Date of filing first GST returns notified

In line with the recommendations of Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, the government has notified the date of filing the first GST returns for the month of July and August.

The date of filing returns was extended earlier by the Council by a month to give more time to the taxpayers to come into the system.

Under the GST, three forms -- GSTR 1, GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 -- need to be filed every month. Accordingly, for the month of July, the three forms will have to be filed between September 1 and 5, September 6 and 10 and September 11 and 15, respectively, according to the notification issued on Tuesday.

Form GSTR 1 would reflect sales of a business, GSTR 2 would reflect purchases and GSTR 3 is a combination of sales and purchases.

For the month of August, the three forms will have to be filed between September 16-20, September 21-25 and September 26-30 respectively.

Apart from these three forms, for the first two months of the GST regime - July and August - the taxpayers also need to file a form GSTR-3B, which is a summary return wherein details of outward supplies, inward supplies, credit and payment of GST is to be given.

The GSTR-3B form for July has to be filed by August 20 while for August, it needs to be filed before September 20.

Though there is no penalty for filing GST returns for the month of July and August, experts are of the view that it will be extremely cumbersome for the trader as he will have to file a total of seven returns in the month of September alone.

"Tax professionals and taxpayers are going to have a very busy season as in next 50 days as the taxpayers are supposed to file multiple GSTR returns. Situation gets complicated as all these returns are being prepared and filed for first time and not enough experience is available even with tax professionals and taxpayers," chartered accountant and GST analyst Pritam Mahure told IANS.

"It would be quite challenging for the corporates," he added.

GST Suvidha Provider Payworld which has opened 100 centres across the country to help taxpayers file returns, however said that the Goods and Services Tax Network model is user friendly and will not be cumbersome.

"We have opened 100 GST centres in Gujarat, Mumbai, Delhi, NCR, Punjab, Rajasthan, etc. This number we will increase up to 10,000 this year itself. We charge taxpayers on a subscription model for a year or more than a year," Payworld COO Praveen Dhabhai told IANS.

"We are live on GSTN portal. We will help and guide taxpayers to file returns. The online and offline model of GST filing is user friendly. It should not be cumbersome for taxpayers," he added.

For September, the last date for GST return filing for forms GSTR 1, GSTR 2 and GSTR 3 will be October 10, October 15 and October 20 respectively and there is also likely to be a penalty for delayed filing.

--IANS

mm/vd