Goods and Services Tax, popularly termed as GST return is a form that a taxpayer registered under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) law must file for every GSTIN that he is registered.
Return filing is mandatory under GST. Even if there is no transaction, you must file a NIL return.
GSTR-1 is the return to be furnished for reporting details of all outward supplies of goods and services made (sales invoices made) by all the suppliers or sellers.
The filing frequency of GSTR-1 is currently as follows:
- Monthly, by 11th of every month
- Quarterly, by 13th** of the month following every quarter – QRMP scheme.
GSTR-2 is to be filed by all normal taxpayers registered under GST. However, GSTR-2 is currently a suspended GST return since September 2017.
GSTR-2A is the return relevant for the recipient or buyer of goods and services (purchases made) by all the purchasers or customers.
NOTE: Since GSTR-2A is a read-only return, no action can be taken on it.
GSTR-2B is a return that is important for the recipient or buyer of goods and services. It can be claimed against every invoice reported.
The filing frequency of GSTR-2B is currently as follows:
- Monthly, by 12th of every month
GSTR-3 return would have got auto-generated on the basis of the GSTR-1 and GSTR-2 returns filed. It is again currently a suspended GST return since September 2017.
GSTR-3B is a monthly self-declaration furnishing summarised details of all outward supplies made, input tax credit claimed, tax liability ascertained and taxes paid.
The sales and input tax credit details must be reconciled with GSTR-1 and GSTR-2B every tax period before filing GSTR-3B.
GST reconciliation is crucial to identify mismatches in data, that may lead to GST notices in future or suspension of GST registration as well.
The filing frequency of GSTR-3B is as follows:
- Monthly, 20th* of every month – For taxpayers with an aggregate turnover of more than Rs.5 crore in the previous financial year.
- Quarterly, 22nd of the month following the quarter for ‘X’ category of States – For the taxpayers with aggregate turnover equal to or below Rs 5 crore.
- Quarterly, 24th of the month following the quarter for ‘Y’ category of States – For the taxpayers with aggregate turnover equal to or below Rs 5 crore.
X’ category States/UT – Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana or Andhra Pradesh or the Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep.
‘Y’ category States/UT- Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand or Odisha or the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh and New Delhi.
GSTR-4 is the annual return that was to be filed by the composition taxable persons.
Prior to FY 2019-20, this return had to be filed on a quarterly basis. It has replaced the erstwhile GSTR-9A (annual return) from FY 2019-20 onwards.
The filing frequency of GSTR-4 is currently as follows:
- Financial year, by 30th April of the relevant financial year – For taxpayers having a turnover up to Rs.1.5 crores can opt into and pay taxes at a fixed rate on the turnover declared.
- Financial year, by 30th April of the relevant financial year – For taxpayers having a turnover up to 50 lakh can opt a similar scheme CGST (Rate).
GSTR-5 is the return to be filed by non-resident foreign taxpayers. This is for those who are non-resident foreign taxpayers but carry out business transactions in India.
The return contains details of all outward supplies made, inward supplies received, credit/debit notes, tax liability and taxes paid.
The filing frequency of GSTR-5 is currently as follows:
- Monthly, by 20th of every month
GSTR-5A refers to a summary return for reporting the outward taxable supplies and tax payable by Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval Services (OIDAR) provider under GST.
The filing frequency of GSTR-5 is currently as follows:
- Monthly, by 12th of every month
GST-6 is a monthly return to be filed by an Input Service Distributor (ISD). It contains details of input tax credit received & distributed by the ISD and details of all documents issued for the distribution of input credit & the manner of distribution.
The filing frequency of GSTR-6 is currently as follows:
- Monthly, by 13th of every month
GSTR-7 is a monthly return to be filed by persons required to deduct TDS (Tax deducted at source) under GST. This return will contain details of TDS deducted, the TDS liability payable and paid and TDS refund claimed if any.
The filing frequency of GSTR-7 is currently as follows:
- Monthly, by 10th of every month
GSTR-8 is a monthly return to be filed by e-commerce operators registered under the GST who are required to collect tax at source (TCS).
It contains details of all supplies made through the e-commerce platform, and the TCS collected on the same.
The filing frequency of GSTR-8 is currently as follows:
- Monthly, by 10th of every month
GSTR-9 is the annual return to be filed by taxpayers registered under GST. It contains the details of all outward supplies made, inward supplies received during the relevant financial year under different tax heads i.e. CGST, SGST & IGST and a summary value of supplies reported under every HSN code, along with details of taxes payable and paid.
It is a consolidation of all the monthly or quarterly returns (GSTR-1, GSTR-2A, GSTR-3B) filed during that financial year. GSTR-9 is required to be filed by all taxpayers registered under GST.
The filing frequency of GSTR-9 is currently as follows:
- Yearly, by 31st December of the year following the relevant financial year
GSTR-9A is currently a suspended annual return. It was a consolidation of all the quarterly returns filed during that financial year.
GSTR-9C is the reconciliation statement to be filed by all taxpayers whose turnover exceeds Rs.2 crore in a financial year.
It must be certified by a Chartered Accountant/Cost & Management Accountant after conducting a thorough GST audit of the books of accounts and comparing the figures with the GSTR-9.
The filing frequency of GSTR-9C is currently as follows:
- Yearly, by 31st December of the year following the relevant financial year
NOTE: one PAN can have multiple GSTR-9C forms being filed.
GSTR-10 is to be filed by a taxable person whose registration has been cancelled or surrendered. GSTR-10 is also called a final return and has to be filed within three months from the date of cancellation or cancellation order, whichever is earlier.
GSTR-11 is the return to be filed by persons who have been issued a Unique Identity Number (UIN) in order to get a refund under GST for the goods and services purchased by them in India. It contains details of inward supplies received and refund claimed.
UIN is a classification made for foreign diplomatic missions and embassies not liable to tax in India, for the purpose of getting a refund of taxes.
Late filing – Late fee, Penalties and Interest
- You cannot file a return if you do not file the previous month/quarter’s return.
- Late filing of GST returns will have a cascading effect leading to heavy fines and penalties.
- Late filing fee of the GSTR-1 is populated in the liability ledger of GSTR-3B.
- An interest of 18% p.a. is calculated on the amount of outstanding tax to be paid.
- A late fee of Rs.200 per day (Rs.100 under CGST Act and Rs.100 under SGST Act) will be levied. However, there is no late fee separately prescribed under the IGST Act. A maximum levy of Rs. 5,000 is the ceiling.
- For GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B a late fee of Rs. 50 per day will be levied. But Rs.20 per day will be levied for Nil filing.