Who Can Handle GST and TDS Filing and Monthly MIS?

Aravinth K Oct 15, 2026 6 min read

Last updated: 5 October 2026

Quick Answer: A single accounts outsourcing team that keeps your books can handle GST returns, income-tax TDS and the monthly MIS together. It should own the whole monthly close: TDS deposited by the 7th, GSTR-1 by the 11th, GSTR-3B by the 20th, and an MIS pack drawn from the same reconciled ledger. Your statutory auditor is barred from keeping those books.

Several expanding businesses divide this responsibility into three separate jobs: GST is filed by a tax practitioner, TDS is deposited by accounts, and the MIS arrives late from a spreadsheet. Each task gets done, yet GSTR-1 turnover, the TDS working and the MIS profit rarely agree.

The real decision is who owns the books behind those filings. This guide covers which providers offer GST and TDS filing services with the MIS, the monthly scope, and the handover.

Which Provider Type Should Own the Monthly Close?

The strongest arrangement is one where a single team is responsible for recording transactions, filing returns and compiling the MIS. Five provider types come up, and one of them is barred.

Provider type	GST and income-tax TDS filing	Monthly MIS	Suits
In-house accounts team	Yes, if trained on both portals	Yes, with senior review	Companies with volume for full-time staff
Tax practitioner engaged only for returns	Yes	No; works from figures it is given	Small entities with simple books
Accounts outsourcing firm, on site or virtual	Yes, from books it maintains	Yes, from the same ledger	Growing companies without a finance bench
Virtual CFO service	Through an accounts team beneath it	Yes, with budgets and analysis	Promoters who need board-level reporting
The company's statutory auditor	Barred from the book-keeping behind it	No	Not an option; section 144

Section 144 of the Companies Act, 2013 prohibits the statutory auditor from providing any bookkeeping or accounting services, or outsourced financial services, to the company, its holding company or its subsidiary, directly or indirectly. The firm that signs the audit report cannot also run the monthly close.

Best Accountant is the accounts outsourcing division of Astral Business Consulting LLP, a Coimbatore-based management consulting and audit firm. Its published services cover bookkeeping, payables, receivables, monthly financial statements and MIS, GST verification and compliance (GSTR-1 reconciled with turnover, GSTR-3B checked, annual return filing) and quarterly TDS return filing, on site or remotely.

What Should the Monthly Scope Include, From Bookkeeping to the MIS Pack?

Each step below rests on the one before it, from daily entries to the report.

Bookkeeping and bank reconciliation

In accordance with a set chart of accounts, sales, purchases, expenses, salaries and journal entries are recorded. Bank and cash accounts are reconciled monthly, with party balances matched bill to bill.

GST returns and input tax credit

Outward supplies are reported in GSTR-1 from the sales register, including credit and debit notes. The input tax credit is matched against GSTR-2B, an auto-drafted input tax credit statement generated on the 14th of the following month. Only after this step is GSTR-3B prepared and filed, and the tax paid.

Income-tax TDS: monthly deposit and quarterly statements

Each transaction with a contractor, an employee, a landlord or a professional is checked for income tax TDS at the correct rate against a valid PAN. The tax is deposited on a monthly basis, quarterly statements are filed and certificates are sent to the deductees.

Monthly close

Accruals, depreciation and inventory amounts are booked, control accounts are reconciled and the trial balance is frozen before it is put into the MIS.

What Does a Useful Monthly MIS Contain?

A useful MIS tells the promoter whether the company made money, where cash went and what needs attention.

MIS component	What it shows	What to look for
Profit and loss, overall and by segment	Revenue, cost and margin	Margin movement by product, plant or branch
Balance sheet	Assets, liabilities, working capital	Rising receivables or inventory
Cash flow and fund flow	Where cash came from and went	Operating cash against reported profit
Debtor and creditor ageing	Dues by age bucket	Overdue customers, delayed suppliers
Budget against actual	Variance by cost head	Unplanned spending, missed revenue
Ratios and statutory dues	Ratios, plus GST and TDS paid and payable	Liabilities building up unpaid

The last row is critical: the GST and TDS payable stated next to what has been paid highlights a gap in compliance prior to interest accruing.

In What Order Should the Month's Filing and Close Run?

The statutory dates drive the calendar, so the close is planned backwards from them. This sequence reflects the dates published on 5 October 2026.

Working window	Task	What it depends on
First working days	Post last month's sales, purchases, bank and payroll entries	Documents from all locations
On or before the 7th	Deposit income-tax TDS deducted last month (March deductions by 30 April for non-government deductors)	Payables and payroll checked for TDS
On or before the 11th	File GSTR-1; quarterly filers by the 13th after the quarter	A closed sales register
From the 14th	Match purchase invoices to GSTR-2B and chase missing ones	GSTR-2B generation
On or before the 20th	File GSTR-3B and pay the tax; quarterly filers by the 22nd or 24th, by State	The input tax credit match
After the GST returns	Issue the final MIS pack	A frozen trial balance
Each quarter	File TDS statements; July to September 2026 by 31 October 2026	Deposits reconciled to deductions

The GST dates come from the GST Network's guides to filing GSTR-1 and filing GSTR-3B, with the 14th taken from its GSTR-2B FAQ; a notification can extend any of them. The Income Tax Department's tax payments FAQ confirms the deposit timelines continue under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026.

