1. Background

The GST Council approved a new simplified GST return format in its 27th Council meeting. The new GST return aims at enhancing transparency and accuracy of the return filing process. The Council has decided that the new return filing system will be implemented from April 2020. Under this New Return System, there will be one main return GST RET-1 and 2 along with annexures GST ANX-1 and GST ANX-2. This return will need to filed on a monthly basis, except for small taxpayers who can opt to file the same quarterly. Small taxpayers are taxpayers with a turnover up to Rs 5 crore in the preceding financial year.

2. Major Changes in GST Returns

Continuous uploading and view of invoices

Suppliers can upload invoice details and the recipient can view them and take action on real time basis. Furthermore, the recipient shall be able to see the return filing status of the supplier . This facility shall be available to the recipient after the due date of filing such return by the supplier has passed. Likewise, the recipient will be able to keep a check on the tax liability discharged by the supplier against the purchases made by the recipient.

Provisional Claim of ITC on Missing Invoices

Whenever a supplier has not uploaded an invoice or a debit note, and a recipient claims ITC, it will be termed as “missing invoices”. When ITC is availed on missing invoices by a recipient, and these missing invoices do not get uploaded by the supplier within the stipulated time frame, then the ITC availed with respect to such debit notes/invoices will be recovered from the recipient.

Nil Return by SMS

Payers will simply need to send an SMS (short message service) to file monthly or quarterly returns. Instead of filing their returns online, assessees with ‘NIL’ returns can send an SMS to a specified number and confirm it using a one-time password (OTP).

Amendment of Invoices

Once an invoice is locked by the recipient, no amendment of the same shall be allowed. Further

Amendment of an invoice may be carried out by the supplier where input tax credit has not been availed and the invoice has not been reported as locked by the recipient.

Amendment Returns

In case of any mistake or wrong entries in the return, there would be a facility for filling the amendment return. For each of the tax period, up to two amendment returns can be filed and payment would be allowed to be made through the amendment return as it will help to save liability.

Frequent Matching

The frequent matching involves matching the invoices uploaded by the supplier with the books of accounts to claim ITC. As the supplier uploads invoices on a real-time basis, the supplier has to match the invoices continuously. The recipient has to track these missing invoices and report them to the supplier. The recipient has to continuously check whether the supplier has uploaded invoices on the portal. The invoices uploaded by the supplier in his GST ANX-1 will auto-populate to GST ANX-2 of the recipient.

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