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As per the GST law, every individual/Company/LLP registered under the GST Act has to furnish the details of sales, purchases and the tax paid by filing for GST returns with the administrative authorities.
As a business person/ firm, one of your first priorities will be to do is GST return filing. Hence, knowing the ropes can help you make the process smoother and simpler. While filing a GST return, you are supposed to provide all the particulars related to your business activities, like the tax liability declarations, tax payments and also any other related information as per instructions provided by the government.
The GST return filing process has to be done electronically in the GST portal. A facility has to be offered for the manual process of GST return filing tasks. This facility helps the business taxpayer in India to prepare the return offline and then upload it on GSTN through the facilitation center. There are also various components of GST returns filing that you need to know about.
The GST return mainly includes purchases, output GST on the sales, input tax credits as per GST paid while making the purchases, and also includes the total sales. In order to file the GST return, the purchase invoices and GST compliant sales are needed.
Any person who applies for GST registration will also have to make a GST return filing. The GST return is basically a document which is needed as per the Indian tax authorities of law, to be filed. It will be used by the authorities of tax for the purpose of calculating the tax liability.
Business owners and dealers who are registered under GST must file two monthly GST returns and one annual GST returns. The nature of the business also dictates the GST that is to be filed. GST returns are of various types and late filing of GST returns will result in a penalty of Rs.100 per day till the day the GST returns are filed. Once filing is done, any tax liability must be promptly paid to the government.
GST or Goods and Services Tax is an indirect tax that depends on the value added at each stage of the supply chain of a particular service or goods until it reaches the customer or consumer. With GST, tax is imposed at various stages and to nullify the cascading effect, it is designed in a way that is meant to refund all parties that are involved in the various stages with the exception of the final consumer. This element that is employed to offset the tax liability is called an input tax credit.
Any business person who has taken the registration, but has not crossed the limit of exemption will have to comply with the step-by-step GST billing process.From 1st April, 2019, the GST Council has increased the threshold limits of annual aggregate turnover for GST registration. According to this, any business in normal category states, having a turnover of Rs 40 lakhs for sale of goods needs to register. This limit is raised from Rs 10 lakhs at Rs 20 lakhs for the special category states.
There has not been any change in the threshold limits for service providers. The same has been kept at Rs 20 lakhs and Rs 10 lakhs for the normal category states and the special category states respectively.
Special category states include,
State of Jammu and Kashmir and States of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Sikkim and Uttarakhand.
Once the taxpayer crosses the limit of exemption, he/she will start filing for GST returns. Even in cases where no taxable supplies are received or made during a particular period, the taxpayer will have to file the NIL return. So, there is no way that you can avoid GST filing. If you miss out filing the return of one period, then you will not be able to file the next period’s return.
Let us simplify GST in this way- Any business will have to file monthly GST return twice and annual return once.This implies that as a total, you will have to file GST returns 26 times a year. The GST portal issues 4 different types of forms for filing the GST returns. They are:
In case of small business taxpayers in India who have opted for a composition scheme, they just have to file GST returns on a quarterly basis. Return filing process can be done online.
Elimination of the cascading effect
The introduction of GST into the Indian tax system has done away with several other taxes like central excise duty, service tax, customs duty and state level value added tax. Thus a single GST has eliminated the cascading effect of tax on tax .
Higher threshold benefits
Before GST was introduced, VAT or value added tax was applicable for any business that had an annual turnover of 20 lakhs. Services that saw a turnover of less than 10 lakhs did not have to pay service taxes.
Startup Benefits
Earlier startups with an annual turnover of 5 lakh had to pay VAT which would be very difficult for a business during the initial stages. But as GST has replaced VAT, businesses can set off the service tax on their sales.
E-commerce for quick supply of goods
Startups are making a strong presence online offering their services and products through their websites. Under VAT, there were many types of VAT laws, and the supply of goods through online, that is, E-commerce was never a well-defined one. For instance, if you need to deliver goods to various states, then you will have to file the VAT declaration first. After that, you will need to provide registration details about the trucks which deliver the goods. In many instances, goods end up being seized by the authorities due to lack of proper documents. GST has now removed all such confusing processes.
Regulations and accountability
The pre-GST period witnessed a disorganized tax filing system. Presently, all taxes are paid online and major hassles that were a part of tax filing have been eliminated in the process of introducing GST. This has resulted in industries becoming more accountable and tax filing laws are better regulated than before.
In total, there are 3 steps to be followed in the GST return filing work for every Indian Business Taxpayer.
