Delhi Based Startup LegalRaasta Raises $5M in Series A Round for Providing GST Solutions

The Delhi-based startup, LegalRaasta, which provides finance & taxation services to SMEs has raised around $5 million in Series A funding from Impanix Capital.

LegalRaasta plans to use these funds in building GST compliance software for SMEs, CAs & enterprises. They will offer both a standalone GST Software and an API interface to connect ERP (such as SAP, Oracle & Tally) with GST systems. LegalRaasta has already applied as a GSP (GST Suvidha Provider) with government.

LegalRaasta intends to serve its existing SME clients & over 80 lakh+ potential SMEs to be covered under GST regime. Through its GST software solution, the startup intends to simplify GST filing through features such as reconciliation, excel upload, app-based GST filing etc. The company already offers ITR Software and TDS Software, and aims to provide complete its taxation offering with GST.

LegalRaasta was started by a former McKinsey consultant - Himanshu Jain & his brother, Pulkit Jain who is a CA cum CS. “LegalRaasta already offers registration and return filing services to SMEs, & GST compliance comes as a logical business extension” said Himanshu Jain.

As GST is expected to be implemented from July’17, LegalRaasta has started hiring management team from top consulting firms and other large tech start-ups to build its GST offering. The startup also got Senior VAT official – Mr. RK Jain as an advisor on board.

“Our aim is to invest this money in building our technology and operational team. We will scale-up the team to 300 people over next 6 months” said Pulkit Jain.

The company has already set up a 24x7 free helpline service where SMEs can get in touch with experts and resolve queries related to GST registration and GST return.

LegalRaasta was started in 2015 as an online platform for business registrations & compliances. Founded with the intent of helping entrepreneurs and SMEs, the company has served more than 80,000+ SMEs till date. Their services include ITR filing, TDS filing, Company registration & Trademark registration among others.

“GST is a big opportunity & will should many organized tax players emerge. A 5-10% market share translates into billion dollars in revenue. We liked the team at LegalRaasta, and believe that they will emerge as one of the top player,” said Archit Bhargava, Venture Partner at Impanix Capital.

The Legal and compliance service market in India has been estimated at the Rs 40,000 crore, & this market is growing at a staggering 25% per annum. In addition, GST compliance is expected to be a Rs 17,000 Cr market. At present, looking at new opportunities introduced in the domestic market, it is clear that the market size is scheduled to grow exponentially.

Leverage Digital Signatures to Speed Up Your Startups’ Compliance Activities

Most of us are scared of business related compliances, thanks to all the complex documents and tedious proceedings. But one can simply not escape them, especially an Entrepreneur. Company registration, licenses, tax filing, licenses, and several compliances are an essential part of an Entrepreneur's life. So, how can we make these long procedures a tad bit quicker and easier without compromising on authenticity?

Well, one can do so by using DSC (Digital Signature Certificate). It helps you with return filing various documents at a speed faster than normal.

So, What is a DSC?

Digital signature certificate is a certificate, which proves the authenticity of a digital document, like say some e-registration form. One can see it as an e-signature, that is like a verification mark on all the digital documents to ensure the concerned party that the documents received are compiled and sent by the user in question.

Digital Signature Certificates are classified in 3 classes. Class 1, Class 2 (used for income tax return, LLP registration etc), and Class 3 (used for e-auctions, trademark filing and patent filing and so). The DSC is valid for 1 or 2 years and can be easily renewed. Some legal firms help their customers get one with minimum paperwork and quick processing.

How does a DSC work and how secure it is?

Digital Signature certificate must not be confused with an electronic signature. Unlike electronic signature, a digital signature is a combination of 0's and 1's. This combination is unique for every user and pretty difficult to decode.

Now for the security, Digital signature is pretty secure because of the crypto algorithms used in it. Decoding it is difficult, and hence it cannot be forged. Also, if any page in a document is altered, the digital signature will indicate tampering. Timestamp is also an additional feature which increases reliability and transparency.

How can one get a DSC and when is it mandatory to use?

One can get a Digital signature by applying in any of the seven available Certifying Authorities (like e-mudhra, IDRBT, NIC). One can apply by filling the appropriate Class form and submit it along with Identity and address proof. There are online web portals and verification guidelines available for the same.

Some legal firms help their customers with getting a DSC in a hassle-free and error-free manner. They make sure that all the documents are submitted without any errors and on time. After the application is submitted and verified by the authorities, the applicant is provided with a DSC in the form of a USB token.

Digital Signature certificate is mandatory in a few 'Income tax return filing' cases. DSC is mandatory in case of filing the following forms; ITR 4 and 5 (if section 44AB is applicable), ITR 6, and ITR 7.This compulsion has removed a lot of complexities.

Finally, how does DSC help with quick filings?

Digitalizing things have made legal procedures and transactions a quick procedure. Digital Signature helps quicken this process more. An ink signature calls for the presence of all the parties included along with witnesses. The whole scheduling process can take many days and can cause unnecessary delay. While digital signatures, ensuring all the security and genuineness, make the whole process a lot faster.

In the case of filings, storing data and processing it digitally is much easier than doing so manually. Rather than submitting hard copies, submitting soft copies with the same level of reliability just quickens and simplify this whole affair.

Hence, we can conclude, that Digital signature certificate is a very strong and essential technological tool. This certificate provides required identification and verification, privacy, and safe online transactions. Therefore, mandatory or not, one should switch to DSC, so as to make all the otherwise long and boring procedures expeditious.

This article has been contributed by Pulkit Jain, founder of LegalRaasta.com & TaxRaahi – an online portal for Company Registration, LLP Registration, income tax return & tds return

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