Technology and IT Services

Context

The company runs delivery centres in nine states and a sales presence in two more, each with its own GSTIN. Employees fly constantly between client sites and offshore hubs, and travel was booked through four agencies under separate contracts. Finance treated airline GST as a cost of travel. Credit was claimed only when an invoice happened to appear in GSTR-2B and matched the books, which in practice meant a small share of what was eligible.

The Challenge

Across 11 GSTINs the company bought close to 41,000 domestic tickets over three financial years, spread across two full-service airlines and three low-cost carriers. Agency reports carried the fare but rarely the airline's tax invoice, and roughly four in ten tickets carried the wrong GSTIN or none at all, so the credit never showed up in GSTR-2B.

Time was the real problem. The oldest of the three years was already past the Section 16(4) limit when the engagement began, so its credit could not be recovered. The next year's window closed on 30 November, a little over three months away. Every week spent finding invoices by hand was credit the company would lose permanently.

What We Did

Our systems pulled invoices and credit notes directly from each airline's GST portal using PNRs from agency data, then matched them to GSTR-2B and the ledger for each GSTIN. Every gap was valued and ranked by the date its credit would expire, so the year closest to the limit was worked first.

Specialists reviewed the exceptions: tickets for personal travel, business class fares where credit is restricted, and invoices issued to the wrong state. Airlines were asked to reissue or amend with the correct GSTIN, and the Head of Tax signed off only on the few judgment calls, such as how to treat tickets booked for client-reimbursed travel.

The Outcome

₹3.1 cr of credit was claimed within the open periods, all of it backed by an airline invoice that appears in GSTR-2B. The first monthly statement reached the finance team in week 11, showing what was recovered, what was pending with airlines and what needed a decision.

The company now receives a signed monthly reconciliation statement, an invoice-level reconciliation workbook and a monthly call with its specialist. Each month new invoices are pulled, matched and chased before the return is filed, and mismatches are flagged in IMS while they can still be acted on. Unclaimed travel credit has gone from a leak nobody could measure to a line reviewed every month.

Timeline

1. Weeks 1–2Agency data and PNRs gathered, airline portal access set up for all 11 GSTINs
2. Weeks 3–641,000 invoices pulled and matched to GSTR-2B and books, gaps valued by expiry date
3. Weeks 7–10Airline follow-ups and eligibility review, priority on the year nearest its Section 16(4) limit
4. Weeks 11–12First monthly statement issued, recovered credit claimed in returns
5. Weeks 13–14Handover to the signed monthly recovery statement