All about GST, GST registration, Filing. GSTR 1 and 3B

GST Filing made easy through one single platform

All about GST returns- a comprehensive guide for GST compliance

All GST registered businesses have to file monthly or quarterly GST returns and an annual GST return based on the nature of business. These GST return filings are done online on the GST portal (https://www.gst.gov.in).

What is GST?

The goods and services tax (GST) is a value-added tax (VAT) levied on most goods and services sold for domestic consumption. The GST is paid by consumers, but it is remitted to the government by the businesses selling the goods and services. GST is a destination-based tax in the sense that GST goes that sate where final goods are sold. To understand this in a simple language with an example- Consider goods manufactured in Gujarat and sold to the final consumer in Maharashtra. Since the Goods and Service Tax is levied at the point of consumption, the entire tax revenue will go to Maharashtra and not Gujarat.

Under the GST regime, the tax is levied at every point of sale. In the case of intra-state sales, Central GST and State GST are charged. All the inter-state sales are chargeable to the Integrated GST.

There are four different components of GST such as CGST, SGST, IGST, and UTGST–

CGST: Central Goods and Services Tax is charged on the intra state supply of products and services.
SGST: State Goods and Services Tax like CGST, is charged on the sale of products or services within a state.
IGST: Integrated Goods and Services Tax is charged on inter-state transactions of products and services.
UTGST: Union Territory Goods and Services Tax is levied on the supply of products and services in any of the Union Territories in the country, viz. Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Lakshadweep, and Chandigarh. UTGST is levied along with CGST.

What is GST registration?

GST registration is a process by which a supplier gets itself registered under GST. Once a supplier is successfully registered, a unique registration number is assigned to the supplier known as the Goods and Services Tax Identification Number (GSTIN). It is a 15-digit number assigned by the central government after the taxpayers obtain registration.

If the supplier is operating from more than one state, then separate registration for each state is required. If a supplier required to be registered under GST carries on business without registration, it is an offence under GST and heavy penalties will apply. Penalty for not registering under GST-All the businesses required to register under GST mandatorily will have to pay a penalty of 10% of the tax amount payable up to a maximum of INR 10,000.
GST registration usually takes between 2-6 working days and can be done by anyone through gst.gov.in. We can help you obtain GST registration faster in 3 easy steps. Click here

What is the GST registration threshold limit?

Below are the annual turnover threshold for an entity before it is eligible for GST registration:

The threshold limit is Rs. 40 lacs or higher for the manufacturing sector.
The service sector has a threshold of Rs. 20 lacs or higher.
The threshold limit is Rs. 10 lacs or more for particular category states.

Special Category States include Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Sikkim, and Uttarakhand.

Jammu and Kashmir and Assam are two particular category states that chose to have a threshold limit of Rs.40 lacs for commodities.
Puducherry, a regular category state, opted for a threshold limit of Rs. 20 lacs for goods.

Who should obtain the GST registration?

Businesses with turnover above the threshold limit of Rs.40 lakh or Rs.20 lakh or Rs.10 lakh as the case may be
Casual taxable person / Non-Resident taxable person
Agents of a supplier & Input service distributor
Those paying tax under the reverse charge mechanism
Individuals working in the import-export industry.
A person who supplies via an e-commerce aggregator
E-commerce operators.
TDS/TCS deductors.
Persons making any inter-state taxable supplies.
OIDAR (Online Information Database Access and Retrieval) service providers in India.

What is Annual Aggregate Turnover?

The aggregate turnover computed for the entire financial year between April of a year up to March of next year is called annual aggregate turnover. In simple words, it is the total turnover calculated at a PAN level (all GSTINs put together) being sum of the following:

Taxable sales value
Exempt sales value
Export of goods and services

However, the above sum excludes the tax components such as the Central tax, State tax, Union territory tax, Integrated tax and Cess. Further, the taxable value excludes those purchases where the person is required to pay tax under reverse charge. Note that the sales that are subject to reverse charge must continue to form part of the taxable supplies in aggregate turnover.

Documents required for GST registration?

