has been resolved, and now the linking will be accurate with respect to the current financial year.

Delete from Clear - Action

• A new action has been added on the prepare page of GSTR-1, allowing users to delete all data from clear GST without leaving the GSTR-1 flow.

• Users can now easily delete all data from clear GST within the GSTR-1 interface.

Description in HSN Summary

• Users were not receiving description information in the HSN summary when using Auto compute.

• The Auto compute summary of HSN will now include description information.

• The first description information for that HSN code provided by the user in the clear sales register template will be considered.

Settings for defining logic for HSN Auto compute

• Users can now choose the logic for HSN auto compute and decide whether to consider CDNs and their quantity for computing the HSN summary.

• Users will also be able to configure this setting at a GSTIN level.

Improved Error Messages and New Additions

• Error messages while “Uploading to GSTN” have been updated to provide clearer explanations and make it easier for users to understand.

• New error messages have been added to cover cases that were not addressed previously eg: GSTIN cancellation status etc

Changes in GSTR-3B Backward Compatibility for GSTR-3B Prepare Page

• The prepare page of GSTR-3B for return periods before Aug'22 has been made similar to GSTN.

• Users will no longer see the table 4 drill-down breakups on the view prepared 3B page, aligning it with the GSTN interface for the Return period till July,2022

ITC Savings Banner - Smart Offset

• Previously, users were encountering a banner for zero savings in the Tax calculation drill down.

• The banner will no longer be visible to users when there is zero savings in the clear GST calculation as compared to the Government calculation.

Enhanced User-Friendly Error Messages

• Error messages for uploading to GSTN have been updated to provide a simpler understanding for users.

• New error messages have been added to cover cases that were previously not addressed, ensuring comprehensive error handling.

Changes in GSTR-6 Amendment Support in GSTR-6 Clear Template

• Users can now add amendment details in the GSTR-6 form using the clear GST template.

• Details can be added for Table 6A (Amendment of ITC received in previous returns), Table 6C (Amendment of Debit/Credit Notes received), and Table 9 (Amendment of ITC received in previous returns).

Invoice Number Validation in GSTR-6

• Users were encountering issues such as invoice numbers exceeding 16 characters or containing special characters while uploading data to GSTN during GSTR-6 filing.

• Validations have been implemented to address these issues, ensuring a smooth upload process without any errors related to invoice number format

Changes in ITC-04

Warning Modal during Upload to GSTN

• Users will now receive a warning modal when uploading to GSTN in the case of NIL filing.

• If users have selected NIL filing but still have some data available on GSTN, the warning modal will appear.

• This enhancement aims to alert users about the presence of data on GSTN despite selecting NIL filing, ensuring accuracy and preventing unintended actions.

Changes in Reports

G1 vs 3B vs Books

• In the comparison report for G1 vs 3B vs Books, G1 summaries were displaying twice the ingested summary sections, resulting in inconsistent data in the books section.

• The issue has been resolved, and users will now see consistent data in the comparison report, aligned with their books.

GSTIN Verification Report - Additional Address Details

• Users were not receiving additional address details for their vendor GSTINs when using the GSTIN verification report.

• The issue has been resolved, and users will now be able to access the additional address details for all their vendors on the UI as well as in the downloaded Excel report.

Filed G1 Report

• Users were experiencing inaccuracies when fetching the Filed G1 Report after filing their returns.

• The issue has been resolved, and the data will now be freshly fetched from GSTN after filing the returns, providing users with the updated Filed status.

Changes in E-invoice (GSTR-1) vs Sales Recon

Matching results issue fix

• Previously, documents with mismatches in Document type (Invoice, Debit Note, Credit Note) were displayed incorrectly as exact matches in the matching results section.

• This issue has been addressed, and these documents will now be correctly identified as mismatches in the matching results.

• Users can expect improved accuracy in identifying and resolving discrepancies between E-invoice (GSTR-1) and Sales Recon data.

Changes in Ingestion

Enhancing the performance of downloading large files from the Data Overview screen

• Previously, users faced difficulties when attempting to download large Excel files. To address this, we have implemented a file chunking mechanism.

• If the size of the file exceeds more than 6 lac line items for both Sales and Purchase, the system will automatically split the file into multiple CSV files.

• These CSV files will be conveniently combined and presented in a ZIP folder, allowing users to download all the data in one go.

• This improvement ensures a smoother experience and easier access to data, particularly for users handling large volumes of GST information.

Feature: Clear Add-on for Tally (TCP)

1. Sandbox Testing Environment:

   Users can now utilize the sandbox installer to set up a sandbox environment. This allows you to test compatibility and ensure a smooth transition to the production environment.

2. Multiple Deployment Environments:

   Users have the flexibility to install it on various deployment environments, including local systems (desktops, laptops), cloud servers, RDP servers, AWS servers, and more. This ensures adaptability to your preferred infrastructure.

3. User Access Control:

   You now have the ability to control user access to the Clear GST module. This feature enables you to allow or disallow specific users from using the module, providing better control over your compliance processes.

4. Multi-GSTIN Support:

   The enhanced TCP allows you to maintain and manage documents for multiple GSTINs under the same PAN. You can upload documents from Tally to Clear either at the PAN level or GSTIN-wise, simplifying your compliance management for multiple entities.

   
5. GST Registers:

   You can now view a comprehensive list of documents before uploading, based on ledger configuration for GST applicability. This provides better visibility and control over the documents to be uploaded, ensuring accuracy and compliance.

   
6. Voucher Type Configuration:

   By default, Sales, Purchase, Debit Notes, and Credit Note voucher types are included. However, with the enhanced TCP, users can configure additional voucher types for GST upload, tailoring the connector to their specific requirements.

   
7. Document Overview:

   The document overview feature allows you to view detailed line item information such as item description, taxable amount, tax amount, and more before uploading. Once uploaded, the overview also includes upload status and error messages, if any. This helps you verify the data and address any errors or discrepancies efficiently.

   
8. Selective Upload:

   You have the flexibility to select and upload one, multiple, or all documents within a register to Clear. You can also apply filters based on voucher type and date ranges, streamlining your upload process.

9. Error Messages:

   Users can now view voucher-level error messages for data validation errors. This enables you to correct errors directly from Tally before re-uploading, ensuring data accuracy and compliance. Error messages are conveniently available on the Import History page at an upload activity level.

10. Filter by Status and Re-upload by Status:

    User can Filter documents by status (Uploaded, Failed, and Not Uploaded) and selectively re-uploading failed or not uploaded documents is also available in this release.

    

Here is the detailed guide on how to install Tally Connector along with the FAQ.

