66% file sale returns under GST

As many as 66 per cent of the assessees under the goods and services tax (GST) filed detailed sales returns for July hours before the closing of the Tuesday deadline. The deadline had been extended twice by the government.

About 4.3 million entities of the eligible 6.5 million filed the GSTR-1 return till 6 pm for the first month of the GST. The deadline ended at midnight.

The deadline to file GSTR-1 was extended by a month from September 10 at the GST Council meeting last month in Hyderabad. Earlier, the deadline was extended from September 5 on account of technical issues with the GST Network (GSTN).

“So far, 4.3 million returns have been filed. The number is low. We hope for some pick-up towards the last couple of hours,” said a central official.

The government on Monday refused any further extension filing GSTR-1 return for July.

It said that if a taxpayer fails to file GSTR-1 by the deadline, then the buyer of his products may face difficulties in availing of input tax credit (ITC).

“It is, therefore, advised that all suppliers of goods or services, especially B2B suppliers, furnish their outward supply details in GSTR-1 by the due date, so that no difficulty is faced by their buyers in availing of ITC and the return cycle can be completed in due course,” added the finance ministry. 

Abhishek Jain, tax partner, EY India, said: “It seems a million-plus taxpayers had still not filed their GSTR-1, and the GSTN has already sent them reminders. Taxpayers who have missed filing their GSTR-1 will now have to wait till October 31; during this time GSTR-2 filing would be open and GSTR-1 filing would remain suspended.”

Three million returns had been filed as of September 10, the day after the announcement of the extension. As many as 1.3 million more returns have been filed after that.

GSTR-1 has 13 sections containing details of sales transactions of a registered dealer for a month. Once a taxpayer files GSTR-1, the government utilises the information to auto-populate GSTR-3 for the dealer and GSTR-2A for dealers to whom supplies have been made. 

For the transition period, the Centre has allowed assessees to file self-summary returns for input-output, called GSTR-3B.

The lower-than-expected GSTR-3B returns filed in the first two months of GST roll-out has prompted the Centre to conduct a survey on an ‘urgent’ basis to assess the reasons behind the muted response.

Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia in his letter has asked central and state commissioners to conduct a five-question survey to gauge the reason for the slow filing of returns. About 63 per cent of the eligible taxpayers have filed the summarised return, or GSTR-3B, for August, and 82.6 per cent did so for July. Of the 7.3 million eligible ones, 4.6 million filed the summarised return for August.

Last week, the GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, eased compliance rules for small and medium enterprises. Those with an annual turnover of up to Rs 1.5 crore will from October onwards need to file returns and pay taxes quarterly. It also raised the eligibility limit in terms of annual turnover to Rs 1 crore from the current Rs 75 lakh for the composition scheme, which allows a flat rate and easy compliance.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• About 4.3 million entities of the eligible 6.5 million filed the GSTR-1 return till 6 pm for the first month of the GST

• The deadline to file GSTR-1 was extended by a month from September 10 at the GST Council meeting last month in Hyderabad

• Earlier, the deadline was extended from September 5 on account of technical issues with the GST Network

• The government on Monday refused any further extension filing GSTR-1 return for July