ALL ABOUT GSTR 9 ONLINE FILING | GST ANNUAL RETURN FILING | DUE-DATES, BENEFITS PENALTIES

INTRODUCTION 

The introduction of law of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India was put forward after various committee discussions, it was passed by the parliament on 29th March 2017 with effect from 1st July 2017. GST was one of the most needed tax reforms in India. Prior to the introduction of GST, there existed a multiplicity of taxes with no uniformity among the states. With the advent of GST, numerous central and state-level taxes have been integrated into one. It supports the notion of one nation and one tax. 

A GST return is nothing but a form that provides various details of the taxpayer registered such as income, sales, expense, purchase, input tax credit, etc. GST return is required to be filed with the tax administrative authority by every person for every GSTIN registered under the GST for the purpose of facilitating the activities of the business. 

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TYPES OF RETURN 

The return is mainly of two types, either Periodic returns or annual returns.

periodic return and annual return

ANNUAL RETURN

The above chart clarifies the definition of annual return as a return which is filed on a yearly basis as a summary record of all periodic returns. The annual return for normal taxpayers is comprised in GSTR 9, and for persons registered under section 10 of Central Goods and Services Act, 2017, i.e., for those who opted Composition scheme, they are required to file two annual returns GSTR 9A and GSTR 4.

The annual return in form GSTR 9 is required to be filed by all registered persons under GST. However, some categories of persons have been exempted to file annual return who are registered under GST as follows-

  1. Non-resident taxable persons 
  2. Casual taxable persons
  3. Input Service Distributors 
  4. Persons covered under Sec 51 of CGST Act, 2017, i.e., persons paying TDS 
  5. Persons who opted for Composition scheme –GSTR 4 and GSTR 9A

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DETAILS AND TYPES OF GSTR 9

One of the most vital annual returns is GSTR 9. It gives an overview of each business transaction accruing to a particular Financial Year. GSTR-9 includes all of the information concerning the outward and inward supplies made during the year under different tax structures, i.e., CGST, SGST, and IGST. It summarises the details provided in the periodic returns during the relevant year.

The GSTR 9 is required to be filed by the 31st December of next financial year. For instance, Mr. Rakesh Verma wants to file an annual return for the financial year 2017-18, then the last date for filing the annual return would be 31st December 2018.

  KIND OF TAXPAYER  TYPE OF (GSTR) RETURN
  PERSONS WHOSE TURNOVER IS LESS THEN RUPEES TWO CRORES             GSTR 9
  PERSONS UNDER COMPOSITION LEVY  GSTR 9A
  ECONOMIC COMMERCE OPERATOR  GSTR 9B
  PERSONS WHOSE TURNOVER EXCEEDS RUPEES TWO CRORES             GSTR 9C

The essentials that are to be filled in the form GSTR 9 are as follows-

  • Details of Outward supplies
  • Details of Inward supplies
  • Details of Taxes paid in the relevant year
  • Amount of Refund claimed
  • Sum of Input tax credit availed and utilized

PROCEDURE TO FILE ANNUAL RETURN 

For the purpose of filing an annual return, one must comply with the following steps 

1. Initially, a person is required to have a 15-digit GSTIN. (GST – Identification Number)

2. Then visit the online GST Portal.

3. Choose the services menu and then click on the return dashboard.

4. Select the annual return option.

5. Choose the relevant Financial Year and click on prepare online.

6. A questionnaire shall pop up asking the user to choose between a NIL return or an annual return. Based on the turnover, the user shall select respectively.

7. Fill in the necessary details 

8. A confirmation tab will appear, asking the user to confirm the validity of all the details therein entered and then to submit the same.

9. The user can Preview the draft of the GSTR 9 form either in excel or pdf form. To preview in PDF form, the user must select Preview GSTR-9 (PDF) on the GSTR-9 console, and for preview, in excel form, he must select Preview GSTR-9 (Excel) on the GSTR-9 console.

10. Once the user chooses to compute liabilities on the dashboard, the GST portal computes the amount to be paid after analyzing and processing the details entered.

11. The user must tick the declaration check box and then click on the Authorised Signatory, and finally select file GSTR-9.

12. The user can verify it by either Digital Signature Certificate or Electronic Verification Code.

For more information, please contact us on info@trijuris.com or call us Mb. No. 85100 58386 or 9310 717274.

CONSEQUENCES OF NON-FILING ANNUAL RETURN 

The amount of late fee prescribed under the Central Goods and Services Act, 2017 is Rupees 100 for each day per act. It totals to Rupees 200 per day, taking into account SGST AND CGST provisions. This is dependent on a maximum of 0.25% of the taxpayer’s turnover in the particular state or union territory. The IGST Act, 2017 does not provide any provision for late fees.

POINTS TO REMEMBER: 

A- The annual return in GSTR 9, once filed, cannot be revised. The GST law does not provide any specific provision which enables the user and gives them an option to revise the GSTR 9. It means once it is filed, it is final and cannot be revised.

B- The annual return cannot be filed if the prior periodical returns are not submitted within the due date. For instance- Mr. Siddharth Bhatia fails to submit GSTR 3B and GSTR 1. In such a situation, he cannot proceed to file GSTR 9 unless he has filed the prior pending periodical returns.

C- In a case where the turnover of the taxpayer exceeds rupees two crores, the taxpayer is required to file both GSTR 9 and GSTR 9C.

D- One is required to file GSTR 9 even if his/her GSTIN is canceled in any given financial year.

E- If any taxpayer provides any false information in GSTR 9, provisions of tax demands, interest, and penalties shall be attracted. There are chances of long-term litigations as well. 

F- The ITC that has not been claimed under GSTR 3B cannot be claimed under GSTR 9.

G- The annual return under GSTR-9A applicable to persons who have opted for the composition scheme has been disabled from the financial year 2019-20 onwards as GSTR-4 has been amended to file annually. However, the GSTR-9A still remains optional and can be filed for the financial year 2017-18 and 2018-19, respectively.

H- The filing of Nil return is compulsory.

It is filed for a Financial year if the user has not: –

  • made any sale
  • made any purchase
  • has no kind of other liability to report

I- As per a recent Central Board of indirect taxes and customs Notification date 26-12-2019certain, relaxations in the norms for filing annual GST return GSTR 9 have been provided.

J- Annual return is the last return of every year and is referred to and considered by several external stakeholders. Such as auditors, tax authorities, etc., as references in upcoming years.

CONCLUSION

From the above discussion, it can be concluded that GST return is one of the most important parts which forms the domain of the GST system. GST return is required to be filed by every person who comes under the umbrella of GST. It enables the tax authorities to compute the tax liability of different persons. It also gives a clear image to the taxpayer about his tax liability which is outstanding.

An annual return is a yearly statement which provides an insight about all the transactions undertaken by a business in a given year. It provides various details such as sales made during the year, purchases made during the year, ITC availed and utilized during the year, late fees, the sum of taxes paid, refund claimed if any, etc. The recent outbreak has drove the government to ease the provisions regarding the GST return. With such relief measures, the citizens have various options to file GST returns according to their comfort.

The government had revised the due date to file GSTR-9 & GSTR-9C for the FY 2019-20 many times.

For more information, please contact us on info@trijuris.com or call us Mb. No. 85100 58386 or 9310 717274.