Release 22- May, 2023

GST

Changes in GSTR-1

1. We understand the importance of having a comprehensive view of your uploaded data on GSTN. With this update, we have introduced the ability for users to download a Pan level or Multi GSTIN summary of the data uploaded to GSTN in GSTR-1 flow in an Excel format. This summary is available at both section and GSTIN levels, providing you with valuable insights and analysis options.

   

   Impact:

   Improved Data Analysis: The availability of Pan level and Multi GSTIN summaries enables you to check your uploaded data in a more structured and detailed manner.

   Streamlined Reporting: By offering the option to download data summaries in Excel, you can generate customized reports for internal analysis, audits, or compliance requirements. This enhances your reporting capabilities and simplifies data sharing within your organization.

Changes in Reports:

1. Updated Dates for ITC-04 in Filing Tracker:

   Keeping up with the latest changes on GSTN is crucial for accurate filing. In this release, we have updated the dates for ITC-04 in the filing tracker based on the latest GSTN modifications. As a result, you will now be able to view dates categorized by half-yearly and annual returns, providing you with a clearer understanding of your filing schedule.

1. Updated Due Dates for the Past Year:

   We recognize the importance of being informed about due dates and ensuring compliance. To assist you in meeting your filing obligations, we have updated the due dates for the past year in the filing tracker. We have also incorporated any changes made by GSTN during this period, ensuring that you have the most up-to-date information at your fingertips.

   Impact:

   Increased Compliance Accuracy: With updated dates, you can plan your filing activities more effectively, ensuring that you submit your returns on time and stay compliant with GSTN regulations.

   Reduced Compliance Risks: By incorporating any changes made by GSTN, we help mitigate the risk of missing important deadlines due to outdated information. This ensures that you are always up-to-date with the latest filing requirements.

2. Resolved Issue with Filling Details in GSTIN Verification Reports

   We understand the importance of accurate verification reports in maintaining data integrity. In this release, we have resolved an issue where filling details were not getting populated in the GSTIN verification reports for cases where the month of the last return filing is after the month of cancellation. This issue has been fixed, ensuring that your verification reports are now comprehensive and include all relevant filling details.

   Impact:

   Comprehensive Reporting: The resolution of this issue ensures that your GSTIN verification reports provide a complete overview of your filing details, even in scenarios where the last return filing is after the cancellation month. This helps you maintain accurate records and ensures compliance with GSTN requirements.

Release 13- May, 2023

GST

Changes in Ingestion

Performance optimizations in Data Overview for Purchase

Improved Performance

We have addressed the performance issue that caused the page to load slowly. With this update, you will experience a faster loading time and improved overall performance of the Data Overview page.

Enhanced Filtering

Data reflection after applying filters has been improved. You can now easily filter the data based on your preferences, and the page will reflect the changes quickly.

Optimization Results: In production for the last 19 months (102021 - 042023) for a GSTIN, below is the size of the documents:-

P90 - 9110

P95 -19694

P99 - 69317

Scenario: 1- GSTIN - 19 Lakh data - 1 lakh data for each return period for 19 months

Before optimization: It used to fail to load the data for the first time for 19 month return period. (When selecting 19month RP for the first time)

On selecting 19-month RP for the second time, it used to take 25 seconds on average.

After optimization: On average it takes 7-8 seconds

Scenario: 1-PAN, 3 - GSTIN - 57 Lakh data - 1 lakh data for each return period for 19 months for each GSTIN

Before optimization: it used to fail to load the data.

After optimization: On average it takes 12-18 seconds

Release 05-May, 2023

GST

Changes in GSTR-1

1. Performance Optimizations:

   1. The GSTR-1 form has been optimized to improve its performance.

   2. This optimization ensures faster page loading times, faster auto computes, and optimized pre-upload validations.

   3. This enhancement makes it easier and quicker for users to access information and prepare their GSTR-1

2. Improved Error Messaging:

   1. Error messages received from GSTN have been improved.

   2. The messages have been edited to be more user-understandable and easier to comprehend.

   3. This enhancement will help users resolve any issues that may arise during the form preparation process quickly and easily.

3. Edit/Delete Signatory:

   1. Users can now edit or delete already added signatories in the filing flow.

   2. Previously, users could only add new signatories and not delete or edit the already existing ones.

   3. This feature upgrade provides users with more flexibility in managing their signatories.

      
4. Filing Status on Upload Page

   1. Users can now see the filed status on the "Upload to Govt Portal" page.

   2. Previously, they could only see it on the Filing Page.

   3. This enhancement provides better visibility into filing status and helps users track their returns more efficiently.

Changes in GSTR-3B

1. Challan Dashboard Summary:

   1. Users can now see an aggregated summary in the challan dashboard of GSTR-3B.

   2. Summaries will be updated based on the application of filters.

   3. Users can see # Challans, Total Taxable Values, Total Tax, Late Fees, Others, etc. for the challans listed.

1. Error Warning on Prepare GSTR-3B:

   1. Users will now get a warning on the Prepare GSTR-3B page if any of their GSTINs under the PAN has an error.

   2. Users will have to fix the errors first before moving to the next step (i.e Review Tax Calculation).

2. Download PDF - Generated Challan:

   1. Users can now download the generated challans in a PDF format from the GSTR-3B challan dashboard flow.

   2. Earlier, users were only able to download the challans in a CSV file.

      
3. Cash Utilization Banner:

   1. Users will now see a banner in the Tax calculation page in GSTR-3B form whenever there is cash available under different heads of IGST, CGST and SGST but tax due is under different heads for which cash is not available.

   2. The banner will have the following text “To maximize available cash utilization, use PMT-09 on GSTN to move cash under different headings”.

4. Download System Generated GSTR-3B PDF:

   1. Users can now download the system-generated 3B PDF available on GSTN from the GSTR-3B form.

   2. Users will have to provide user ID, password, and captcha to download the PDFs from GSTN.

      
5. Optimization on Editing the Offset Page:

   1. We have optimized the performance of the user edit feature to ensure faster page loading times.

   2. It will make it easier and quicker for users to access the information.

6. Soft Warning for OTP Activation for Ledger Pull:

   1. Users will now get a soft warning to activate the auth token (OTP) in case it's not active before landing on to the Review Tax Calculation page.

   2. Users can decide to activate the OTPs or can skip and move to the next page.

1. Row level source for Table 4:

   1. Users can now change sources for each row in Table 4 on the data source page

   2. Previously, users could only choose a source for Table 4 as a whole

   3. This enhancement provides more granular control over data management

1. Data source for 3.2

   1. Users can now decide the source for Table 3.2 in the GSTR - 3B form

   2. Previously, the source for Table 3.2 was always the same as Table 3.1

   3. This enhancement provides more flexibility in managing data

1. Filing Status on Upload Page:

   1. Users can now see the filed status on the Upload to GSTN page

   2. Previously, users could only see the upload status on the Upload to GSTN page

   3. This enhancement provides more visibility into the filing process

1. Notification for no fetched challans:

   1. Users will now get a notification in case no challan is fetched from GSTN with a proper reasoning

   2. Previously, users were not getting any information on why there were no challans fetched from GSTN

   3. This enhancement provides more clarity and helps users to understand the reasons behind the missing data.

Changes in GSTR-6

1. Improvements in Delete from Clear:

   1. Fixed an issue where users could not delete data from Table 5,8 while using the prepare page feature to delete data from clear.

