5.5 million GST returns filed in January

As many as 5.5 million goods and services tax (GST) returns have been filed for January so far, Goods and Services Tax Network Chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Wednesday.

The last date for filing initial GSTR-3B returns for a month is the 20th of the subsequent month. Hence, the sales returns for January had to be filed by February 20. However, businesses can continue to file returns with a late fee.“The total number of 3B GST returns filed in January till date is 55 lakh (5.5 million),” Pandey told reporters here.

The number is expected to go up when the government releases the GST collection figure later in the month as more businesses continue to file returns.

According to official data available, in December 5.63 million GSTR-3B were filed, which fetched Rs 867.03 billion to the exchequer. In November, 5.31 million returns were filed with total revenue of Rs 808.08 billion.

In October, 5.01 million 3B returns were filed with revenue of Rs 833.46 billion, while in September it was 4.29 million with tax collection of Rs 921.5 billion.

The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, had in November decided to slash late filing fee to help businesses cope with the system and file returns even at a later date.

Businesses with ‘nil’ tax liability now have to pay only Rs 20 as late fee for delayed filing of return while for the rest, the fee is Rs 50.