GST return

WHAT IS GST RETURN AND HOW TO FILE GST RETURNS?
FORMS| DUE-DATES | PENALTIES

INTRODUCTION

The introduction of Goods and Services Tax (“GST”) in India was put forward by former Prime Minister Mr. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, and after various committee discussions, it was passed by the parliament on 29th March 2017 with effect from 1st July 2017. GST was one of the most needed tax reforms in India. Prior to the introduction of GST, there existed a multiplicity of taxes with no uniformity among the states. With the advent of GST, numerous central and state-level taxes have been integrated into one. It supports the notion of one nation and one tax. 

 A GST return is nothing but a form that provides various details of the taxpayer registered such as income, sales, expense, purchase, input tax credit, etc. GST return is required to be filed with the tax administrative authority by every person for every GSTIN registered under the GST for the purpose of facilitating the activities of the business. Not all forms are required to be filed by each business person.

The forms vary according to the type of taxpayer registered. For instance, regular taxpayers, composition taxable persons, e-commerce operators, non-resident, casual taxable payers, TDS deductors, Input Service Distributors (ISD) are all required to file different kinds of firms.

For more information, please contact us on info@trijuris.com or call us Mb. No. 85100 58386 or 9310 717274.

TYPES OF RETURNS 

In theory, there exist approximately 22 types of returns under GST, but on actual accounts, only 11 GST returns are active, 3 are suspended, and the remaining are view-only in nature. The article will deal with 11 types of GST returns which hold practical value.

11 GST returns are there follows:

  FORM NUMBER  PARTICUARS  FREQUENCY  DUE DATE
GSTR 1  Details of outward supplies of taxable goods or services affected    MONTHLY11thof the next month (with effect from October 2018)
GSTR 2  Details of inward supplies of taxable goods or services affected claiming Input Tax Credit    MONTHLY15th of the next month
GSTR 3  Monthly return on the basis of finalisation of details of outward supplies and inward supplies along with payment of taxes.    MONTHLY20th of the next month
 GSTR 3B  Simple return in which summary of outward supplies along with Input Tax Credit is declared and payment of tax is affected by the taxpayer    MONTHLY20th of the next month
  GSTR 4  Return for a taxpayer registered under composition levy of GSTunder section 10 of the CGST Act     Quarterly30th day of next month following the quarter to which the return relate
  GSTR 5  Return for a Non – resident foreign taxable person  MONTHLY20th of the next month
 GSTR 6  Return for an Input Service Distributer (ISD)  MONTHLY13th of the next month
GSTR 7  Return for authorities deducting TDS  MONTHLY10th of the next month
 GSTR 8  Details of supplies effected from Economic Commerce Operator (ECO) and amount of tax collected    MONTHLY10th of the next month
 GSTR 9  Annual return for a normal tax payer  ANNUALLY31st December of next financial year
GSTR 9A  Annual return for a person registered under composition levy anytime during the year.  ANNUALLY31st December of next financial year
 GSTR 10  Final Return  Once GST registration is CANCELLED or SURRENDEREDWithin three months of date of cancellation or date of cancellation order, whichever is later
 GSTR 11  Details of Inward supplies to be furnished by a person having Unique Identification Number (UIN) and claiming a refund    MONTHLY28th of the month following the month for which the statement is filed.

For more information, please contact us on info@trijuris.com or call us Mb. No. 85100 58386 or 9310 717274.