   2. Users can now clear all data available in the form, providing better data management capabilities.

   3. Resolved an error notification issue that users were getting on clicking for the invoice level drill down of table 5,8, making the process smoother and faster.

2. Filing Status on Upload Page:

   1. Users can now see the filed status on the Upload to GSTN page in case the registration has been filed from clear or outside of clear.

   2. This enhancement provides better visibility into filing status and helps users track their returns more efficiently.

Changes in ITC - 04

1. NIL Filing flow

   1. NIL filing is now available in ITC - 04 form as well.

   2. Users will be able to file NIL returns for the GSTINs in ITC - 04.

   3. The flow will be similar to other forms, making it easy and convenient for users to file NIL returns.

2. Filters on Error Correction

   1. Applying filters on the errors correction UI post ingestion in the ITC - 04 form is now available.

   2. Earlier, users would not get any filters option in the error correction UI for ITC - 04 and users would have to work on docs one after the other.

   3. Now, users can apply different filters which are available in the UI, making the process more efficient and organized.

3. Copy and Paste Values while Edit/Creating Challan

   1. Users were not able to copy/paste values while editing or creating a new challan in the flow.

   2. The issue has now been fixed, and users would be able to seamlessly copy/paste values, saving time and effort.

   3. Ingested Data not Visible on UI for Table 5

4. Users were not able to view the data on UI for table 5 even after ingestion was successful.The issue has now been fixed, and data would be visible on UI after ingestion, ensuring transparency and accuracy.

5. Government Template

   1. Users can now use the Government template to ingest data in ITC-04 along with the clear flat template, making the process more convenient and standardized.

Changes in GSTR-8

1. Validation during Ingestion

   1. Previously, users were able to import TCS Amendment data without providing the Original Supplier GSTIN and Original Return period Month (MM/YYYY).

   2. This caused the upload to GSTN to fail, resulting in frustration for our users.

   3. We have now added validation during ingestion, requiring users to provide this information at the time of ingestion itself.

2. This will ensure that the TCS Amendment data is accurately uploaded to GSTN, eliminating the need for multiple attempts.

Changes in Reports

1. Multi PAN GSTR-3B Filed Reports

   1. Users will now be able to generate GSTR-3B filed reports at a Group level from app.clear (i.e selection of multiple PANs).

   2. Users will be able to download the generated report in an excel (Filed Reports, ITC offset, Insights)

   3. Users will be able to access the information of download status on the UI

1. UIN Number is supported in bulk flow of GSTN verification

   1. Users will be able to get information for UIN GSTINs in the bulk flow of GSTN verification report

   2. UIN numbers were only supported in the single GSTN verification flow

Ingestion

1. Support for editing tax amounts for Summary Sections in GSTR-1

   1. Users can now edit the tax amounts for all summary sections (B2C, AT, ATA, ATAJ, ATAJA, EXEMP, HSN) in GSTR-1.

   2. This feature has been added in alignment with the government's requirements.

   3. This will provide users with greater flexibility and accuracy in their tax reporting.

Changes in Recon

1. GSTR-1 download improvement in GSTR-1 vs Sales recon

   1. Due to an issue in the GSTR-1 vs Recon flow, even when the GSTR-1 data download is complete, the status keeps showing as the download is in progress until the page is refreshed. This gave the impression that the data download is taking time.

   2. This issue is fixed. Immediately after the GSTR-1 data download is complete, the status will show as a success.

Release 02-May, 2023

TDS

Annexure to Form 16

Annexure to Form 16 can be generated based on excel based template.

It will help the user to generate Table 2f, 10k, Form 12BA and Annexure to Form 16 to make employees' ITR filing experience easier. Annexure shall support below tables

1. Section 17_1

2. Section 17_3

3. Section 10_13A

4. Income (or admissible loss) from house property

5. Income under the head Other Sources

6. Deductions claimed under Section 80C

7. Details of ESOPs

8. Details of Foreign Tax Credit claimed

Implementing the PAN counter

As per the correction return filing flow, a valid PAN can't be updated more than once. Hence implemented the PAN counter based on the "PAN Counter" fag in the conso file and the update will be blocked at ingestion. Here alternative is to nullify the deduction with a relevant lower deduction reason.

Optimisation

Optimisation of deduction data export and IT Portal automation.

FVU generation error screen to show FVU error file & Txt file together, Deduction file and Salary details file separately to resolve memory outage issue.

New Carousel to support User guides in CFC-TDS

Fix

Implementation of ingestion validation error when all challans values are having Rs.0 values. Wrong value under 'Interest rate' issue in UI for interest report. The issue in triggering short deduction with LDC having sections 194Ja and 194Jb - not computing the right results . In the case of non-individual PANs, the PAN-Aadhaar link status is used to show 'No', fixed to show 'Not applicable’. 'Last Employee/Party PAN Ref. No.’ was picking the value tagged to deductee details instead of the conso value.

Release 24-April, 2023

e-Invoicing India

Auto download of EWBs from NIC

Users can now set up auto download of EWBs from NIC in the eInvoicing

• Until now, users could only download EWB from NIC for previous dates manually from Clear eInvoicing. But now they can set up auto download that will download EWBs from NIC daily for the configured GSTINs

• This will be enabled for the users using a retool. A ticket needs to be raised with the support team who will enable it for the account

• After the enablement, user can go to EWB settings and configure the auto download

• User needs to provide few inputs basis which autodownload will be configured

  • Business - PAN/GSTIN for which it is to be enabled

  • Type - EWB by me, EWB for my GSTIN, EWB assigned as transporter

• User will be able to view download history if the download was successful or not. In case of failure it can be triggered manually as well( we have configured retries on our end in case of a failure)

Release R7b,12-April,2023

Max ITC

Linking documents with different GST types in recon

Did you record your transaction as part of IGST but your vendor used CGST and SGST while filing (or vice versa)? Your MaxITC recon engine can now link such documents automatically

Timeout on Delegator API

Did ingestion ever take infinitely long and you weren’t able to re-trigger the reconciliation on Max ITC? Your Max ITC tool now has a global time-out that lets you or your ERP to re-trigger in case of unforeseen delays and errors

Multivoucher enablement for all clients

Did you ever need voucher-level details in your ERPs, and needed every additional voucher number to be stored along with recon results? Your MaxITC tool can now store the voucher numbers of all vouchers that were ever part of an invoice and link, and gives it back along with reconciliation and payment block results

Import many-many links into ERP while downloading the recon result

• You can now extract many-many links created manually into your ERP, and store the comprehensive list of PRs that got matched.

