Data Import

All Import FAQs

How to check the validity of HSN codes?

Data import failures and how to correct them?

How to resolve mismatch in data post data deletion checks?

Error Correction - Most frequent errors while importing data

Mandatory Fields/Headers for all Templates

Sales Data Import

What are the import options offered by ClearTax to import Sales Data?

When should you use GSTR-1 Govt Excel Template to import Sales Data?

When should you use ClearTax Standard Sales Excel Template to import Sales Data?

When should you use ClearTax Lite Sales Excel Template to import Sales Data?

When should you use ClearTax Simple Sales Excel Template to import Sales Data?

When should you use Tally Government Excel Template to import Sales Data?

When should you use ClearTax Tally Connector to import Sales Data?

When should you enter your Sales Data manually?

When should you use GSTR-1 Json/Tally JSON to import Sales Data?

When should you use Custom Excel Template to import Sales Data?

When should you use ECommerce template to import Sales Data?

Purchase Data Import

What are the import options offered by ClearTax to import Purchase Data?

When should you use GSTR-2 Govt Template to import Purchase Data?

When should you use ClearTax Standard Purchase to import Purchase Data?

When should you use ClearTax Lite Purchase to import Purchase Data?

When should you use ClearTax Simple Purchase to import Purchase Data?

When should you use Tally GSTR2 Excel to import Purchase Data?

When should you use Custom Excel Template to import Purchase Data?

Tally Connector

How to check if the ledger is marked as GST applicable in Tally?

How to check the validity of HSN codes?

Use HSN Lookup Search available in “More Options” to find the right HSN code. You can also use this link

Data import failures and how to correct them?

How to resolve mismatch in data post data deletion checks

1. Explaining the Purchase Delete page:

Current delete page:

• Financial year filter represents the Document date and not the return period. Selecting one FY doesn’t delete the invoices with return periods which are outside of that FY in the document date.

• This request doesn’t include Bill of Supply in deletion. We are working on it.

2. Deletion time is present in the Delete History page. (Check Delete History in the above page). This opens the below screen which shows return periods selected while deletion.

Current Delete History page

• Deletion of linked invoices to a CDN is not allowed. You will need to manually delink or delete those CDNs first to enable this request.

• Post delete success, you must refresh the invoicing page where these invoices might not be refreshed sometimes to show the correct summary.

Note: Doing fresh import will solve for updating erroneous documents with the unique combination of (Invoice number + Supplier GSTIN + Supplier name) rather than deleting them.

Error Correction

Error Bucket: "This field cannot be empty"

Root Cause

• The required fields for each document type (B2B,CDN etc) may not be filled

Recommendations

• Certain fields cannot be left blank due to their dependencies on other fields. Eg: Taxable value is a mandatory field used to complete a normal B2B invoice, Bill of entry number becomes mandatory for an Import Invoice. These have to be added manually.

• These fields need to be filled with the respective data points

Key Errors

1. invoice_date - This field cannot be empty

Reason: Invoice date is a mandatory field, so this cannot be left blank

Action to be taken: You need to input an invoice date for the particular invoice in the permissible format. All the blank dates need to be filled

2. Item_taxable_val : This field cannot be empty

Reason: Item taxable value is a mandatory field, so this cannot be left blank

Action to be taken: You need to input item taxable value for the particular transaction on web page/excel and revalidate/ re-ingest

Error Bucket: "SGST/CGST not applicable for inter state transaction"

Root cause

• Mismatch of CGST/SGST vs IGST for Intra vs Inter state transactions.

