Every person registered under GST Act has to periodically furnish the details of sales, purchases and tax paid and collected thereon by filing return with GST authorities. Before filing any return, payment of tax due is pre requisite otherwise such return will be invalid.
Steps for filing GST return:
Types of returns under GST
Return/Form | Details | Frequency | Due Date |
GSTR – 1 | Outward sales by business | Monthly | 10th of next month |
GSTR – 2 | Purchases made by Business | Monthly | 15th of next month |
GSTR – 3 | GST monthly return along with the payment of amount of tax | Monthly | 20th of next month |
GSTR – 4 | Quarterly return for GST | Quarterly | 18th of month next quarter |
GSTR – 5 | Periodic return by Non-Resident foreign taxpayer | Monthly | 20th of next month |
GSTR – 6 | Return for Input Service Distributor (ISD). | Monthly | 15th of next month |
GSTR – 7 | GST Return for TDS | Monthly | 10th of next month |
GSTR – 8 | GST return for e-commerce suppliers | Monthly | 10th of next month |
GSTR – 9 | GST Annual Return | Annually | 31st Dec of next financial year |
GSTR-1 return
GSTR-1 return will include details of the outward supplies or sales by the tax payer. This return form would include:
• Basic details like name of Company along with GSTIN, period for which the return is being filed etc.
• Details of invoices issued in the previous month and the corresponding taxes paid.
• Details of advances received against a supply which has to be made in future.
• Details of revision in relation to outward sales invoices pertaining to previous tax periods.
GSTR-2 return
GSTR-2 return will include details of the purchases by the tax payer. GSTR-2 is prefilled for a taxpayer based on the GSTR-1 filed by his supplier. You just have to validate this prefilled information and make modifications if required. For example, if you are buying good from company B, then company would have filed its GSTR-1 and included your name as the buyer. Now the same information will be reflected in your GSTR-2 as purchases which you need to validate. GSTR-2 will include the following details:
• The details of purchases auto-populated by the department
• Invoices on which partial credit has been availed earlier has to be submitted in a separate table.
GSTR-3 return
GSTR-3 is a combined version of GSTR-1 and GSTR-2. GSTR-3 is also prefilled for a taxpayer based on the GSTR-1 and GSTR-3. You just have to validate this prefilled information and make modifications if required. GSTR-3 return will include the following details:
• Information about ITC( Input Tax Credit) ledger, cash ledger and liability ledger
• Details of payment of tax under various tax heads of CGST, SGST, IGST
• Taxpayer will have the option of claiming refund of excess payment
GST Quarterly return (GSTR-4)
Small taxpayer has the option to opt for the composition scheme as discussed in my previous blog- Decoding GST for your business. In such a case he would be required to pay taxes at fixed rate. Although no input tax credit facility would be available. A taxpayer opting for the composition scheme would be required to file a simplified quarterly return that is GSTR-4. He is required to provide only the following details:
• The total value of supply made during the period of return
• Details of payment of tax in the return
• Declare invoice-level purchase information.
GST Annual return (GSTR-9)
All normal taxpayers would be required to submit annual return under GST.
• It will be a detailed return and will capture details of all the income and expenditure of the taxpayer and will regroup them in accordance with the monthly returns.
• This return will help in providing the opportunity to correct any short reporting of activities undertaken supply wise for the year.
• This has to be filed along with the audited copies of the annual accounts.
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Sabyasachi Paul has been associated with equity research and advisory on equity markets in India for over 9 years & currently heads the equity research desk of Eastern Financiers Ltd, Kolkata.He also manages a portfolio on the online platform Kristal. Find link to the strategy named ‘The Tortoise’