• You can now manually link more than 1 document on both PR and government side, and extract the resulting payment actions into your ERPs

• This is available for all existing ERP clients who use SAP. For non-SAP users, this will be available on request.

Send "Gstin Token inactive" error in trigger api if expiry duration < 1 hr

Did you ever run a recon from your ERP but the GSTIN token became inactive while the recon was running, and you got to know about it only after the recon ran? Your Max ITC tool can now notice GSTINs that are about to expire in the next 1 hour, and notify you within your ERP

Table 4 Improvements

Last generated report

Did you ever try to download your Table 4 report but found Max ITC re-generating the numbers freshly? Were you made to wait even though you had already looked at the numbers few hours ago? You can now see the last generated Table 4 report and download it instantly.

Failure or incomplete Table 4 generation

Did you ever download Table 4 report, but analyzed the numbers only to find that a missing value made it inconsistent? You can now pro-actively see that Max ITC could not find some original values. You will also get a message to download older GSTR 2B, so that the correct values can be computed

Long generation times for Table 4

Did you ever find the Table 4 report to take a long time to generate and you don’t know how much longer to wait? You can now see the progress of the table 4 generation on the screen

New Table 4 format

View source columns for each row

Did you ever download table 4 from Max ITC but wondered how to validate the numbers? You can now get the source details for each row in the generated report. And easily validate the numbers.

Additional of all source documents in the download

Did you ever wonder how to get all the source documents used to prepare your table 4? Your Max ITC tool now shows all the source documents within the downloaded file. You can find details related to:

• Import of goods

• Import of services

• Inward supplies liable to reverse charge from registered and unregistered suppliers.

• Inward supplies from ISD

Sample Table 4 Download

Addition of ISD values in Table 4A(4)

Did you ever wonder why the Table 4A(4) values weren’t displayed in the report? You can now see this value populated from you GSTR 2B summary

PAN-level GSTR 3B

Did you ever wonder why the table 4 values are shown only in GSTIN-level when you land there through the GSTR 3B filing flow? You can now see the PAN-level summary.

Release R7b,12-April,2023

GST

We are excited to announce the latest updates and improvements to G3B's Table 4, aimed at enhancing user experience, reducing waiting time, and increasing transparency.

The following changes have been made:

Enhance the user experience and reduction in waiting time for Table 4 generation: We have addressed the issue of long waiting times during Table 4 computation even when there are no changes made by the user in PR or Recon actions. The following changes have been made: On the first time landing of the user on Table 4 for the particular return period, we will compute Table 4 for all the selected GSTINs. If the user lands again on Table 4 for the return period for which Table 4 has already been generated, we will only show the latest generated report with the timestamp. The computation will not start automatically. The Regenerate button is available for users who want to compute Table 4 again.

Progress Visibility : We added a new feature that shows the progress of Table 4 generation at both GSTIN and PAN level. This will provide users with visibility of which GSTIN Table 4 is generated.

Expand/Collapse sub-sections of Table 4 of G3B : You can now expand and collapse sub-sections in Table 4 to see the drill-down of different sections. This makes it easier for users to see the drill-down of different sections without being overwhelmed by too much information.

PAN Level Computation: We've added the functionality to show Pan level Table 4 computation in addition to the GSTIN level in the G3B flow. This will enable the user to download Table 4 of G3B at a PAN level consisting of PAN level summary as well as GSTIN level summary along with all the documents, improving their overall experience and making it easier to manage their ITC and reversal.

Auto Population of Table 4A(4)- ITC from ISD: Table 4A(4) for ISD documents will now be auto-populated basis of GSTR-2B, saving you time and effort.

Drill-down of Sub-sections in G3B form : We've improved the visibility of subsections in different sections of Table 4 by showing the drill-down at a row level in G3B form along with giving user an option to the sub row only so that there overall calculation doesn't gets changed.

Ingestion of Table 4 G3B Excel back into the system by updating at the subsection level : You can now update particular subsections at both PAN and GSTIN levels in the Pan Level/GSTIN level Table 4 G3B and ingest the back into the G3B. This makes it easier for you to keep track of changes at the sub-section level as well as update the same for all the GSTINs in one go. For eg: User can now add ITC reversal as per Rule43 for all the GSTIN in the Tabe 4 Excel report for all GSTIN and ingest the file back into the system, without changing any auto-prepared table4

Showing source at row level : We have improved the transparency of Table 4 by using the source at a row level. Different rows/sections of Table 4 are auto-filled based on different sources, for example, the import of goods is auto-filled using the books, 4A(5) all other ITCs using the 2B vs PR. With this new feature, users will be able to view the source for each row, increasing transparency and understanding.

Document Level Tracking for Subsections : In the "Document-level Table 4 Excel" report, we have added a new column that allows you to track sub-sections at the document level. For example, you can now easily identify the amount coming in Table 4A(5) for Deferred ITC by looking at the "Deferred ITC" column.

Inclusion of All Documents in Table 4 Excel report : Irrespective of the source, all documents that form part of Table 4 will now be included in the Excel report. This includes documents coming directly from the Purchase register, such as Import of Services, RCM invoices, etc., as well as documents coming from 2B, such as ISD, and documents that form part of reconciliation.

To understand Table 4 automation in detail. Please refer to the attached Video.

Release R7, 05-April, 2023

e-Invoicing India

E-way bill LITE report in archives section

E-way bill report at invoice level can now be downloaded from the archives section.

• This is accessible from the archives page on the UI in eInvoicing product

• User needs to select the date range, business, and "EWB Lite" as report type and click on download report

Product nudges to push user to add ClearIRP API creds

To facilitate the migration of eInvoicing customers to ClearIRP from NIC, product nudges have been added to the UI tool to push users to add ClearIRP API creds

• Migration of users to ClearIRP will be done in phased manner. We will start with users using UI tool and have only eInvoicing usage and not e-way bill. These users will be whitelisted for migration

• Users will be shown pop up modal listing the benefits of migrating to ClearIRP. There is a redirection to the page where they can add ClearIRP API creds.

• These pop up modal will be shown at regular frequency until ClearIRP API creds are added for all eInvoicing GSTIN

ClearIRP

Redirecting unregistered user in login flow to registration page

Unregistered users if they attempt to login will get an error - "GSTIN is not registered on ClearIRP. Please register the GSTIN first." and will be redirected to registeration page. User will need to register their GSTIN first on the ClearIRP

GST

GSTR-1

Simplified Nil Filing and Improved Compliance Accuracy.