• Human errors in copy pasting data

Recommendation

• If POS is not equal to supplier state (MY GSTIN state) , IGST rate= CGST+SGST should be added

• For SEZ & Exports (except Deemed exports) IGST rate always = CGST+SGST should be added

• If POS is equal to supplier state(MY GSTIN state), SGST/CGST rate = IGST /2 should be added

• Provide users definition of "POS" as per the policy

• The error message also covers the aspect of what needs to be done, in addition to the error. Eg: SGST is not applicable for inter state transactions. Please input the IGST rate instead of SGST and CGST

Key Errors

1. Item_cgst_value : GGST is not applicable for interstate transactions

Reason: Incase of interstate transactions, CGST & SGST is not applicable. Only IGST is applicable. So IGST rate needs to be added, instead of CGST & SGST

Action to be taken:

1. CGST & SGST data need to be deleted from the respective cells (either on the page/ Excel)

2. IGST rate needs to be added in the IGST cell on the page/ Excel (IGST rate = CGST+SGST rates)

2. Item_sgst_value: SGST is not applicable for interstate transactions

Reason: Incase of interstate transactions, CGST & SGST is not applicable. Only IGST is applicable. So IGST rate needs to be added, instead of CGST & SGST

Action to be taken:

1. CGST & SGST data need to be deleted from the respective cells (either on the web page/ Excel)

2. IGST rate needs to be added in the IGST cell on the web page/ Excel (IGST rate = CGST+SGST rates)

3. Item_igst_value : IGST is applicable only in inter-state transactions

Reason: IGST is applicable only in inter-state transactions. So, the state of supply should be different from the state. In the data, the first two digits in the customer billing GSTIN and state place of supply cannot be the same.

Action to be taken:

1. The first two digits of the customer billing GSTIN should be different from state code of place of supply (Ex: First two digits in customer billing GSTIN - 27AAMCA9862B1ZG are “27”, should be different from state code in place of supply column)

2. Change the state code of place of supply on the Web Page/ Excel so that it isn’t the same as the first two digits of the customer billing GSTIN

Error Bucket: Date should be valid format

Root cause

• ERP report/dump giving out strings

• While copy pasting of data- date format gets converted.

Key errors

1. Invoice_date : Date should be in valid format

• dd-MMM-yyyy

• d-MMM-yyyy

• dd-MMM-yy

• d-MMM-yy

• dd-MM-yyyy

• d-M-yyyy

• yyyy-M-d[ H:m:s-S]

• yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss

• yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss

• dd-MM-yyyy'T'HH:mm:ss

• dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm:ss

• dd-MM-yy

• d-M-yy H:m

• d-M-yyyy H:m

• M-d-yy H:m

• M-d-yyyy H:m

• dd MMM yy

• dd MMM yyyy

• d MMM yy

• d MMM yyyy

Reason: Only valid date formats can be used. If invoice dates are entered in any other format, then the error occurs.

[Date should be in valid format dd-MMM-yyyy or d-MMM-yyyy or dd-MMM-yy or d-MMM-yy or dd-MM-yyyy or d-M-yyyy or yyyy-M-d[ H:m:s-S] or yyyy-MM-dd'T'HH:mm:ss or yyyy-MM-dd HH:mm:ss or dd-MM-yyyy'T'HH:mm:ss or dd-MM-yyyy HH:mm:ss or dd-MM-yy or d-M-yy H:m or d-M-yyyy H:m or M-d-yy H:m or M-d-yyyy H:m or dd MMM yy or dd MMM yyyy or d MMM yy or d MMM yyyy]

Action to be taken:

1. User has to input date in the accepted formats either on the web page/ Excel and revalidate or re-import the data (Ex: 5-8-21 will have to be corrected to 05/08/2021 - DD/MM/YYYY)

Note: To solve for bulk correction, excel functions can be used

• For text to date change use DATEVALUE() functions to correct in that case

• If the date is in the format in string and in DD-MM-YYYY format we can use this formula for text to date conversion - date(RIGHT(L17,4),mid(L17,SEARCH("/",L17)+1,len(L17)-find("/",L17)-5),left(L17,2))

• Format changes made in one cell, can be copy pasted to the subsequent cells

Error Bucket: “Should not be negative”

1. Invoice_total_value: Should not be negative

Root cause

• ERP data for invoice being returned or deleted are reversed and saved as negative rows. This needs be changed in the ERP reports

• CDN data is mapped as negative for calculation purposes but GSTN requests positive figures only. This leads to errors

Action to be taken

• Better filtering of data before uploads. No negative values are accepted in accounting like GSTN & EINV. CDN negative figures are transformed considering this unstructured data issue across Indian ERPs

• Transform to positive values in the excel before uploads. Can be done using ABS() function

Error Bucket: HSN starting with 99 (i.e. SAC code) should have UQC = 'NA'

Root cause

• All HSNs starting with 99 are Service HSN codes called SAC codes. GSTN requests for N/A tag wherever service is added in HSN code

• This is a recent change from GSTN, which wasn't a requirement earlier.

