Last day of GST returns filing peaks to record 1.37 mn: GSTN

More than 13.76 lakh returns - the highest in a day till now - were filed on Wednesday, the last day of filing returns under the GST system for August, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) said on Thursday

An overwhelming majority of taxpayers logged on the GST portal to file returns during the daytime, with a bulk of traffic witnessed in the afternoon hours, the hourly data on filings showed.

"The hourly trend for GSTR-3B from August 12 to September 20 shows that about 94 per cent of taxpayers filed the returns between 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Only about 6 per cent did it late in the night or early morning. The trend is the same for other returns as well. We would like to underline here that the portal is handling peak hours smoothly," GSTN CEO Prakash Kumar said.

GSTR-3B is a summary return of details of outward supplies, inward supplies, credit and payment of goods and services.

As regards the GSTR-3B returns for July, a total of 46.4 lakh taxpayers filed them, representing about 78 per cent of all taxpayers registered on the GST portal and eligible to file GSTR-3B for July.

Those who were registered in August (10 lakh) and those who have opted for Composition Scheme (10 lakh) were not required to file GSTR-3B for July.

The GST Council, headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, had set up a Group of Ministers headed by Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Kumar Modi to sort out the issues hampering the smooth operation of the GSTN portal.

Jaitley and Sushil Kumar Modi had advised the taxpayers to avoid a last-minute rush to meet the deadline and file returns four-five days in advance.

"If 75 per cent of people wait until the last day, the system is bound to crash... its capacity is 1 lakh per hour or 24 lakh throughout the day," Jaitley had said earlier.

Over 80,000 GSTR-3B compliances for August were uploaded every hour on Wednesday, GSTN Chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey had said.