1. GSTINs with Nil filings are now easily identifiable on the Filling page by having the “Nil” tag in front of the GSTINs

2. To ensure improved compliance accuracy, we have added a prompt message if there is no data in G1 and you haven't selected the Nil filling option. The message will prompt you to check if it's a Nil filling from the upload to GSTN page itself in G1.

Document series summary source will change to Manually edited if the user delete the summary

Earlier, if the user has selected the Auto-Compute Basis Documents option and then deleted the document series summary, the system would automatically prepare the document series summary again based on the documents present. With this update, we have fixed this issue and the system will no longer prepare the document series summary. Instead, the source will be changed to "Manually edited," and the data will be blank

Performance Improvements

We understand the importance of speed when it comes to preparing the GSTR-1 form. Therefore, we have optimized the performance of the form to ensure faster page loading times, making it easier and quicker for you to access the information and prepare your G1.

GSTR-3B

User Interface Improvements and Error Handling Enhancements.

1. Error messages will now be displayed at the correct cell rather than being shown table-wise, ensuring easier identification and resolution of errors.

2. Showing values till 2 digit decimal places in total rows to improve accuracy and granularity in reporting.

3. Improved scroll bar handling in Table 3.2, resulting in a smoother and more user-friendly experience.

4. Showing the correct messaging in case the download data of GSTN doesn't happen like G1 not filed etc, ensuring greater transparency and better user experience.

5. Removed OTC mode in challan creation which was failing due to limit issues, to ensure smooth operation of the product.

6. Proper placeholder for entering the OTP while filling G1 for different screen resolutions.

Improvements to G3B Page Performance and Stability

1. Faster Performance: The G3B page now loads more quickly and computes values based on different sources more efficiently, reducing wait times and improving the user experience.

2. Improved Stability: Editing and saving data in G3B has been optimized to reduce the time it takes to run validation, resulting in a smoother workflow and a more reliable experience.

3. Enhanced Challan Fetching: To improve accuracy and consistency in reporting, only relevant challans specific to the selected return period will now be displayed, based on the chain created in the RP post 3B return period selection.

Enhancements for Improved Compliance and Accuracy

1. Optimized G3B Logic for Offset We have optimized the G3B logic for offset to resolve errors encountered while offsetting with ClearTax logic in some cases. With the new optimized logic, users can offset with ease and without encountering any errors.

2. Consideration of Amendment Impact on Taxable Value in Table 3.1(d): In Table 3.1(d), we now consider the amendment impact on the taxable value instead of showing it without any consideration. This will ensure that the computation is accurate and in line with the latest amendments.

3. Disable Upload to GSTN After Offset using Cleargst After offsetting the G3B using ClearTax, users are not allowed to upload the data again to GSTN, this will avoid the unnecessary errors in upload to GSTN

4. Prepare G3B considering the impact of manually edited values in G1 In G3B, we have added the functionality to autofill based on the SR. However, earlier, we did not consider manually edited summaries by the user in the G1 flow. Now, the same is considered, and the values are shown as per the prepared G1 in G3B, ensuring more accuracy in reporting.

Simplified Nil Filing and Improved Compliance Accuracy.

1. GSTINs with Nil filings are now easily identifiable on the Filling page by having the “Nil” tag in front of the GSTINs

2. To ensure improved compliance accuracy, we have added a validation check to ensure that the data entered by the user for a particular GSTIN matches with the nil filing status marked by the user. This will help in avoiding any discrepancies between the data filed and the nil filing status marked by the user, ensuring more accuracy in compliance.

Comparison of Auto-Computed G3B by GSTN with G3B Prepared by Users

1. We have added the functionality to compare the auto-computed G3B generated by GSTN with the G3B prepared by users in G3B flow.

2. This will help users identify any major differences between the two and avoid incorrect filling. This feature will increase the accuracy of G3B filing and help users ensure compliance with GST regulations.

ITC-04

Alignment and Validation Improvements

1. Alignment Issue for Showing Number - We have addressed the alignment issue that was causing numbers to display improperly. Now, all numbers will be aligned correctly, making it easier to read and understand the data.

2. Validations Error Overlapping - We have resolved the validation errors that were overlapping, causing confusion for users. With this update, all validation errors will display clearly and separately, making it easier to identify and address any issues.

GSTR-6

Simplified Nil Filing and Improved Compliance Accuracy.

1. GSTINs with Nil filings are now easily identifiable on the Filling page by having the “Nil” tag in front of the GSTINs

2. To ensure improved compliance accuracy, we have added a validation check to ensure that the data entered by the user for a particular GSTIN matches with the nil filing status marked by the user. This will help in avoiding any discrepancies between the data filed and the nil filing status marked by the user, ensuring more accuracy in compliance.

User Interface Improvements and Error Handling Enhancements.

1. GSTIN level access: We have resolved an issue where G6 was failing when GSTIN level access was enabled, ensuring a smoother experience for our users.

2. Turnover validation: To improve data accuracy, we have added a new validation feature that requires users to input a valid number for Turnover details. If the user does not provide this information, an error message will be displayed prompting them to enter a valid number.

3. Challan creation: To make the process of creating challans more efficient, we have greyed out irrelevant fields, improving visibility and making it easier for users to focus on the necessary information.

4. Data synchronization: To ensure data consistency, we have added a new feature that highlights any differences between the data uploaded to GSTN and the data on our application. This feature will help users quickly identify and correct any inconsistencies in their data.

Reconciliation

Improvements in E-invoice (GSTR-1 draft) vs Sales recon

1. Canceled Invoices & Invoices that are skipped for filing (as part of GSTR-1 filing flow) will be excluded for recon

2. For Export invoices, if there are differences in shipping details (Shipping bill number, Shipping bill date, Shipping bill port code) , those will be highlighted under mismatch in recon results.

   • Example: Export invoices in the sales register have shipping bill details whereas those are not available in the E-invoices (GSTR-1 draft). In such cases, the export documents will be highlighted as mismatches in the recon results.

Issue Fixes & Improvements in Sales and Purchase recon

1. When taking recon actions (such as ‘Claim ITC’ on 2B vs PR, ‘Mark as Uploaded’ on GSTR-1 vs SR) on multiple documents (usually when applying comma separated invoice numbers in the filter), the status of action results weren’t getting updated until the page was refreshed. This issue is fixed.

2. At times, even when Sales register or Purchase register data is available for the duration selected for recon - in the run recon flow steps it used to show “PR data was not available” & the count of docs will be shown as zero. This issue is fixed.

