What is a GST Return?

A GST return is a report that shows all the financial activities of a GST-registered business or individual. It includes:

• Purchases: Details of what the business bought.
• Sales: A record of what the business sold.
• Output GST: The tax charged on sales.
• Input Tax Credit (ITC): The tax paid on purchases, which can reduce the tax owed on sales.

COMPLIANCE INDIA offers software to make filing these returns simple and hassle-free.

Who Needs to File GST Returns?

Any business or individual registered under GST must file returns. This applies if their yearly turnover is above a certain limit, which varies depending on the type of business (e.g., regular taxpayers or those under the Composition Scheme).

Types of GST Returns

There are 13 types of GST returns, but not every business needs to file all of them. The returns depend on the type of business and GST registration. Here’s a quick look:

1. GSTR-1: Shows details of sales (outward supplies).
2. GSTR-3B: A summary of sales, purchases, and taxes owed.
3. GSTR-4: For businesses under the Composition Scheme, showing turnover and tax.
4. GSTR-5: For non-resident taxpayers doing business in India.
5. GSTR-5A: For online information or database service providers.
6. GSTR-6: For Input Service Distributors to report tax credit distribution.
7. GSTR-7: For businesses deducting TDS (Tax Deducted at Source).
8. GSTR-8: For e-commerce platforms reporting transactions.
9. GSTR-9: An annual return summarising all filings for the year.
10. GSTR-10: Filed when cancelling GST registration.
11. GSTR-11: For those with a Unique Identity Number claiming refunds.
12. CMP-08: A quarterly statement for Composition Scheme taxpayers.
13. ITC-04: For manufacturers reporting goods sent to or received from job workers.

There are also two statements for input tax credits:

• GSTR-2A: A real-time view of purchases, auto-filled from suppliers’ GSTR-1.
• GSTR-2B: A fixed snapshot of purchases for claiming input tax credit.

For small businesses in the Quarterly Return Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme, the Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) lets them report B2B sales for the first two months of a quarter. They still need to pay taxes monthly using Form PMT-06.

Key GST Returns Explained

1. GSTR-1 (Sales Return): Filed by regular taxpayers to report sales.
• Due Date:
• Monthly: 11th of the next month (for businesses with turnover above ₹5 crore or not in QRMP).
• Quarterly: 13th of the month after the quarter (for QRMP businesses).
2. GSTR-2A (Auto-Generated Purchase Return): Shows purchases from suppliers, updated automatically from their GSTR-1 filings.
3. GSTR-2B (Static Purchase Return): A fixed report of purchases for claiming tax credits, based on suppliers’ previous month’s GSTR-1.
4. GSTR-2 (On Hold): Meant for reporting purchases but currently not in use since September 2017.
5. GSTR-3 (On Hold): A summary of sales, purchases, and taxes, also paused since September 2017.
6. GSTR-3B (Summary Return): Summarizes sales, purchases, and taxes owed.
• Due Date:
• Monthly: 20th of the next month (for turnover above ₹5 crore).
• Quarterly: 22nd or 24th of the month after the quarter (based on state category, for turnover up to ₹5 crore in QRMP).
7. GSTR-4 (Composition Scheme): Yearly return for Composition Scheme businesses, due by April 30th of the next financial year. Quarterly payments are made via CMP-08 by the 18th after each quarter.
8. GSTR-5 (Non-Resident Taxpayers): For foreign taxpayers, due by the 20th of each month.
9. GSTR-6 (Input Service Distributors): For reporting tax credit distribution, due by the 13th of each month.
10. GSTR-7 (TDS): For businesses deducting TDS, due by the 10th of the next month.
11. GSTR-8 (E-commerce): For e-commerce platforms, due by the 10th of the next month.
12. GSTR-9 (Annual Return): Summarizes all yearly filings, due by December 31st of the next financial year.

Penalties for Late Filing

Filing GST returns late can lead to penalties and interest:

• Mandatory Filing: Even if there’s no business activity, returns must be filed.
• Delayed Filings: Missing a deadline means you can’t file the next period’s return until the previous one is filed.
• Late Fees: ₹100 per day (for CGST and SGST) up to ₹5,000 for late returns like GSTR-1.
• Interest: 18% annual interest on unpaid taxes, starting from the day after the due date.

Annual Return Fees: For GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C, late fees are capped at 0.25% of turnover in the state or UT.