Finance ministry notifies annual return forms under GST for 2017-18

The finance ministry has notified annual tax return forms for businesses registered under the GST, in which details of sales, purchases and input tax credit (ITC) benefits accrued to them during 2017-18 fiscal have to be provided in a consolidated manner.

The ministry has notified annual return form for normal taxpayers (GSTR-9) and for composition taxpayers (GSTR-9A). The last date for filing the annual return forms is December 31.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST), which subsumed 17 different indirect taxes, was rolled out on July 1, 2017.

The annual return form for normal taxpayers has been divided into 6 parts with 19 tables which includes detailed information related to outward supplies, inward supplies, ITC availed, ITC reversed, ineligible ITC, particulars of demand and refund, HSN summary of outward supplies and HSN summary of inward supplies of the transactions declared in returns filed during the financial year ending March 2018.

Also information with regard to transactions related to financial year ending March 31, 2018 declared in return of April to September are to be declared in the annual return.

"Today government has accepted the long pending demand of industry and has notified annual return form for normal taxpayers(GSTR 9) and annual return form for composition taxpayers(GSTR 9A) in which detailed information has to be provided by businesses," AMRG & Associates Partner Rajat Mohan said.

Also information with regard to transactions related to financial year ending March 31, 2018 declared in return of April to September are to be declared in the annual return, he added.

"This Annual return formats refers to computation of reconciliation of Tax credit claimed in GSTR 3B against credit available in GSTR 2A and IGST paid on import of supplies with the aim that Tax credit not availed till filing of return for September 2018 would lapse forever," Mohan said.

While Part I of the form deals with basic information of the business, the details of all the supplies declared by the taxpayer in the returns filed during the financial year has to be filled in Part II of the return form in a consolidated manner.

Part III consists of the details of all input tax credit availed and reversed in the financial year for which the annual return is filed.

Part IV is the actual tax paid during the financial year.

Part V consists of particulars of transactions for the previous financial year but declared in the returns of April to September of current FY or date of filing of Annual Return for previous financial year (for example in the annual return for the FY 2017-18, the transactions declared in April to September 2018 for the FY 2017-18 shall be declared), whichever is earlier.

"This was quite an awaited Return format by the industry especially given the limited time frame for filing ie December 31st. While this development was awaited, the format of GSTR-9C, which is expected to include reconciliation with financials, attestation by auditor and other details is now being looked foward to by the industry, EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said.