The Goods and Services Tax was introduced by the Government of India in the year 2017 with the objective to eliminate problems like cascading effect of taxation, multiple taxes and related compliances and above all to provide a uniform tax structure on the national level for businesses either engaged in either the manufacture of goods or provision of services or both and to provide “Ease of Doing Business” to Entrepreneurs and attracting foreign investors to set up their businesses in India.

Therefore, as per the GST Act, every eligible applicant shall get himself mandatorily registered under the Act and obtain a unique GST identification number provided with the GST Registration certificate and shall be quoted wherever required.

Under the applicable GST provisions, the following are the person required to get themselves registered under the Act-

Normal Registration– Businesses holding a yearly turnover of Rs. 20 Lakhs or more per annum(Rs. 40 Lakhs for Goods Manufacturer only) (whereas Rs.10 Lakhs in case of North-Eastern and Hilly states in the country).
Composite Taxable Person-Those who have opted to take “Composite Taxation Scheme” under GST.
Mandatory Registration– There are certain persons who are required to mandatorily obtain GST registration , irrespective of the level of turnover such as Casual taxable person, Non-resident Taxable Person, E-commerce operator etc.
Voluntary Registration– Besides, other businesses may voluntary opt to get themselves registered under GST to avail its benefits without meeting any eligibility criteria in present.

GST Return Filling

However, once you get registered under GST, you become subject to certain compliance procedures required to be completed from time to time. GST filling is the primary one. But what is GST return? It is an official document providing for all details such as purchases, sales, tax paid on purchases, and tax collected on sales-related details by the individual or business entity depending upon the period. It is the GST return filed and submitted by the taxpayer, which forms the basis for GST liability and its payment through the GST portal.

All business entities registered under the GST regime are required to submit GST returns on a periodical basis regardless of the level of profitability of the business for that period including a business entity holding dormant business status.

What if the taxpayer fails to include any entry or any information in the return? Can it be revised? Well, the GST return cannot be revised but the unreported information could be included in the return of the existing period along with interest where applicable.

Consequences for failure to submit timely returns

For Delay in filling returns: A taxpayer who fails to submit timely return under GST shall be required to pay Rs. 100 per day per Act, which means it will be Rs. 200 per day up to the maximum limit of Rs. 5,000. However, there is no late fee in case of filling returns with respect to IGST filling.
Failure to submit returns: If the taxpayer fails to submit GST return, he shall not be able to submit return for the period and shall have to mention unreported invoices and information in the existing return and shall be further required to heavy fines and penalty. Further, where a taxpayer has committed the offence of failure in payment of tax or deliberately paying lesser than the due payment, the taxpayer shall be required to pay such due amount along with a penalty for default which shall be up to 10% of the amount of tax payment due from the taxpayer minimum being at least Rs. 10,000 for such default.
Prosecution: The names of taxpayers making defaults in the GST payments will be entered in the list of tax payment defaulters and will be tracked by the GST Department and will further be prosecuted accordingly. Further, they will be liable to pay delay fees on such applicable tax payments.

Types of GST Returns With Due Dates

Under the GST regime, the following returns are required to be filed under the GST regime-

Name of the Form	Purpose	Frequency	Due date of Payment
GSTR-1	Prescribing details of outward supplies of taxable goods and/or services.	Monthly Return Quarterly (under the QRMP scheme)	11th of the following month with effect 13th of the month following the quarter.
GSTR-3B	Prescribing details along with a summary of outward supplies along with declared ITC and tax payment is done.	Monthly Return Quarterly	20th of the following month. 22nd or 24th of the month of the following quarter.

CMP-08	A statement along with challan by a taxpayer registered under the GST composition scheme	Quarterly	18th of the month following the quarter.
GSTR-4	Return to be made by the taxpayer registered under the composition scheme.	Yearly	30th of the month succeeding a financial year.
GSTR-5	GST return required to be filed by Non-Resident Taxable Person for the purpose of carrying business transactions in India.	Monthly	20th of the succeeding month.
GSTR-6	GST Return required to be filed by the input service distributor providing details of ITC and inward supplies and making their distribution to their branches.	Monthly	13th of the subsequent month.
GSTR-7	Return by the government authorities deducting tax at source (TDS).	Monthly	10th of the next month.
GSTR-8	Return to be filed and submitted by e-commerce operators giving particulars of supplies affected by and the amount of tax collected at source by them.	Monthly	10^th of the succeeding month.
GSTR-9	GSTR-9 is the annual return to be filed by all the taxpayers registered under GST.	Annually	31st December of the year following the relevant financial year.

GST Filing With Legalmart

All above mentioned GST returns could be filed and submitted to the concerned GST department through the online portal facilitated by the Government of India through the unique GST portal. For which, the applicant is required to upload invoices, fill details, upload required attachments and submit returns through the given functionality. However, to avoid any error or mistake, the returns should be filed cautiously and carefully. And for ensuring the returns and other details are submitted with perfection, we have years of experience and knowledge in managing tax-related compliances seamlessly making you forget about all worries and woes regarding any delay or penalty due to failure of timely compliances.

