File GST Return Online

GST Return Filing is a crucial process for every business registered under the GST Act. It enables tax authorities to determine tax liability and serves as a means of communication between the government and the taxpayer. During the filing process, the taxpayer must provide information on tax payments, liability exposure, and enterprise activities, as the government requires.

The GST return can be filed electronically on the GST portal or, in some cases, physically offline and later uploaded to the GSTIN portal by the taxpayer or a facilitation center. With the new GST return filing system, businesses can generate GST-compliant sales and purchase invoices, which list the goods or services provided along with the total payment due. By using Filing Buddy's 100% online GST Return filing service, businesses can simplify the process and ensure timely and accurate filing.
 

A bill of stock is similar to a GST Return Filing receipt, except that it does not include any tax cost as the seller cannot impose GST on the buyer. This type of bill is issued when tax cannot be charged, such as when a registered person trades in exempt goods or services and has opted for the "composition scheme."

According to Notification No. 45/2017 – Central Tax on October 13th, 2017, if a registered person is providing taxable and exempt goods or services to an unregistered person, then they can issue a single "invoice-cum-bill of supply" for all the stocks mentioned above.

Total Invoice:

If the total amount of different bills is less than Rs. 200 and the buyer is unregistered, the seller can issue a consolidated or bulk invoice for the separate invoices regularly.

Debit And Credit Note:

A debit note is issued by the seller when the amount payable by the buyer to the seller increases and when the tax invoice has a lower taxable value.

A credit note is issued by the seller when the cost of the invoice decreases, and the tax invoice has a higher taxable value when the buyer returns the goods to the seller, or the services are inadequate.

Who Should Prepare GST Invoices And The Mandatory Fields A GST Invoice Includes:

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) subsumes many indirect taxes imposed by the Central and State Governments, such as excise, VAT, and service tax. It is required for both goods and services sold in the country, where GST return details filing reduces the cascading effect of the tax, is essential for the commencement of registration, provides a plan for small businesses, a safe and direct online process, lessens the complexity, individualized treatment for e-commerce managers, increases the efficiency of logistics and manages the unorganized sector under the GST.

If you run a GST-registered business, you must provide GST-compliant invoices to your clients to sell goods and services. Your GST-registered vendors will provide you with GST-compliant purchasing invoices. You can customize your bill with your company's logo.

A tax invoice is usually issued to charge the tax and pass on the input tax credit. A GST invoice must have the following essential fields:

• HSN / SAC code
• Taxable value and limits
• Signature of the supplier
• Customer and taxpayer's GSTIN
• Rate and amount of taxes, such as CGST/ SGST/ IGST
• Invoice number and date
• Place and date of supply
• Item details, such as category, quantity (number), unit (meter, kg, etc.), total amount
• Whether GST is payable on the reverse charge basis
• Customer name

• GSTR-1 is a form for ordinary taxpayers to reveal details of all outward supplies of products and services and debit and credit notes issued and made during a tax period. It is filed monthly, except for small taxpayers with turnover up to Rs.1.5 crore in the past financial year.
• GSTR-2 and GSTR-3 are suspended, while GSTR-2A is a read-only return that shows details of all inward supplies of goods and services made by verified suppliers during an expense period. It is filed monthly.
• GSTR-3B is a monthly self-affirmation form filed by regular taxpayers to provide details of all outward supplies made, input tax credit claimed, tax account defined, and taxes paid.
• GSTR-4 (CMP-08) is a quarterly return filed by taxpayers who opt for the Composition Scheme under the GST.
• GSTR-5 is a monthly return filed by non-resident foreign taxpayers carrying out business transactions in India. It shows all outward supplies made, inward stocks received, credit/debit notes, tax liability, and taxes paid.
• GSTR-6 is a monthly return filed by an Input Service Distributor (ISD) that details the input tax reduction obtained and distributed by the ISD.
• GSTR-7 is a monthly return filed by individuals required to deduct Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) under the GST. It contains details of TDS removed, TDS liability payable and paid, and TDS refund claimed, if any.
• GSTR-8 is a monthly return filed by e-commerce operators registered under the GST (TCS). It contains details of all supplies made through the e-commerce platform, and the TCS received.
• GSTR-9 is an annual return filed by taxpayers registered under the GST, except for the Composition Scheme, Casual Taxable Persons, Input Service Distributors, Non-resident Taxable Persons, and Persons paying TDS under section 51 of the CGST Act. It includes details of all other supplies made and inward stocks received during the year.
• GSTR-9A is an annual return filed by taxpayers registered under the Composition Scheme in a financial year, filed quarterly.
• GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement filed annually by taxpayers under the GST with turnover exceeding Rs.2 crore in a financial year.
• GSTR-10 is a return to be filed by a taxable person whose registration has been canceled or surrendered within three months from the order's cancellation date.
• GSTR-11 is a return filed by persons assigned a Unique Identifying Number (UIN) to claim a refund under GST for the goods and services purchased in India. It contains details of the inward supplies received and refund claimed. UIN is allocated to foreign diplomatic embassies not subject to tax in India.