Permanent Account Number (PAN) of the applicant
Copy of the Aadhaar card
Proof of business registration or incorporation certificate
Identity and address proof of promoters/directors with a photograph
Address proof of the place of business
Bank account statement/cancelled cheque
Authorisation letter/board resolution for authorised signatory
Digital signature

What is a GST Return?

A GST return is an official record that includes information about all purchases, sales, taxes paid on purchases, and taxes received on sales. Following the submission of the GST returns, the person must settle their tax debt.

Who should file GST Return?

GST returns has to be filed by all the entities who are registered under the GST system. The filing process has to be identified on the basis of the nature of the business. In case, there was no transaction during the month for any reason, in that case entity needs to file Nil GST return.

What are the different types of GST returns and the due dates to file them?

There are 13 returns under GST. They are the GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, GSTR-4, GSTR-5, GSTR-5A, GSTR-6, GSTR-7, GSTR-8, GSTR-9, GSTR-10, GSTR-11, CMP-08, and ITC-04. Besides the GST returns that are required to be filed, there are statements of input tax credit available to taxpayers, namely GSTR-2A (dynamic) and GSTR-2B (static). There is also an Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) available to small taxpayers who are registered under the QRMP scheme to furnish their Business to Business (B2B) sales for the first two months of the quarter. These small taxpayers will still need to pay taxes on a monthly basis using Form PMT-06.

However, all returns do not apply to all taxpayers. Taxpayers file returns based on the type of taxpayer/type of registration obtained. We have explained the various GST returns, along with applicability and due dates in the section below.

Regular Businesses

Return form	Description	Frequency	Due date
GSTR-1	Details of outward supplies of taxable goods and/or services affected.	Monthly/ Quarterly (If opted under the QRMP scheme)	11th of the next month/ 13th of the month succeeding the quarter.
GSTR-3B	Summary return of outward supplies and input tax credit claimed, along with payment of tax by the taxpayer.	Monthly/ Quarterly (If opted under the QRMP scheme)	20th of the next month/ 22nd or 24th of the month succeeding the quarter
GSTR-9	Annual consolidated tax return (It contains the taxpayer’s income and expenditure in detail. These are then regrouped according to the monthly returns filed by the tax payer).	Annual	31st December of the next financial year.
GSTR-9C	Audit form that needs to be filed by every taxpayer who is liable to get their annual reports audited when their aggregate turnover exceeds Rs. 5 crores in a financial year.	Annual	31st December of the next financial year.

Businesses registered under the Composition Scheme

Return form	Description	Frequency	Due date
GSTR-4	Return for a taxpayer registered under the composition scheme under Section 10 of the CGST Act.	Annual	30th of the month succeeding a financial year.
CMP-08	Statement-cum-challan to make a tax payment by a taxpayer registered under the composition scheme under Section 10 of the CGST Act.	Quarterly	18th of the month succeeding the quarter.

Other types of business owners and dealers

Return form	Description	Frequency	Due date
GSTR-5	Variable return for Non-resident foreign taxpayers (It contains the details of the taxpayer, period of return and invoice details of all goods and services sold and purchased (this also includes imports) by the tax payer on Indian soil for the registered period/month).	Monthly	13th of the next month.
GSTR-5A	This form needs to be filed by non-resident Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval (OIDAR) services provider for the services provided from a place outside India to a person in India to unregistered person or non-taxable customers.	Monthly	20th of the next month.
GSTR-6	Return for an input service distributor to distribute the eligible input tax credit to its branches.	Monthly	13th of the next month.
GSTR-7	Return to be filed by registered persons deducting tax at source (TDS).	Monthly	10th of the next month.
GSTR-8	Return to be filed by e-commerce operators containing details of supplies effected and the amount of tax collected at source by them.	Monthly	10th of the next month.
GSTR-9B	Its an annual return to be filed once in a year by the registered taxpayers under GST including those engaged in the supply of goods of suppliers on electronic commerce platform. (GSTR 9B).	Annually	31st December of the next financial year.
GSTR-10	Final return to be filed by a taxpayer whose GST registration is cancelled.	Once, when the GST registration is cancelled or surrendered.	Within three months of the date of cancellation or date of cancellation order, whichever is later.
GSTR-11	Details of inward supplies to be furnished by a person having UIN and claiming a refund	Monthly	28th of the month following the month for which statement is filed.