3. When user has access to only a few GSTINs under a PAN, she will be allowed to only select the applicable GSTINs & not the complete PAN for recon run

Ingestion

Improvement and Fixes in Custom headers, Purchase template

1. Custom fields at GSTIN level during custom template creation: In response to user feedback, we have made a correction to the custom template creation process. Custom fields will now be created at the PAN level instead of the GSTIN level, which ensures smooth downloading of the excel file from the Data Overview page without any "Download file gives forbidden" error

2. Fixed Duplicate Column Headers We have resolved the issue of duplicate column headers appearing in the purchase section of the Data Overview page and in the downloaded purchase file. Users will now experience a seamless and error-free data overview download process.

3. Support for GST Rate Column in Purchase Template To provide more flexibility and customization in purchase transactions, we have added support for the GST Rate column in the Purchase template. This allows users to specify the tax rate instead of only giving the tax rates for different Tax Type separately

4. Handling of Null Headers in Custom Template Creation In response to user feedback, we have improved our custom template creation process. Previously, null headers would result in errors. Now, our system gracefully handles null headers, ensuring a seamless experience.

Several enhancements related to compliance with GST regulations

1. Handling of Transactions where MY GSTIN is SEZ and Transaction Type is B2C Previously, when MY GSTIN is SEZ and it is a B2C (Business-to-Consumer) unregistered transaction with the same place of supply as my GSTIN and the amount is more than Rs. 2,50,000, it was going to B2CS (Business-to-Consumer Small) instead of B2CL (Business-to-Consumer Large). With this update, the handling of such transactions has been corrected, and they will now be categorized as B2CL, ensuring compliance with GST regulations.

2. Handling of Transactions where MY GSTIN is SEZ and Data is at Summary Level For all Summaries (B2CS, B2CSA, AT, ATA, ATADJ, ATADJA), we have added SEZ validation in the rule template. This means that when MY GSTIN is SEZ, the transactions will be marked as inter-state supply transactions, ensuring accurate compliance with GST regulations.

3. Future Date Restriction for Bill of Entry Documents in Purchase: To comply with GST regulations, we have implemented a restriction on accepting future dates in the Bill of Entry date for purchases. This ensures that only valid dates can be entered, preventing any compliance issues related to incorrect dates.

Reports

Fixes and Improvement in Reports

1. Fix for Verification Report Messaging: Previously, if there was any failure in the Verification Report, the messaging in the Reports tab was not clear, and users had to move to the History tab to see what went wrong and then "Try Again" from there. This issue has been fixed, and now users can "Try Again" directly from the Reports tab itself and will also be able to see the number of failed GSTINs, providing improved visibility and ease of retrying failed verifications.

2. Fix for Ledger Report Processing State: In cases where a Ledger Report was partially generated and the user attempted to retry, the screen would be stuck in a processing state. This issue has been fixed, and now when the user retries for a partially generated report, the report will reach the end state and the user will be able to access the final report seamlessly.

3. Fix for LP2 Reports Search Bar On LP2 Reports, the search bar for Latest downloads was not showing any business when clicked. This issue has been fixed, and now users can select the business from the search bar to filter already generated reports, improving ease of use and report filtering capabilities.

4. State Code Differentiation Government has recently started differentiating State Codes "96" for Foreign Country and "97" for Other Territory. Earlier, these codes were considered synonyms, causing issues when downloading G1 Draft data or G1 data in G1 VS Sales Register for E-invoice data with POS as 96 Foreign Country, which was getting downloaded as 97 Other Territory on the government portal, leading to upload issues to GSTN. This issue has been fixed, and now users will see these two state codes individually, aligning with GSTN requirements.

5. One-Click OTP Activation Improvements Several improvements have been made to the One-Click OTP Activation flow, including the addition of a checkbox for selective bulk flow, error message handling on the UI in case of failures, sorting of all businesses by connection status, addition of a communication banner for user guidance, availability of the feature only for GST Ultimate users, prompting users to add missing user credentials for GSTINs before triggering OTPs, and displaying the correct OTP active date, which was previously showing the current date instead of the last date for which it will be active.

6. Fix for Amendment Docs Treatment in Comparison Report Currently, in the G1 vs 3B report, the case where the amended document has a different GSTIN than the original document GSTIN is not handled, resulting in users seeing incorrect values. This issue has been fixed, and now users will see the correct and expected values in this report, ensuring accurate comparison and reconciliation of amended documents.

ClearInvoicing

Vendor Settings Error Fix We have fixed the error occurring in the Vendor Settings Page in the Clear Invoicing flow. Users will no longer encounter the "Something went wrong while getting the signature, please try again" error when selecting settings in the Vendor flow.

TDS

1. Warning for LDC present not tagged to deductions: Warnings (non-FVU generation blocker), to highlight LDC(s) present in repository, but not tagged to deductions have been added.

2. Access control at Salary and Non-Salary Forms: We have introduced new user access controls to restrict / provide the access to Salary (Form24Q) forms and Non-salary (Form26Q, 27Q & 27EQ) Forms.

3. Form 24Q4, correction return filing flow: Form 24Q Q4 correction return filing for FY 2018-19 and onwards has been added.

4. Minor fixes and improvements

   1. Fixes - Showing the correct error message in case of failure to place the TRACES requests.

   2. Improvements - Filing status dashboard to capture all TRACES filing status, Handling wrong OTP use case in FVU upload via IT portal, Handling ‘Request number disabled in TRACES’ scenario and other minor bug fixes & improvements.

User Management & Licensing [FEATURE]

Provide workspace suggestions at time of onboarding

• Suggest existing workspaces for users to join at time of account setup on app.clear

• When an user is creating an account, workspace suggestions based on user email domain will be shown to nudge them to join existing workspaces

• When an user is invited, workspace will be shown at time of invite acceptance flow for the user to join

Note: Workspace suggestions based on user email domain will not work for domains such as gmail.com, yahoo.com etc..,

API Token Management console [ FEATURE ]

API client management console is being delivered as a self service tool for enterprises to manage their API clients.

• Capabilities being delivered as part of this release include the ability to generate, manage, and delete API clients

• Console is accessible to workspace admins only and is available via Global settings

• Console can be used to set expiry for generated keys, set reminders on expiring keys etc..,

Commonly used services [ENHANCEMENT]

As part of this release, below mentioned changes are being released to improve the performance of core services that help us run Clear Financial Cloud ( CFC ):

• New plan tiers have been created for Clear Identity and GST

• Metering has been put in place for GST and Clear Identity for the newly created plan tiers

• Pay load changes to support new TDS report in PDF generator

Release R6, 23-Mar, 2023

E-Invoice India

Updating the analytics event flowing to Metabase to identify calls to ClearIRP and NIC

The events sent to Metabase had to be correctly updated for calls sent to ClearIRP. Few of the authentication and IRN generation calls were getting marked as NIC when the calls were sent to ClearIRP. The changes have been made to correctly update the source of these calls

GST

GSTR-2B vs 3B vs Books, GSTR-2A Vs 3B vs Books is now Fully Compliant with Latest GSTN Changes!

