New Simplified GST Returns – Key Feature & Highlights of Changes

CBIC has released new simplified GST returns for the taxpayers

CBIC (Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs) has
recently released the format of the drafts for the simplified GST. This format
is for the simplified GST for quarterly and monthly returns. CBIC has also
listed down a lot of salient features of this new release directly related to
the stakeholders and the information of industry and trade’s business
processes.

This new release contains the information about the
simplified new return that would end all the existing forms and would allow the
taxpayers to file just one return, which is to be filed every month. The return
could also be filed by an SMS with a NIL return. The document has been approved
on the 28th GST Council meeting which also
decided that the taxpayers with up to 5 crores of the annual turnover can file
the return quarterly. 

These new return forms released would provide an option
to the taxpayers to make these amendments till the month of September, next
year.

Key features to throw
the light on, the draft return format:-

•    Taxpayers who had
up to 5 crores of the turnover last year would be considered as the “small
taxpayers”. These small taxpayers would be provided with the facility of filing
the quarterly return, followed by the monthly tax payments.

•    Small taxpayers
who have the turnover of up to 5 crores would be provided with the option to
file one of these three forms given below, namely:-

1. Sugam

2. Sahaj

3. Quarterly return

•    A much higher
late fee may be fined to the taxpayers for the change in their liabilities if
found to be more than 10 % by an amendment return. This is to ensure that in
regular return the reporting is appropriate.

•    If there is a
human error (wrong entries) made in the return then to address this, there
would be a facility provided by which you can file the amended return.

•     The main return
would have the two tables. One for getting the input tax credit and the other
one has a different motive. The other table is there so that the reporting can
be done for the supplies on which the tax liabilities have arisen.

•    When the supplier
is filing the return, at that time the liability that has been declared in the
return shall be discharged. It is the same as it is being done at present,
return form GSTR 3B.

•    There would now
be facility by which the supplier would be able to continue to upload the
invoices in between any time of the month. The recipient of these invoices
would be continuously able to see the invoices.

•    Taxpayers with no
input tax credit, with no output tax liability and with no purchases in any of
the quarter in the fiscal year would have to file a NIL return for the entire
quarter of the year. Moreover, the NIL return for the quarter could be also
filed through the SMS (Short Message Service).

•    The filing dates
of the return would be completely based on the taxpayer’s turnover. This
turnover of the taxpayer would be calculated by the reported turnover of the
year 2017-2018 (last year). This is annualized for the entire year.

•    The taxpayers are
liable to deduct the tax. This is for all the taxpayers apart from given below
as follows:-

If the person is liable for collection of the tax at source
under the reference of section 52, CGST act, 2017, he or she shall file with
return on a one-month basis.