Barely 10 per cent of small businesses are inaGSTready position, and just about half have robust IT systems to comply with requirements of the new indirect tax regime, say experts As lawmakers are in the process of clearing the decks for the rollout of the goods and services tax by July 1, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) appear to be the weakest link in corporate India´s efforts to be GSTcompliant by the cutoff date. Of the estimated 8 million registered businesses under the VAT regime, around 90 per cent are SMEs. The GST applies to businesses withaturnover of Rs.20 lakh or more. The threshold is Rs.10 lakh for businesses in the northeastern states. While large companies have engagedabattery of experts to help them transition to the GST regime, SMEs are still struggling to assess the impact on their businesses. “Most remain unaware that the GST will driveabehaviour change and is not justatax change or rate change,” says Bharat Goenka, managing director, Tally Solutions. Tally,