• Tally hasn't added this in EPR-09 yet. Only Tally Prime has this validation

Error Bucket: Invalid HSN/SAC Code

Root cause

• GSTN didn't mandate it till May'21. Hence there wasn’t a major push to add correct HSN in their invoices

• List of HSN to consume is not easily available. Due to which, incorrect HSNs may be filled

• Invalid length: HSNs should be either of 2,4,6,8 digits only

• Invalid Code: Use HSN Lookup Search available in “More Options” to find the right HSN. Use keywords related to your product to find the right HSN code.

Recommendations & action to be taken

• Invalid Code: Use HSN Lookup Search available in “More Options” to find the right HSN. Use keywords related to your product to find the right HSN code.

Step 1:

Step 2:

• If you don't want the HSN validation to run, use the check box to ignore HSN validations

• Invalid length: You would need to change the HSN code which is 2,4,6,8 digits only

Other prominent errors

1. item_cgst_rate: Taxes are not allowed when item is marked as NIL Rated, Exempted or Non GST Supply

Reason: In case of Nil rated, Exempted, non GST supply, the goods and services aren’t taxed under GST, so they would not be taxed. In these transactions, the tax rates must be 0.

Action to be taken:

1. If the entry in the “is this NIL rated/ Exempted/ Non GST Supply” column is either Non-rated / Exempt/ NonGST, the tax rates need to be made 0 in the CGST, SGST, IGST columns

2. Change the tax rate to 0 in CGST & SGST/ IGST columns

2. item_sgst_rate: Please use a GST compliant tax rate - [0, 0.05, 0.125, 0.5, 0.75, 1.5, 2.5, 3.75, 6, 9, 14]

Reason: Only compliant GST rates need to be used - 0, 0.05, 0.125, 0.5, 0.75, 1.5, 2.5, 3.75, 6, 9, 14. Any rate apart from these wouldn’t be applicable.

Action to be taken: Edit the CGST, SGST rates to complaint or permissible rates, based on what is applicable for the particular transaction on the web page/ Excel

3. item_cgst_rate: CGST rate should be 0 for Export invoice

Reason: Incase of interstate transactions, CGST & SGST is not applicable. Only IGST is applicable. So IGST rate needs to be added, instead of CGST & SGST

Action to be taken:

1. CGST & SGST data need to be deleted from the respective cells (either on the web page/ Excel)

2. IGST rate needs to be added in the IGST cell on the web page/ Excel (IGST rate = CGST+SGST rates)

4. item_cgst_rate: CGST and SGST rates should be equal

Reason: CGST and SGST rates need to be equal as per the GST policy

Action to be taken:

1. Delete the unequal CGST, SGST rates on the web page/ Excel

2. Enter the correct and equal CGST and SGST rates, as per the rates applicable for the transaction

5. item_sgst_rate: SGST rate should be 0 for export invoice

Reason: In case of export invoices, GST is not applicable. So the CGST and SGST have to be zero.

Action to be taken: SGST rate needs to be changed to 0 in the UI/ Excel

6. item_invoice_date: 4~~3Invoice date cannot be later than return period 032021, please fix return period

Reason: Invoice date beyond the filing return period would not be accepted. Only invoice dates within the filing period have to be input.