In addition, we have also updated the comparison in respect of the ITC reclaimed related to previous month which form part of 4D(2) as well as 4A(5) by excluding the same while comparing with G2B GSTN recently made changes to the reporting of ITC in GSTR-3B, and we have responded to these changes by updating our reports. Specifically, GSTN started reporting credit notes under 4A(5) as a net figure, which previously used to come under 4B(2). To reflect this change, we have made corresponding updates to our reports so that you can accurately compare GSTR-3B, 2B, and Books.

.

Filed G3B is now fully compliant with the latest changes by GSTN

The Government vide Notification No. 14/2022 – Central Tax dated 05th July, 2022 has notified few changes in Table 4 of Form GSTR-3B for enabling taxpayers to report correct information regarding ITC availed, ITC reversal and ineligible ITC in Table 4 of GSTR-3B.

Corresponding changes are done in the Filed G3B report to get the same values under respective sections with what is filed.

.

Experience Enhanced Visibility by getting the original details for every amendments in Table 4 detailed report

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance our Table 4 automation, we have started showing the Original details for any amendments in G2B, enabling you to easily check for the differential impact at a document level.

The Original details will include the Taxable value, Total tax, IGST, CGST, SGST, CESS, Original document number, Original document date, and Original GSTIN. These details will be automatically captured by the system, ensuring that you have access to accurate and up-to-date information.

Comparison of Prepared G3B with GSTN Autocomputed G3B

As part of our ongoing commitment to helping you streamline your tax filing process, we have introduced a comparison feature that allows you to compare the G3B return prepared by our system with the GSTN autocomputed G3B return. This will help you quickly identify any major discrepancies and ensure that your returns are accurate and compliant.

Our comparison feature will enable you to view and analyze differences in key fields such as Taxable value, Total tax, IGST, CGST, SGST, and CESS. You can then take action to address any discrepancies and ensure that your returns are filed correctly and on time.

We believe that this new feature will greatly enhance your tax compliance efforts and provide you with peace of mind knowing that your returns are accurate and compliant

TDS

Treasury challan filing

Enable TDS returns with Treasury challan for Government deductors, cental and state government.

FVU upload via Income Tax Portal

Now users are able to upload their original and correction FVU files via Income Tax Portal using Adhaar OTP. This is in addition to the existing FVU submission via TIN FC.

Direct import of LDCs

Users are able to seamlessly import of LDCs directly from TRACES from the Repository section.

Misc features

Verification of all challans details available in IT portal (paid via ITD and NSDL portal)

Adding tolerance in Short deduction to avoid immaterial potential default flagging.

Bugs and improvements

Fix - ITD portal intermittent login failure, conso file parsing related to section 194J for period FY 17-18 to FY 19-20, refresh status not fetching the 206AB status, issue in contact master while showing ‘missing PANs’ in certificate emailing and other fixes in ingestion, UI, govt portal automation.

Improvements - Updated the Justification report utility link, fine-tuned process of fetching large files from the TRACES portal.

Max ITC

[Improvement] Addition of the original value columns in recon

Today to derive the values in Table 4 we need to consider the differential impact in the case of the amendments but when it comes to reconciliation, in the case of the amendments we only show the amended value so the user doesn't understand how the values are getting populated in Table 4, for this it becomes important to show the corresponding Original value (IGST, CGST, SGST, Cess, Taxable Value, Total Tax) in case of the amendments.

[Improvement] Import many-many links into ERP

• You can now extract many-many links created manually into your ERP, and store the comprehensive list of PRs that got matched.

• You can now manually link more than 1 document on both PR and government side, and extract the resulting payment actions into your ERPs

[ENHANCEMENT] Maintain up-to-date Licensing information across systems ( Onboarding to product usage )

As part of this release, we are implementing the standard framework for licensing the following products:

• TDS - CA/SME

• Top-up flow for GSTIN verification

  • Credits can be added from SalesForce based on customer request

• Licensing & metering support for Clear Identity

[ENHANCEMENT] Commonly used services

As part of this release, below mentioned changes are being released to improve the performance of core services that help us run Clear Financial Cloud ( CFC ):

• Address field overlap and GST payload issues in print template for E-Invoicing & E-Way Bill

• Reduce significant drop-off faced while sending emails using Campaign management tool ( Dakiya ) at scale ( ~600K emails )

[Enhancement] Document Ingestion

As part of this release, we are fixing the following issues faced by our enterprise clients while using our ingestion engine:

• Default time to show returns period data has been set for 3 months and in case there is no data, 6 month filter will be auto populated

• Couple of changes added in custom template definition including null headers, update of rule template ID

Few technical changes have been introduced to improve the performance of the overall ingestion process.

Release R5, 06-Mar, 2023

Release R6, 21-Mar, 2023

[ENHANCEMENT] Maintain up-to-date Licensing information across systems ( Onboarding to product usage )

As part of this release, we are implementing the standard framework for licensing the following products:

• TDS - CA/SME

• Top-up flow for GSTIN verification

  • Credits can be added from SalesForce based on customer request

• Licensing & metering support for Clear Identity

[ENHANCEMENT] Commonly used services

As part of this release, below mentioned changes are being released to improve the performance of core services that help us run Clear Financial Cloud ( CFC ):

• Address field overlap and GST payload issues in print template for E-Invoicing & E-Way Bill

• Reduce significant drop-off faced while sending emails using Campaign management tool ( Dakiya ) at scale ( ~600K emails )

[Enhancement] Document Ingestion

As part of this release, we are fixing the following issues faced by our enterprise clients while using our ingestion engine:

• Default time to show returns period data has been set for 3 months and in case there is no data, 6 month filter will be auto populated

• Couple of changes added in custom template definition including null headers, update of rule template ID

Few technical changes have been introduced to improve the performance of the overall ingestion process.

Release R5, 06-Mar, 2023

Invoice Discounting

[Feature] Flat Discounting Rate

Anchor Companies can opt for Flat Discounting Rate Option for their vendors along with Fixed interest rate and Variable Interest Rate. This third option is not dependant on Number of days and fixed in nature. Suppliers will simply request for early payment on such rate, and everything else remains the same.

• Flat Rate Pricing Option at Supplier Maintenance Page for Anchors to opt for.

• Suppliers will not be able to modify the interest rate

• The discounting %age will be same as Flat Rate %age

[Feature] Minimum Discount Threshold

Anchors can set a minimum threshold value on Discount Amount per invoice at vendor level. During vendor submission, if discount amount is less than the threshold amount, system increases the discount amount to the threshold amount passing the benefit to the anchor and giving an option of submission at increase rate to the suppliers.

