All You Needed to Know About Types of GST Returns and Their Due Dates

Much has been written about over explaining the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime and what it means for businesses. Even after all these many entrepreneurs remain largely clueless about the “Good and Simple Tax’ as called by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. So here’s all about the types of GST returns and their due dates. Under GST Laws, a taxpayer is required to estimate his or her tax liability on “self-assessment” basis.

The tax payer then deposits the tax amount along with or before the tax filing. The return therefore constitutes a kind of worksheet or supporting documents for the tax authorities that can be relied upon as the basis on which the tax has been computed by taxpayer. Under GST regime, filing of returns not only determines the tax liability of the person filing the same, but also has a huge bearing on determination of tax liability of the other person with whom the former has entered into taxable activities. Under GST, there is no provision to revise the GST Return. Hence, assessees need to file GST Returns with utmost care.

Types of GST Returns and their Due Date

Return FormsDetails of ReturnLiability to FileDue Date of Filing ReturnGSTR-1Details of Outward SuppliesRegistered Person10^th of subsequent monthGSTR-2Details of Inward SuppliesRegistered Person15^th of subsequent monthGSTR-3Finalisation of Inward and outward supplies and payment of taxRegistered Person20^th of subsequent monthGSTR-4Outward supplies and tax thereon in case of composition schemeTaxable person opting for Composition Levy18^th of the month succeeding the quarter endGSTR-5Outward supplies, imports, tax paid, input tax availed and remaining stock by Non Resident taxpayerNon- Resident taxpayer20^th of the month succeeding the tax period or within 7 days after expiry of registration, whichever is earlierGSTR-6Details of ITC and their distributionInput Service Distributor13^th of subsequent monthGSTR-7Details of tax deduction made during the monthTax Deductor10^th of subsequent monthGSTR-8Details of supplies and tax collectedE-Commerce Operator10^th of subsequent monthGSTR-9Annual returnRegistered person other than an ISD, TDS/TCS Taxpayer, Casual Taxable Person and Non- resident Taxpayer31^st December of the next Financial yearGSTR-10Final ReturnTaxable Person whose registration has been surrendered or cancelledWithin 3 months of date of cancellation or date of cancellation order whichever is later.

The basic features of the return mechanism in GST include electronic filing of returns, uploading of invoice level information and auto population of information relating to Input Tax Credit (ITC) from returns of supplier to that of recipient, invoice-level information matching, and auto-reversal of ITC in case of mismatch. The returns mechanism is designed to assist the taxpayer to file returns and avail ITC. Monitor the deadlines for various types of GST returns and ensure you file them on time. Better still, consult a tax practitioner to do it efficiently and in a timely way.