GST in Legacy Tax Engine (Standard Tax Engine)
The Legacy Tax Engine in NetSuite was the primary method for handling taxes before SuiteTax. It used Tax Codes, Tax Groups, and Tax Schedules to calculate GST.
A. How GST Works in Legacy Tax?
✅ Uses Tax Codes for CGST, SGST, and IGST
✅ Uses Tax Groups to combine multiple tax codes
✅ Tax is applied based on customer/vendor location
✅ No built-in GST reporting; requires custom reports
B. Steps to Configure GST in Legacy Tax
1️⃣ Enable GST in NetSuite
- Navigate to Setup > Company > Enable Features
- Under the Tax section, enable GST for India
2️⃣ Create GST Tax Codes
Set up tax codes for CGST, SGST, and IGST:
- CGST 9%
- SGST 9%
- IGST 18%
Path: Setup > Accounting > Taxes > Tax Codes > New
3️⃣ Define Tax Groups
Combine CGST + SGST into one tax group for intra-state transactions.
Example:
- Tax Group: GST 18% (CGST 9% + SGST 9%)
- Tax Group: IGST 18%
Path: Setup > Accounting > Taxes > Tax Groups > New
4️⃣ Assign Tax Codes to Customers & Vendors
- Customers in the same state → CGST + SGST
- Customers in different states → IGST
5️⃣ Set Up GST in Items & Transactions
- Add GST Tax Code to each item
- Ensure proper tax calculation on invoices & bills
C. Limitations of Legacy Tax for GST
🚫 No automatic GST reporting (GSTR-1, GSTR-3B)
🚫 No real-time tax rate updates
🚫 Complex manual reconciliation required for GST Returns
🚫 Custom scripts needed for GST validation
Because of these limitations, Oracle introduced SuiteTax to handle GST more efficiently.