YES BANK Launches ‘YES GST’ Program

YES BANK survey of MSMEs indicates that 1 in 2 MSME is unaware of implications of GST on its business. YES BANK has launched a Missed call Helpline to address this.

• YES BANK aims to reach out to 1 million MSMEs through this program over next 6 months
• An Advisory Council set up by YES BANK to provide conceptual guidance
• YES BANK has partnered with Cleartax, India’s largest tax-filing company and Numberz

YES BANK, India’s fourth largest private sector bank, along with YES Global Institute has launched ‘YES GST’ program for MSMEs under its MSME CSR initiative, ‘Say YES to Sustainable MSMEs in India’. Through the program, the bank will help MSMEs understand the impact of the proposed changes and prepare them for migration to the new GST tax system.

YES BANK in line with its Responsible Banking ethos is committed to supporting the MSME sector and giving it the much-needed thrust to put it on a sustainable growth path. In addition to MSMEs, the campaign will also target Chartered Accountants who are an important stakeholder in the journey for the MSMEs, and YES BANK employees, who will be made GST ready to support these MSMEs.

YES BANK has initiated the program on the back of findings of its nationwide survey with 100 MSMEs, the findings show that
•1 in every 2 MSME owner is not aware of the impact of GST on their businesses
•9 out of 10 MSME owners are not fully aware of the changes needed to comply with GST
•50% will contact their bank for further guidance; and 3 out of 4 MSME owners expect their banks to guide them on GST
•The primary source of information are their CAs, Business Associates and media

Since inception, YES BANK has followed a unique knowledge-based approach that provides its stakeholders with well-informed and customized solutions. On these lines, the program has been divided into three categories:

Knowledge Creation 
•YES BANK has set up a GST Advisory Council to provide well researched conceptual guidance on matters pertaining to law, processes and financial literacy
•YES BANK has also partnered with Cleartax, an e-filing income tax return portal, for expert guidance on updates on GST for creating awareness; Business segment-specific impact; Business cost and working capital (tax amount, service costs & charges, filing costs, time investments); Business processes (invoicing, book keeping, collaboration, GST Scores)

Knowledge Dissemination 
•Further, building on the knowledge-based approach, YES BANK is organizing various knowledge based events in partnership with National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC), Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) and Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA), among others. YES BANK plans to organize more than 3,000 events on GST over the next 6 months
•The Bank has also created a portal http://www.yesbank.in/yes-gst which hosts easy-to-understand knowledge material and Opinion Articles from experts, and will act as a repository of all GST related information
•A ready reckoner on on GST is being made available at all YES BANK branches
•The Bank has also introduced YES GST Learning Series for their 20,000+ employees, to induct them into the transformational tax regime the country is about to undergo

YES GST Product Solutions 
•YES BANK has set up a missed call no. (8080945075) for MSMEs to address their queries on GST
•YES BANK has launched GST-Ready products for MSMEs: ◦GST ready Current Account, in partnership with Numberz and Cleartax. Numberz is a fintech start-up that is part of the YES Accelerator program
◦Considering that the working capital cycle is expected to change from quarterly to monthly, a ‘GST Ready Working Capital Management’ product will be made available
◦GST ready Invoicing and Cash Management solution
◦A GST-ready Business Credit Card

Commenting on the initiative, Rana Kapoor, Managing Director and CEO, YES BANK said, “GST is the most significant economic reform since liberalization launched in 1991, and envisages ‘One Economic India’. MSMEs are the backbone of the economy and it is vital to ensure that they are GST prepared. At YES BANK, we realize the importance of actualizing this learning objective using our differentiated knowledge banking approach.”