What is GST RETURNS?

What is GST Return?
A GST Return is a document containing all the details of the income earned which a taxpayer has to mandatorily file with the tax administrative authorities to calculate the tax liability.

Under the GST regime, a registered dealer has to file GST returns that include :

– Purchases

– Sales

– Output GST (GST received on sales)

– Input tax credit (GST paid on purchase)

Who should file GST Returns?

In the GST regime, every registered business has to file two monthly returns and one annual return. This sums to 26 returns in an annual year. They must file the GST returns according to the nature of their business transactions. Taxpayers are also supposed to go through various eligibility criteria for different slab rates.

GSTR-1

The form GSTR-1 has to be furnished by a taxpayer who is a registered supplier under the new GST regime providing the details of the outward supplies of goods and services filled by a supplier.
The form contains all the details of the invoices, debit notes, credit notes, and revised notes for outward goods and services.
The recipient has to confirm the auto-populated buy information in the form and make necessary modifications as per requirement.
The return is to be filed monthly by the 10th of next month.
GSTR-2

The form GSTR-2 has to be furnished by a registered taxable recipient under the new GST regime providing the details of all the inward supplies of goods and services made.
The form contains all the details of purchases made by the taxable recipient from both registered and unregistered dealers, along with corresponding taxes collected and revised outward sales.
The return is to be filed by the 15th of the following month.
GSTR-3

The form GSTR-3 has to be furnished by a registered taxpayer providing all the details that are auto-populated in GSTR-1 AND GSTR-2 Forms.
The form contains all the information regarding any filing made under GSTR-1 and GSTR-2, along with other liabilities in relation to previous tax periods.
The return is to be filed by 20th of the following month.
GSTR-3B

The form GSTR-3B is a self-declaration form made by the registered taxpayer for the GST Tax liabilities for the time period.
The form is filed separately by both the supplier and his recipient containing the details of outward and inward supplies made.
Every registered taxpayer under GST has to mandatorily file GSTR-3B even if the tax liability is zero.
The return is to be filed by 20th of the following month.
GSTR-4

The form GSTR-4 has to be furnished by a taxpayer who has opted for Composition Scheme. Small taxpayers whose aggregate turnover is up to Rs. 1.5 crore has to file quarterly returns in this form.
The form contains the details of taxes paid, invoice details, the total value of consolidated supply made during the period of returns.
However, the taxpayers cannot avail benefits under Input Tax Credit and make inter-state transactions, and operate supplies electronically.
The taxpayers can reduce their tax burden by paying tax at fixed rates and file their returns quarterly.
The return is to be filed by the 18th of the following month.
GSTR-5

The form GSTR-5 has to be furnished by all the registered Non-Resident taxpayers.
The form contains the details of all the inward and outward supplies made by the NRI, the taxes he has paid under GST, interest, and fees paid, details of his goods imported, import if services, closing stock of goods, and refund claimed from cash.
Since, the NRI is a casual taxable person (occasionally makes transactions) he will not have a fixed place of supply, and therefore makes his supplies in his capacity.
The return is to be filed by the 20th of the following month.
GSTR-6

The form GSTR-6 has to be furnished by all the registered taxpayers who are registered as Input Service Distributor under GST regime.
The form contains the details of the invoices which are issued by the ISD, the name and address of the registered taxpayers, GSTIN, and the period of return, debit and credit notes.
The details of the inward supply will be auto-populated fromGSTR-1 and GSTR-5 return forms.
The return is to be filed by 13th of the following month.
GSTR-7

The form GSTR-7 has to be furnished by all the taxpayers registered under GST who are required to Deduct Tax at Source.
The form contains the details like tax deducted at source and its liabilities and amount to paid as fee, interest on delayed payments, TDS refund if any.
The TDS liability will be auto-populated.
The return is to be filed by 10th of the following month.
GSTR-8

The form GSTR-8 has to be furnished by all the e-commerce operators who has to collect Tax at Source.
The form contains the details of all the supplies of goods and services made through electronic mode and the amount of tax collected from the concerned suppliers.
TDS liability will be auto-populated.
The operators for e-commerce are accessible to make any modifications in the information of the supplies made in the previous statements.
The return is to be filed by 10th of the following month.
GSTR-9

The form GSTR-9 has to be furnished by registered taxpayers form providing necessary documents showing all the income and expenditure of the financial year.
The form contains information about casual taxable persons, Input Tax Credit, Non-Resident taxable person, persons who has to pay tax under section 51 and 52.

GSTR-9 has to furnished annually.
When the registered taxpayer has a zero – tax liability, then his annual return for the financial year will be nil.
The taxpayer can make necessary changes if required.
The return is to filed by 31st December of the following financial year attesting audited copies of the Annual accounts.
GSTR-9A
The form GSTR-9A is annual return which has to be furnished by registered taxpayers under the composition scheme.
The form contains the details of inward and outward supplies, tax paid, and refunds if any, delayed fees and interest, ITC availed.
The return is to be filed by 31st December of the following month.
GSTR-9B
The form GSTR-9B has to be furnished by taxable e-commerce operators registered under GST, who has to collect tax at source under section 52.
The return is to be filed by 31st of the following month.
GSTR-9C
The form GSTR-9C has to be furnished by every registered taxpayer having their aggregate annual turnover of Rs.2 crore or more.
They need to ensure that the provided accounts are audited by a Chartered Accountant while filing their annual returns.
The reconciliation statement has to be submitted in form GSTR-9C.
The return is to be filed by 31st December of the following month.

GSTR-10
The form GSTR-10 has to be furnished as a final return by registered taxpayers who opt to cancel their GST registration.
The form contains the details of the date of cancellation of such GST registration, Unique ID of the cancellation order, date of the cancellation order, closing stock including the amount of tax payable.
The return is to file within 3 months of the date of cancellation or date of cancellation order, whichever is earlier.

GSTR-11
The form GSTR-11… has to be furnished be every single registered tax who is issued with a Unique Identification Number [UIN].
The form contains the details of all the inward supplies from a registered GST supplier, to claim tax refunds.
The form will be auto-populated.
The return is to be filed by 28th of following month.

How to file GST Return online?
Every manufacturer, trader, dealer, supplier, and customer registered under GST new regime has to file GST returns every year based on their nature of business and the type of transactions they make. The main advantage of the new regime under GST is that the returns will be filed automatically. The returns can be filed online using the apps or the software provided by the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) which will auto-populate the details on each GSTR form.