Why Should Filing and the MIS Come From the Same Ledger?

When one team keeps the ledger, files the returns and builds the MIS, the three reconcile by construction. Split them, and differences surface later in a notice. Three checks show whether it works:

Turnover in GSTR-1 agrees with sales in the books, after credit notes.
Input tax credit in GSTR-3B agrees with GSTR-2B, and every difference names a supplier.
Income-tax TDS deposited agrees with deductions booked against each payee.

The weak points differ by sector. These examples are illustrative, not drawn from any one company:

Spinning mills: cotton suppliers who file late leave invoices missing from GSTR-2B, deferring credit while the MIS overstates cash.
Educational trusts: fees arrive by cash, cheque, card, UPI and transfer, so collections need tender reconciliation first.
Auto dealerships: scheme credits and warranty claims arrive as credit notes that alter GSTR-1 and the margin per vehicle.

This is why the industries a provider has worked in belong in the selection.

How Is Outsourced Filing Different From a Compliance Audit?

Filing prepares and submits the returns. A compliance audit tests whether they were right, and should sit with different people, such as an independent reviewer testing the outsourced books each quarter. Outsourced accounts work sits on the preparation side of that line.

When Does a Company Need a Virtual CFO as Well?

Filing and MIS describe what happened; a virtual CFO adds what should happen next: budgets and forecasts, a costing profit and loss reconciled to the financial one, segment reporting and funding preparation. The usual trigger is a lender asking for projections, a new plant, or unexplained margin movement. Astral Business Consulting lists monthly financials, GST and TDS verification and compliance, and virtual or shared CFO work within its accounts outsourcing and virtual CFO service, so the budget can sit on the same ledger.

What Should a Company Settle Before Handing Over GST, TDS and MIS?

Agree these in writing before the first month:

Scope: every GSTIN, TAN and location, with the returns each one files.
Authority: who holds portal access, and which authorised signatory approves each return.
Maker and checker: who prepares each return and who reviews it.
Calendar: internal document cut-offs a few days before each statutory date.
Notices: who watches the portals and replies to department notices.
Records: where working papers sit and how they return if the arrangement ends.

Ready to Hand Over Your Monthly Close?

If your GST returns, TDS deposits and MIS come from different hands and rarely match, start with a review of your books, returns and reports for one month. Talk to the Astral Business Consulting team about scope, access and timing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can one firm do accounting, GST, TDS and MIS together?

Yes, and it is generally the cleaner arrangement. One team keeping the ledger files GSTR-1, GSTR-3B and the TDS statements from the same entries, so the returns and the MIS agree. The only exception is your statutory auditor, who is prohibited from book-keeping by section 144.

What does income-tax TDS mean here, as opposed to TDS under GST?

Income-tax TDS is the tax a company deducts from salaries, contractor payments, rent and professional fees and deposits monthly. TDS under GST is separate: section 51 of the CGST Act applies it mainly to government departments, local authorities and notified persons, who are obligated to file GSTR-7 by the 10th.

Does outsourcing move the legal liability for a late return?

No. The registered person under GST and the deductor under income tax stay responsible. Interest and late fees on a missed GSTR-3B, or interest on TDS deposited late, fall on the company. A contract might be able to share the expenses, but liability under the statute does not transfer.

Who should approve a return before it is filed?

Every return should be approved by a director or other authorised signatory of the company. Under rule 26 of the CGST Rules, a company's return is signed or verified by its chief executive officer or an authorised signatory, through a digital signature certificate or an electronic verification code. The outsourced team prepares the return and reconciliation, while the approval stays inside the company.

Can the accounts team work remotely, without staff in our office?

Yes. Remote bookkeeping works when invoices, bank statements and payroll inputs are forwarded to the team digitally before the 7th, when TDS falls due. Businesses with large amounts of paperwork, cash handling or many godowns often prefer someone on site for part of the week.

How quickly should the MIS arrive after month end?

That is the board's call, not a statutory one. The typical pattern involves sending a provisional pack in the second week and a final pack once GSTR-3B has been filed by the 20th, since the input tax credit figure settles only then.

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About the Author

Aravinth K

Aravinth K is Senior Manager, Human Resources, Administration and Accounts at Astral Business Consulting LLP, Coimbatore, and has been with the Astral group since 2014. Aravinth oversees people, administration and accounts operations across Astral Business Consulting LLP and its sister company Oodu Implementers Private Limited.