The AI arsenal for CAs

One important anomaly that was provided by the GPT was:

Summarised Answer:

1. Investment Nature of the Sugar Sector

The AI highlighted that the sugar sector is:

• Highly cyclical and seasonal, impacted by monsoons and cane availability.
• Government-driven, with interventions affecting prices and margins.
• Diversification-driven, with many players expanding into ethanol, co-gen power, and allied food businesses.

2. Timing Entry and Exit

Based on historical and current data, the AI provided a tactical guide:

• Entry Points: Before monsoon season, when ethanol policies are announced, or when global prices spike.
• Exit Points: Upon export bans, FRP increases without matching MSP hikes, or signs of overproduction.

3. Ethanol Powerhouses Identified

The AI identified companies with aggressive or strategic ethanol ventures: Dhampur Sugar Mills Ltd, Bannari Amman Sugars Ltd, Parvati Sweetners and Power Ltd, Avadh Sugar & Energy Ltd and Magadh Sugar & Energy Ltd

These players benefit from higher-margin ethanol production and align with India's E20 blending roadmap.

Here is a clear, structured, step-by-step guide for Power Automate Desktop (PAD) to automate logging into the GST website for multiple clients using credentials from Excel.

1️⃣ Overview of the Task

You will automate logging into the GST portal for multiple clients, using User IDs and Passwords stored in an Excel file. The flow will:

✅ Open the GST login page
✅ Read each client's User ID and Password from Excel
✅ Enter these into the login fields
✅ Submit the login form
✅ Optionally, capture screenshots or status for logging/auditing.

2️⃣ Requirements

✅ Access to Microsoft Power Automate Desktop (PAD) installed on your PC.
✅ Excel file saved locally containing:

• Client Name (Column A)
• User ID (Column B)
• Password (Column C)

✅ GST Login Page URL: https://services.gst.gov.in/services/login

✅ GST login credentials are currently stored in plain text; consider encryption options if desired.

✅ Google Chrome or Microsoft Edge with PAD Web Recorder Extension installed.

3️⃣ Creating the Flow

Step 1: Create a new PAD flow

1. Open Power Automate Desktop.
2. Click + New Flow.
3. Name it GST Login Automation and click Create.

Step 2: Add Trigger

PAD flows run manually by default, so no additional trigger is required unless you plan to schedule using PAD + Power Automate Cloud later.

Step 3: Read Excel Data

1. Use Launch Excel action:
   • Select: Launch Excel → Check Launch Excel with a blank document → Uncheck Visible for headless mode (or check for debugging).
2. Add Open Workbook action:
   • File path: path to your GST clients Excel file.
3. Add Read from Excel worksheet:
   • Retrieve entire table into a DataTable variable (e.g., ClientsTable).
   • Set Retrieve → Values from worksheet.
   • Specify range (e.g., A1:C100) or leave blank to read full data.

Step 4: Loop Through Each Client

1. Use For Each action:
   • For Each CurrentItem in ClientsTable
   • Inside the loop, extract values:
     • ClientName = CurrentItem[0]
     • UserID = CurrentItem[1]
     • Password = CurrentItem[2]

Step 5: Launch Browser and Navigate to GST Login

1. Use Launch Chrome or Launch Edge action.
   • URL: https://services.gst.gov.in/services/login
   • Store the browser instance in BrowserInstance.

Step 6: Fill in User ID and Password

1. Use Populate Text Field on Web Page:
   • Attach to BrowserInstance.
   • Use Web Recorder or UI Selector to select the User ID field, populate with %UserID%.
2. Similarly, add Populate Text Field on Web Page for the Password field, populate with %Password%.

Step 7: Submit the Login Form

1. Use Click on Web Page:
   • Attach to BrowserInstance.
   • Select the Login/Submit button.
2. Optional: Add Wait for Web Page Content to ensure the page loads completely before proceeding.
3. Take a Screenshot for logging using Take Screenshot action.
4. Store screenshots in a designated folder named using ClientName and timestamp for documentation.

Step 8: Handle Errors

1. Wrap the inner loop steps in 'Begin Error Handling'.
2. On error:
   • Log the client name and error message to a CSV/Excel file.
   • Optionally retry once or continue to the next client.

Step 9: Close Browser and Excel

After the loop:

• Use Close Web Browser to close the GST login page.
• Use Close Excel with Save document = No.

4️⃣ Testing the Flow

✅ Start with only one or two clients in the Excel to debug.
✅ Run the flow and watch:

• Whether the correct credentials are filled.
• Whether the login is successful.
• Whether any CAPTCHA or OTP appears (requires manual intervention unless solved).

✅ Troubleshooting:

• Ensure correct selectors in the web recorder for consistent field identification.
• Use delays (Wait actions) if the page loads slowly.
• Test with different browsers if one fails consistently.

5️⃣ Best Practices

• Store sensitive credentials in encrypted format if possible.
• Use environment variables for file paths to make the flow portable.
• Implement comprehensive error logging for audit trail.
• Schedule regular maintenance checks.
• Update selectors if the GST portal updates its structure.
• Periodically validate credentials in the Excel file to avoid repeated failures.

📂 Sample Excel File

Here is a sample structure for your GSTClients.xlsx:

✅ Summary

Using this PAD flow, you will be able to automate GST login for multiple clients from your Excel file efficiently, saving time and manual effort.

Thankyou!