Roll out of simple GST returns deferred to Oct; trial to start next month

To be implemented in phases, to be fully in pace by January next

Giving the industry a breathing time, the government has deferred implementation of the simplified returns to October from earlier deadline of July and came out with clear-cut phase-wise timelines for a transition. 

Trial of parts of new returns will start from next month and the whole process would replace the existing returns by January 2020.

Currently, there are two forms that every registered unit has to file either monthly depending on their sales -- GSTR 1 for sale invoices and GSTR 3B which is summary of purchases and sales. 

GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B would be replaced by GST ANX-1 and GST RET-01 respectively. There would be another form GSTR ANX-2 which would be for purchases. 

GSTR 1 would be replaced by GST ANX-1 from October for large companies (having turnover of more than Rs 5 turnover) and from January for others. 

However, experts have cautioned about the capacity of GSTN portal to handle returns. "What would also be interesting to see is how the GSTN portal behaves with the new return format and its annexures," said Harpreet Singh, partner at KPMG. 

Meanwhile, the GST Council is also planning to implement e-invoicing system. "It remains to be seen as to whether the government would want the e-invoicing system to be implemented simultaneously in a phased manner and how the same would be integrated with the GST returns," Pratik Jain, partner at PwC India, said. 

Abhishek Jain, partner at EY, said with a concrete transition plan, businesses would now need to commence work on ERP system changes, business process changes for aligning disclosures with the new return.