Benefits of GST Filing

The GST system has been introduced to simplify tax-related procedures and ensure timely compliance through an efficient procedure in the taxation system. Provided below are the benefits of GST filling–

Convenience of Higher Limit of Threshold for Compliances: For ensuring that the taxpayers do not have to go through unnecessary hassles of registration and other compliances, the Ministry of Finance has established higher threshold limits as compared to previous laws such as VAT. For instance, under the VAT system, the threshold limit for exemption was Rs.5 Lakh. On the other hand, the threshold limit for GST registration has been raised up to Rs.20 lakh, which exempts smaller traders and manufacturers from registration and return filing compliances.
Lesser number of Compliances: Before the introduction of GST, taxpayers were subject to multiple taxation laws and compliances such as under Service tax & VAT, business entities like Companies & LLPs were required to file monthly returns, whereas partnership firms were required to file quarterly returns. However, under GST there is a single & unified GST return for all taxpayers and limited compliances.
Benefit of Input Tax Credit (ITC): The GST portal has been introduced with an aim to reduce the extra burden of tax on the costs of manufacturing goods. For which, the concept of Input Tax Credit or ITC has been introduced, which means, that the tax paid on the output could be reduced from the amount of tax paid on inputs and to refund the remaining amount to the manufacturer. Thus, ITC could be obtained by only those individuals that are registered under GST and have filed returns and not to any unregistered person.
Simple and Easier Process of Filling Returns: Unlike in the past, where returns filling had to be done physically under various taxation systems, the Government of India has launched a dedicated GST portal for seeking registration and filling GST returns online through its simple and user-friendly interface to especially benefit smaller businesses and start-ups.
Legal Recognition to Business: The main objectives behind the implementation of GST were to rule out the unorganized sector by encouraging organization and to increase the tax base in the taxation system. Accordingly, in the last two years, there has been more than a 50% increase in the number of taxpayers including registrations and compliance fulfilments and further to claim Input Tax Credits.

Disadvantages of GST Filling

Following are some disadvantages of GST registration as well as GST filling:

Higher Costs of Compliances: For businesses registered under GST, it is necessary to update their business software with the GST compliant software for managing GST related compliances under GST. Further, costs related to software purchase, installation, training their employees etc. can lead to higher costs for managing business operations especially for smaller businesses ultimately leading to hiring tax professionals for GST compliances.
Hefty Penalties: Though, the provisions of GST have been created for the ultimate benefit of the business entities and start-ups. However, many of them are still unable to understand provisions and compliances applicable under GST regime. Thus, any failure to file and timely submit may lead to penalty before the taxpayer may fully understand the tax system.

Document Required for GST Filing

Provided below is the comprehensive list of documents required for filling GST-

List of all invoices issued to persons registered under GST and holding valid GSTIN along with following information in accordance with the format accepted by GSTN-
- GSTIN of the customer.
- Invoice ref number, date, value of GST, applicable rate etc.
- Applicable Place of Supply.
- Amount of applicable tax ( IGST, CGST , SGST/UTGST applicable) and GST cess.
- Whether Reverse Charge is applicable etc.

List of all invoices issued to persons unregistered under GST, where the value of invoice exceeds Rs. 2.5 lakhs. Invoices whose total value exceeds Rs. 2.5 Lakh rupees shall be uploaded on the GSTN along with following details-
- Invoice details such as invoice number, date, value of GST, applicable rate of taxation etc.
- Amount of applicable tax (IGST, CGST, SGST/UTGST applicable);
- Applicable Place of Supply.

Details related to the combined intra and inter-state sales along with GST rates applicable.
Details related to the combined intra and inter-state sales made by an e-commerce operator.
Details related to export-related bills specifying below-mentioned details:
- Unique Identification GSTIN.
- Invoice details along with the date.
- Shipping Bill ref number along with the date.
- Total Taxable Value.
- Applicable GST along with prescribed GST Rate.
- Amount of IGST,CGST, SGST, or where GST cess applicable.

Summary of all the sales of goods made during each month prescribing the following-
- HSN wise summary of all goods sold during the month along with HSN code.
- Description of goods sold during the month.
- Total Quantity of goods sold.
- The total value of goods.
- Aggregate taxable value.
- Amount of IGST applicable, CGST applicable, SGST applicable and GST cess applicable).

A Summary of all the documents issued along (if any) issued with any other documents such as debit note, credit note, advance receipt and amendments during the applicable tax period.

Online Process for GST Filing

Provided below is the step-by-step process of filing GST returns on the GST portal-

Step1- As the first step towards return filling, it is necessary that the taxpayer is required to obtain registration under GST for which the taxpayer shall be required to log on to www.gst.gov.in and complete the process of registration under GST in pursuance of which the applicant shall be issued a 15 digit unique GST Identification number necessary for GST reference purposes.
Step 2- Once the process of registration is completed, the applicant shall be required to scan and upload invoices related to outwards and inward supplies with respect to the supply of goods or services and submit returns with regard to the same. Till this point, if there are any errors or rectifications required in the form, there is functionality available to make corrections.
Step 3- For outward supplies, the applicable form is GSTR-1 required to be submitted on or before10th of the month for which details shall be received from the supplier in GSTR-2A. After this, the receiver shall verify details related to the outward supplies and submit details of credit or debit notes wherever applicable.
Step 4- Similarly, in the next step the applicant shall be required to supply details related to inward supplies in the applicable form GSTR-2.
Step 5- Finally, the supplier registered under GST, can either opt to accept or reject the details supplied related to inward supplies provided under form GSTR-1A.

Why did you Choose Legalmart?

Therefore, as provided above it is mandatory for every business entity or taxpayer registered under the GST tax system to file and submit GST returns from time to time as per the timeline regardless of the profitability or losses for such period. The GST online portal has been introduced to facilitate the filing of returns and other compliances easily on the GST online platform. Further, it is necessary to have complete knowledge about the process and manner of GST returns filling to avoid delay and /or penalties under the provisions of the Act as failure to submit adequate information or any error or discrepancy in return filling may lead to unnecessary hassle and delay in the process. Thus, at Legalmart, we hold a large team of professionals who are ready to guide you through the whole process and answer your queries about GST returns filling and other compliances. We undertake GST compliances to provide end to end guidance to take you through the process and complete it successfully and with reasonable charges with complete transparency.