STEP 1: DOCUMENTS AND MONTHLY RETURNS INVOLVED IN THE GST RETURN FILING PROCESS
All registered taxpayers can follow the filing format and upload their annual return invoice on the GST portal. To do that, you will have to maintain electronically all the records of the invoice. We help you with filing process in the GST portal by setting up simplified versions of excel templates. It will aid you in maintaining the records with ease.
STEP 2: PREPARATION FOR GST RETURN FILING PROCEDURE
We collect all the information and documents needed to start preparing for your GST returns first. Vakilsearch will maintain the invoice records of registered taxpayers and by month end, you can easily file the GST returns using our exclusive team of experts. Once you do the online filing process in GST portal, from then on, our expert affiliate will remind you about the filing date so that you won’t forget the date and end up paying tax penalties.
STEP 3: STEPS REQUIRED TO COMPLETE THE RETURNS FILING PROCESS
In the GST return filing procedure, there are some dates every business taxpayer will have to keep in mind. You can get the due dates extended by the issue of notifications or orders. We are here with a complete list of GST return filing dates you should never miss!
KEEP NOTE OF YOUR GSTR-1
The GSTR 1 due dates are usually on a quarterly arrangement when the aggregator turnover becomes less than 1.5 Crores. The outward supply details have to be filed every month before 10th
For turnovers up to Rs.1.5 Crores, the quarterly filing dates are as follows:
Time Period | The Dates Due |
---|---|
January - March | 30 April 2018 |
April -June 2018 | 31 July 2018 |
July -September 2018 | 31 October 2018 |
Turnovers more than Rs. 1.5 Crore / Turnover less than 1.5 Crore, still opted for filing monthly
Period | Due Dates |
---|---|
April 2018 | 1 May 2018 |
May 2018 | 10 June 2018 |
June 2018 | 10 July 2018 |
July 2018 | 10th August 2018 |
August 2018 | 10th September 2018 |
September 2018 | 10th October 2018 |
Calculate your GST using this simple GST calculator and file your GST returns on time.
In case the taxpayer fails to complete GST Return filing, file the returns within the time limits, then he/she will be asked to pay a penalty which is also known as the late fee. The late fee will be Rs.20 per day if it is NIL return or only purchases and Rs 50 will be levied if we fail to furnish the sales. Thus, it will come around Rs.25 under the CGST and again Rs.25 under the SGST. The total amount to be paid will be Rs.50 per day. The maximum penalty can be Rs.5000.The IGST do not levy any late fees.
Under the GST rules, the filing of returns is mandatory. You are expected to file a Nil return in case no transaction has been made.
This GSTR is due every month on 20th. Besides your quarterly and monthly returns, you also need to file an annual return by 31st of December. Please note that only a chartered accountant appointed by the concerned business can file the GST reconciliation statement.
Return Form | Frequency of filing | Due Date |
---|---|---|
GSTR 3 | Monthly | 20th of the next month |
GSTR 3 | Annual | 31st December |
GSTR 3B | Monthly | 20th of the next month |
GSTR 4 | Quarterly | 18th of the month following the end of every quarter |
GSTR 5 & GSTR 5A | Monthly | 20th of the next month |
GSTR 6 | Monthly | 13th of the next month |
GSTR Relaxations On Account of COVID19
July 2020
0% Interest charged for delayed tax paid and No Late fee on GSTR 3B, if the returns for companies with annual turnover less than or equal to 5 crores are filed within their due dates. Post the due date the interest charged will be 9% until 30th September 2020. After that date, it will be 18% as usual.
Govt. Allows Businesses to Verify Monthly GST Returns through EVC
20th May: The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has issued a new notification regarding the requirement of digital signature for monthly GST return filings. It says, any registered entity will be allowed to furnish the GST return in Form GSTR-3B, verified through electronic verification code (EVC) - from April 21, 2020 to June 30, 2020.
Filing Date Till 30th September
05th May: GSTR-9C and GSTR-9 last filing date for FY 2018-19 is upto 30th September 2020.
Maximum late fee for filing GSTR-3B return is capped at Rs 500
03rd July: GST taxpayers smile! Now, the government has announced a big relief to GST taxpayers. For the Form GSTR-3B, the maximum late fee is capped at Rs 500 per return. This is applicable for the tax period between July 2017 to July 2020 and only if returns are filed before 30.09.2020
March 11th, 2020: Increase in the GST on mobile phones: From 12% to 18%
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council decided to scale up the GST rates from 12% to 18% on mobile phones from 1st April 2020. This will increase mobile prices.
February 16th, 2020: 90% of the large GST taxpayers filed their annual returns for 2017-18
More than 90% of the large GST taxpayers have filed their annual returns by February 12th, for the financial year 2017-18, said the GSTN, which is considered as the IT backbone of the indirect tax system.