Action to be taken: Future dates aren’t accepted. Invoice dates need to be corrected so that they fall within the return period (Ex: If return period is August, Invoice dates should be on or before August, and can’t be from September)

Mandatory Fields in Templates

Sales Templates

Cleartax Template Name	Fields
Sales Simple - Invoice & credit notes	Invoice date Invoice number Item Taxable value GST Tax rate
Sales Lite - Invoice & credit notes	Invoice date Invoice number Item taxable value GST tax rate Total transaction value
Sales Invoices & Bill of Supply	Invoice date Invoice number State place of supply Item Taxable value
Sales Credit Debit Notes	Credit/ Debit note date Credit/ Debit note number Credit (C)/ Debit (D) note type State place of supply Item taxable value
Sales Advance Receipts	Advance receipt voucher date Advance receipt voucher number State place of supply Item Taxable value

Purchase Templates

Cleartax Template Name	Mandatory Fields
Purchase Simple - Invoice & credit notes	Invoice date Invoice number Item Taxable value
Purchase Lite - Invoice & credit notes	Invoice date Invoice number Item taxable value Total transaction value
Purchase Invoices & Bill of Supply	Invoice date Invoice number Item Taxable value State place of supply
Purchase Credit Debit Notes	Credit/ Debit note date Credit/ Debit note number Credit (C)/ Debit (D) note type Item taxable value State place of supply
Purchase Advance Payments	Advance payment date Advance payment voucher number Item Taxable value State place of supply

Sales Data Import

What are the import options offered by ClearTax to import Sales Data?

• GSTR-1 Govt format Excel template

• ClearTax Templates

  • Standard Sales Excel template

  • Sales Lite Excel template

  • Sales Simple Excel Template

• Tally

  • Government Excel for GSTR-1

  • Tally Connector

• ClearTax Excel Grid (Manual Entry of data)

• GSTR-1 JSON File / Tally JSON

• Custom Excel Template - Create your own template

• ECommerce format - For Amazon, Flipkart and PayTM

When should you use GSTR-1 Govt Excel Template to import Sales Data?

• Use this option if you have data prepared in Govt GSTR-1 Excel template

• Available for download with GST Offline tool

• Can be directly imported into ClearTax without any modifications

• Option to import section-wise data in CSV format as well

When should you use ClearTax Standard Sales Excel Template to import Sales Data?

• Use this option to import all your sales data in a single Excel file

• You can import all your -

  • Invoices & Bills of Supply

  • Credit/Debit Notes

  • Advances

• Supports all types of documents including B2B, B2C, amendments, reverse charge, exports & SEZ

• Multiple line items also supported

• Most powerful Excel format to help you prepare your data

When should you use ClearTax Lite Sales Excel Template to import Sales Data?

• Use this option to import all your ‘Invoices and Credit/Debit Notes’ in a single Excel file with minor details

• Does not import 'Advances’

• Supports B2B/B2C Invoices and Credit/Debit Notes

• Multiple line items also supported

• Does not support amendments, reverse charge, exports or SEZ

• Quick way to prepare your data with support for HSN summary

When should you use ClearTax Simple Sales Excel Template to import Sales Data?

• Use this option to import all your ‘Invoices and Credit/Debit Notes’ in a single Excel file with minimal details

• Does not import 'Advances’

• Supports B2B/B2C Invoices and Credit/Debit Notes

• Multiple line items also supported

• Does not support amendments, HSN, reverse charge, exports or SEZ

• Simplest and easy to understand template for quick data preparation

When should you use Tally Government Excel Template to import Sales Data?

• Use this option if you have data prepared in Tally and exported in Govt GSTR1 Excel template

• Can be directly imported into ClearTax without any modifications

• Option to import section-wise data in CSV format as well

When should you use ClearTax Tally Connector to import Sales Data?

• Seamless import of data from Tally in a single-click .

• No requirement of Excel exports from Tally and import again in ClearTax/Government portal.

• GST rules validations are applied while importing of data. Vouchers that doesn’t meet GST validations will be excluded and presented in an error report .

When should you enter your Sales Data manually?