PROCEDURE FOR FILING GST RETURN 

For the purpose of filing a GST return, one must comply with the following steps 

1. Initially, a person is required to have a 15-digit GSTIN. (GST – Identification Number)

2. Then visit the online GST Portal.

3. Choose the services menu and then click on the return dashboard.                                                                                  

4. A drop-down menu shall appear; one is required to fill in the relevant financial year and return filing period.

5. Choose the type of return according to the nature of the business and select Prepare Online.

6. Fill in all the necessary details, including the amount and late fee, if applicable.

7. Subsequent to filling in the details, click on Save, and a success message shall appear on the screen.

8. The return is said to be filed, when the submit button at the bottom of the page is pressed.

LATE FEES AND INTEREST  

The amount of late fee prescribed under the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 is Rupees 100 for each day per Act. It totals Rupees 200 per day, taking into account SGST AND CGST provisions. Nevertheless, there is a stringent penalty of Rupees. 5,000. The IGST Act prescribes no separate penalty. Additionally, for forms GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, the total late fee was reduced to Rs. 50 /day (Rs.20 /day for Nil filing)

The rate of interest is 18% per annum. It has to be computed on the sum of outstanding tax to be paid by the taxpayer. The time period starts from the subsequent today of filing due date till the actual date of payment.

KEY POINTS 

  1. The filing of returns is a mandate under GST. A Nil return shall be filed even if there is no transaction
  2. One cannot file a return if he/she has not filed the previous returns.
  3. Hence, consequences of late filing of GST return will attract stringent provision resulting in exorbitant fines and punishments.
  4. GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 have been suspended from 2017 till further announcements.
  5. Due-dates are subject to change depending on notifications and orders from the tax administrative body.

GOVERNMENT MEASURES FOR COVID RELIEF IMPACTING GST RETURN

The outbreak of COVID 19 has brought in countless difficulties for various stakeholders of society. Many businesses have shut down due to loss of revenue, lack of demand and numerous people have lost their source of livelihood. People all around the globe are not only facing the fear of death but also are striving to make their ends meet. In these challenging times, the governments of several countries have come with many provisions for their citizens. The government of India also recently took certain measures to provide assistance and support to the taxpayers of the country.

In order to ease the burden off the shoulders of the citizens, the government took steps such as simplifying and providing an extension of deadlines for filing of GST returns, waiving late fees for late filing of GST returns, reduction in the interest rates. 

Some of them are as follows-

1. Extension of deadlines for filing GST returns –

For instance, the deadline to file Form GSTR-4 under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2021, has been extended by a month to May 31, 2021. In addition to the above measure, the state has also increased the time limit of filing the form GSTR-1 for April 2021 to May 26th, 2021.

 2.Waiving of late fees for late filing of GSTR 3B.- 

Another such measure taken by the government is that the businesses with total revenue of more than Rs 5 crore in the previous financial year need not pay a late fee if they fail to file their GSTR-3B returns within 15 days of the due date in March and April. According to a recent notification, no late fees will be applied if the return is filed within a period of 30 days of the original due date for the quarter ending March 31, 2021.

3.Verification Through Electronic Verification Code (EVC):

Presently, the taxpayers are required to digitally verify the GSTR 3B Form by putting their digital signature in order to file monthly returns and to pay taxes. Due to the current scenario, with the lockdown being imposed in many states, the offices are shut, resulting in a delay to generate a digital signature that has led to deferring in filing returns. Taking the same view in mind, the government has recently permitted businesses to verify through electronic verification code monthly GST returns filed till May 31. Any person registered during the time phase from April 21, 2021, to May 31, 2021, will be allowed to file the forms GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B authenticated through an electronic verification code.

CONCLUSION 

From the above, it can be said that GST return is one of the most important parts which forms the domain of the GST system. GST return is required to be filed by every person who comes under the umbrella of GST. It enables the tax authorities to compute the tax liability of different persons. It also gives a clear image to the taxpayer about his tax liability which is outstanding.

The GST return is different for each type of business. A non-resident foreign taxable person is required to file GSTR 5. Whereas a person covered under section 10 of CGST Act, 2017 is required to file GSTR 4 and 9-A. This distinction prevents overlapping and confusion in the minds of the taxpayer and also eases the job of the tax authorities. The recent outbreak has driven the government to ease the provisions regarding the GST return. With such relief measures, the citizens have various options to file GST returns according to their comfort.

For more information, please contact us on info@trijuris.com or call us Mb. No. 85100 58386 or 9310 717274.