As per the 31st GST Council meeting, a new return system will be introduced for taxpayers registered under the GST. This system will feature simple return forms for ease of filing. There will be a primary return form, GST RET-1, and two annexures, GST ANX-1, and GST ANX-2, to be filed every month, except for small taxpayers with a turnover of up to Rs 5 crore in the previous financial year who can opt to file every quarter.

The primary GST return, GST RET-1, will contain information on all supplies made, input tax credit claimed, and any tax adjustments and interest. This return will consist of two annexure forms - 'GST ANX-1 and GST ANX-2'. 'GST ANX-1' (Annexure of Outward Supplies) reports details of all outward supplies, inward supplies liable to reverse charge, and imports of goods and services that must be reported invoice-wise (except for B2C supplies) every month. 'GST ANX-2' (Annexure of Inward Supplies) will provide details of all inward supplies, with most of these details being auto-populated from the information uploaded by suppliers in their 'GST ANX-1'.

1. The Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) code is required for submitting details during documentation, along with a separate HSN outline. Providers must announce the HSN code in GST ANX-2.
2. An offline demo tool allows taxpayers to work across different pages and perform various tasks, such as drop-down lists, transferring receipts and acquisitions, and more.
3. Providers in 'GST ANX-1' no longer need to show the B2B supply mechanism, but the total amount must be indicated in 'GST RET-1'.
4. Inward supplies subject to reverse charge mechanism (RCM) must be declared in GST ANX-1 at the GSTIN level beneficiary of provisions.
5. The B2C-L theory has been abandoned, and the turnover limit for small taxpayers is now Rs 5 crore.
6. Any recipient can report avoiding invoices at a receipt level.

• Missing Invoices:

When a supplier claims Input Tax Credit (ITC) without uploading invoices, it is referred to as missing invoices.

• Locking of Invoices:

A recipient can confirm an invoice by verifying the details mentioned in it. However, in the case of a large number of invoices, it may not be feasible to verify each invoice. In such cases, the verification will be done for those invoices that are not denied.

• Unlocking of Invoices:

An invoice for which a recipient has already claimed ITC will be considered locked and cannot be modified. Any changes required for a locked invoice must be made through a charge/credit note. However, if an invoice is mistakenly locked, the recipient can open it online, subject to reversal of the ITC claimed after the online confirmation.

• Pending Invoices:

Pending invoices can arise when the recipient cannot verify them or need improvements. The circumstances in such cases include the recipient's lack of flexibility or the recipient's belief that the invoice needs improvement.

• Rejected Invoices:

If a supplier fills in the wrong GSTIN, the invoice will be visible to a taxpayer who is not the recipient of such supplies and cannot be claimed on such invoices.

Providers must transfer invoices within the specified time to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC). If the provider transfers an invoice online before the 10th of each month, the recipient will be able to see it continuously. Taxes payable after that can be claimed as ITC and will be posted on the ITC plain form of the recipient's return before the 11th of the following month. However, viewing tools will be in real-time.

Under the "New GST Return Filing System," taxpayers can file up to two correction returns for each tax period. They can also make payments through a correction return, which will automatically help save liabilities on interest. If ITC is available in the taxpayer's electronic credit ledger (ECL), they can pay the outstanding obligations in the bill return.

If a recipient has acknowledged and secured an invoice, no changes can be made. To modify it, either the provider must issue a charge/credit note, or they can request the recipient's assistance in unlocking the invoice so that the provider can make changes by filing a revised return.
 

Failing to file GST returns on time can have severe consequences, including substantial fines and penalties. If a taxpayer misses the deadline for filing GST returns, they must pay interest and a late fee. The interest rate is set at 18% per annum, calculated on the amount of outstanding tax due. The late fee amounts to Rs. 100 per day per Act, with Rs. 100 under CGST and Rs. 100 under SGST, totaling Rs. 200 per day. The maximum late fee is Rs. 5000. (This does not apply to the Integrated Goods and Services Act).