• Use this option if you have do not have data prepared

• Directly type in or copy-paste your data in an Excel-like grid

• Supports only B2B/B2C invoices with minimal details

• Does not support amendments, HSN, reverse charge, exports or SEZ

• Does not support CDNs, Bills of supply or Advances

• Does not support multiple line items or more than 200 rows

• Best used for quickly creating invoices

When should you use GSTR-1 Json/Tally JSON to import Sales Data?

• Use this option if you have data prepared in a JSON format

• Can be directly imported into ClearTax without any modifications

• Helpful in cases where you receive a JSON file from your client or export from Government in JSON GSTR-1 format

When should you use Custom Excel Template to import Sales Data?

• Use this option if you have a custom or non-standard template used by your organisation/client

• Create an Excel Template of your choice

• One-time activity to create an Excel template and use as many times as you want

• You can import all your -

  • Invoices & Bills of Supply

  • Credit/Debit Notes

  • Advances

• Supports all types of documents including B2B, B2C, amendments, reverse charge, exports & SEZ depending on columns created in a custom template

• Multiple line items also supported

• High flexibility and customisation to create your own template and order columns however you want

When should you use ECommerce template to import Sales Data?

• Use this option if you are a seller on Amazon, Flipkart or PayTM

• Download MTR report from seller portal and upload on ClearTax

• Minimal modifications required for importing data

Purchase Data Import

What are the import options offered by ClearTax to import Purchase Data?

• GSTR-2 Govt format Excel template

• ClearTax Templates

  • Purchase Standard Excel template

  • Purchase Lite Excel template

  • Purchase Simple Excel Template

• Tally

  • Government Excel for GSTR-2

  • Tally Connector

• Custom Excel Template - Create your own template

When should you use GSTR-2 Govt Template to import Purchase Data?

• Use this option if you have data prepared in Government GSTR-2 Excel template

• Available for download with GST Offline tool

• Can be directly imported into ClearTax without any modifications

• Option to import section-wise data in CSV format as well

When should you use ClearTax Standard Purchase to import Purchase Data?

• Use this option to import all your purchase data in a single Excel file

• You can import all your -

  • Invoices & Bills of Supply

  • Credit/Debit Notes

  • Advances

• Supports all types of documents including B2B, B2C, amendments, reverse charge, imports & SEZ

• Multiple line items also supported

• Most powerful Excel format to help prepare your data

When should you use ClearTax Lite Purchase to import Purchase Data?

• Use this option to import all your Invoices and Credit/Debit Notes in a single Excel file with minor details

• Supports B2B/B2C Invoices and Credit/Debit Notes with reverse charge also

• Multiple line items also supported

• Does not support amendments, advances, imports or SEZ

• Quick way to prepare your data with support for HSN summary

When should you use ClearTax Simple Purchase to import Purchase Data?

• Use this option to import all your Invoices and Credit/Debit Notes in a single Excel file with minimal details

• Supports B2B/B2C Invoices and Credit/Debit Notes

• Multiple line items also supported

• Does not support amendments, HSN, reverse charge, advances, imports or SEZ

• Simplest and easy to understand template for quick data preparation

When should you use Tally GSTR2 Excel to import Purchase Data?

• Use this option if you have data prepared in Tally and exported in Govt GSTR2 Excel template

• Can be directly imported into ClearTax without any modifications

• Option to import section wise data in CSV format as well

When should you use Custom Excel Template to import Purchase Data?

• Use this option if you have a custom or non-standard template used by your organisation/client

• Create an Excel Template of your choice

• One-time activity to create an Excel template and use as many times as you want

• You can import all your -

  • Invoices & Bills of Supply

  • Credit/Debit Notes

  • Advances

• Supports all types of documents including B2B, B2C, amendments, reverse charge, exports & SEZ depending on columns created in a custom template

• Multiple line items also supported

• High flexibility and customisation to create your own template and order columns however you want

Tally Connector

How to check if the ledger is marked as GST applicable?

Go to Gateway of Tally > Accounts Info > Ledgers > Alter > select the ledger

Under Statutory Information > Is GST Applicable > Should be marked as Applicable

Set/alter GST Details to Yes and specify the details in the GST Details screen and save

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