GST Return

Goods and Services Tax, commonly referred to as GST, is the method that India uses to tax consumption of daily use items. The concept behind GST is to have one single tax instead of a multitude of different taxes. This eases the process for businesses, eliminating the need for additional costs, thus considered a fair and simple system for both business owners and consumers. A GST return can be best described as a report card for those under the GST system; it indicates their sales, purchases, as well as the GST charged and paid. In this way, it helps the government determine the amount of tax that a business should pay – making it essential for these returns to be filed in time. By doing so, businesses are able to claim back the GST paid on their purchases which in turn reduces their final tax liability.

Types of GST Returns

  • Regular Taxpayers
    – GSTR-1 (Outward Supplies return): This monthly return details all outward supplies of goods and services made during a tax month.
    – GSTR-3B (Summary return): This is a consolidated monthly return that summarizes the outward supplies (reported in GSTR-1), inward supplies with ITC claimed (reported in GSTR-2A), tax liability, and input tax credit (ITC) availed.
    – GSTR-9 (Annual return): This is an annual return that provides a consolidated summary of all monthly/quarterly returns filed during the financial year.
  • Composition Taxpayers
    – CMP-08 (Quarterly return for composition scheme): This quarterly return is filed by taxpayers under the Composition Scheme to report their tax liability.
  • Other GST Return Forms
    – GSTR-4 (Sales return): This quarterly return is filed by a registered taxpayer who has supplied goods to a composition taxpayer. (Suspended)
    – GSTR-5 (Return for non-resident taxable person): This return is filed by non-resident foreign taxpayers engaged in taxable activities in India.
    – GSTR-5A (OIDAR services): This return is filed by online information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) service providers.
    – GSTR-6 (Input Service Distributor return): This return is for Input Service Distributors to report the distribution of input tax credit (ITC) among their units.
    – GSTR-7 (TDS return): This return is for taxpayers required to deduct Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) under GST.
    – GSTR-8 (E-commerce return): This return is filed by e-commerce operators to report supplies made through their platform.
    – GSTR-9C (Reconciliation statement): Eligible taxpayers, i.e. with a turnover exceeding Rs.5 crore are also required to also file a self-certified reconciliation statement. (Form GSTR-9C)
    – GSTR-10 (Final return): A final return is filed when a taxpayer’s GST registration is canceled or surrendered.
    – GSTR-11 (Refund claim): This return is filed by persons having a Unique Identity Number (UIN) to claim a refund of taxes paid on their purchases.
    – ITC-04 (Return for job worker): This return is filed by taxpayers who are manufacturers to report the details of goods sent to a job worker and received back.

Steps to File GST Return Online

  • Visit the GST portal: https://www.gst.gov.in/
  • Login using your credentials.
  • Click on the Services button.
  • Choose the financial year and return filing period from the dropdown menus.
  • Select the specific GST return form you want to file (there are different forms for different types of taxpayers).
    Click Prepare Online.
  • Carefully enter the required details in the form. This will include details of your supplies, tax liability, and any applicable deductions or credits
  • Once you’ve filled in all the information, review it thoroughly for any errors.
    Submit the return electronically.
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