E-invoicing

EWB Lite Report

• EWB Lite report is a report at an invoice level having necessary information at the invoice level. Line item details are omitted. This will impact VLC with large Eway bill volumes

• The same will be available for download under More Actions -> Download -> Lite Report (CSV)

DSC Configuration

• Users are not able to add digital signature certificates in the sandbox environment. Customer demo/testing is blocked due to this. The fix has been made for the issue.

Other Changes

Disabling sales sync for B2C invoices:

Only B2B documents will flow from e-Invoicing to GST for filing and B2C documents will be omitted from the data flow. The performance of the sales sync service will be better with only B2B invoices flowing into the GST database. Users can calculate the summary of B2C invoices and add that GSTR-1 summary with better accuracy

Cancel IRN and Get IRN call to NIC/ClearIRP

In the case of IRN with EWB generation, the generation call is sent to NIC. But in case of cancellation, the EWB cancel request was sent to NIC, however, IRN cancels request was sent to IRP and was getting failed. This is fixed and now for IRN with EWB cancellation calls is also sent to NIC

Adding Branch in business settings [Bug]

The addition of branches from business settings was not working and getting failed. Also, an error message was not displayed. The issue has been resolved

Document Ingestion [Enhancement]

As part of this release, we are fixing the following issues faced by our enterprise clients while using our ingestion engine:

• Custom fields will be available after downloading documents ( For filtering a field in Excel as an example )

• Custom fields will be available on the Data overview page without repetition

• Errors will be shown at the document level and line item level separately This will help enterprise users to identify the source of issues easily

• Ingested sales data will flow seamlessly to other Clear Financial Cloud products. For example, data ingested for e-invoicing can now be used for filing/reconciliation whilst using Clear GST

Few technical changes have been introduced to improve the performance of the overall ingestion process.

Commonly used services [ENHANCEMENT]

As part of this release, below mentioned changes are being released to improve the performance of core services that help us run Clear Financial Cloud ( CFC ):

• Store configurations for Print template service per enterprise security guidelines ( Encrypted at rest )

• Build a scalable deployment pipeline following enterprise standard practices for User service

• Optimise the performance of the Digital signature certificate & add logs to track usage

GST

A. Prepare and File GSTR-6 Form [Feature - available in sandbox]

• User will be able to Import PR and ISD documents at a PAN level using one single flat file. It will reduce efforts of maintaining multiple sheets and increase efficiency

• User will be to Prepare GSTR-6 Form at a PAN level and Generate ISD documents (Invoice and CNs) in a few simple clicks using turnover information

• User will be able to Upload data on GSTN or Reset data on GSTN at a PAN level

• User will be to calculate the available ITC for distribution and Eligible/In-eligible ITC distributed for Table 4

• There is an option to auto-calculate the Cross ITC details for the reconciliation table and save them to GSTN

• User will be able to File GSTR-6 via EVC/DSC in two simple clicks

B. One-click OTP Activation

• Do you spend a lot of time every month activating your GSTINs one-by-one and entering OTPs? If you are a GST ultimate user, then you can now use a single-click to activate all you GSTINs

• Set up an auto-forwarding rule in your registered email box, and then activate OTPs with one-click. In 10 mins, you can open the account to find all your OTPs activated (please contact your CSM for a one-time setup)

C. 2B vs PR reconciliation banner in GSTR-3B [Enhancement]

• Users will be nudged to run a 2B vs PR reconciliation in the GSTR-3B filing flow basis the source selected at the start of the GSTR-3B filing

Max ITC

One-click OTP Activation

• Do you spend a lot of time every month activating your GSTINs one-by-one and entering OTPs? You can now use a single-click to activate all your GSTINs

• Set up an auto-forwarding rule in your registered email box, and then activate OTPs with one-click. In 10 mins, you can open Max ITC to find all your OTPs activated

Enhanced Data Overview

• Do you need to check the ingested data and the associated summaries? You can now take a “quick glance” without excessive load time

• Do you need to take a quick look at the summary of your ingested data, but are hassled due to the huge load time? You can now look at the summary with our revamped “Data Overview” page

Release R4, 22-Feb, 2023

GST

A. Credit notes in GSTR-3B will now be accounted in table 4(A) instead of table 4(B)

The Government vide Notification No. 14/2022 – Central Tax dated 05th July 2022 has notified few changes in Table 4 of Form GSTR-3B for enabling taxpayers to report correct information regarding ITC availed, ITC reversal, and ineligible ITC in Table 4 of GSTR-3B.

According to the changes, the net ITC is to be reported in Table 4(A), and ITC reversal, if any, is to be reported in Table 4(B) of GSTR-3B.

Accordingly, the logic for auto-population of Table 4 of GSTR-3B basis 2B v/s PR reconciliation is updated.

B. Negative value credit notes are now allowed in table 4 of GSTR-3B

The impact of credit notes & their amendments will now be auto-populated in Table 4(A) instead of Table 4(B) of GSTR-3B. In case the value of credit notes becomes higher than the sum of invoices and debit notes put together, then the net ITC would become negative and the taxpayers will be allowed to report negative values in Table-4A.

Also, taxpayers can now enter negative values in Table 4D(2) of GSTR-3B.

User Management & Licensing

[FEATURE] Add guest user in user invite flow - Provide time-bound temporary access to users

• Workspace admins at clients can add guest users to their subscribed CFC products

• Access will remain live for a user-defined time period and then be revoked automatically -

• This will reduce the need to monitor access provided for short-term use cases e.g, Clear’s support/integration agents

[FEATURE] Search for users on the user access tab of Global settings

• Any authorized user ( for example Workspace Admins ) will be able to search for all users from the user access page

• Search will return all matching users at organization level once the workspace admin enters text and clicks on the search button

• Reduces need to search each page on the user access tab by clicking on the Next button ( useful especially when there are more than 20+ users at organization level )

[ENHANCEMENT] Maintain up-to-date Licensing information across systems ( Onboarding to product usage )

As part of this release, we are implementing the standard framework for licensing the following products:

• Notice management

• Clear Identity

Notice Management

[FEATURE] UAM for v1 of Notice management

• The addition of users with multiple roles will be possible

• Roles across Admins (Workspace, PAN, GSTIN), user, and view only user will be available and accessible across the product will be restricted based on user roles

• This will enhance the product usage security to ensure relevant users only have access to relevant sections of the product

[FEATURE] Plan licenses for v1 of Notice management

• Different plans for Notice management has been launched - Advantage, Premium, and Ultimate

• Feature access available across the product basis plan selected has been activated.