How Can Small Businesses File GST Return?

GST Return is a document having details of all income or sales and expenses or purchases that a registered taxpayer of GST is required to file with the tax department authorities.

The Goods and Services Tax ensures that taxpayer services such as registration, returns, and even compliance are clear and straightforward. It allows transparency to the taxpayer. Every small or large business has to submit monthly returns.

An e-commerce operator provides the details of the sales and purchase of goods and services. The details also include the tax paid and collected in the given period. The GST council has constructed a completely transparent Income tax system. The online submission of returns is on the portal of goods & services.

How To File GST Return?

In India, small businesses have to file certain returns mandatorily, and any non-compliance in filing would result in the disallowance of the input tax credit.

The GST council allows small businesses with less than Rs. 5 crores turnover will have to file quarterly returns i.e., only four GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B instead of every month from January 2021.

This step has been taken towards reducing the compliance burden, particularly on small taxpayers.

The process of filing the return is as follows:

• Visit the GST portal
• A 15-digit unique identification number is issued while GST registration as per the state code and PAN number of the applicant.
• Upload invoices on the GST return portal or the software. An invoice reference number is issued against each invoice.
• Once you upload all the invoices, outward return, inward return, and cumulative monthly return have to be filed completely online. All errors can be rectified.
• File the outward supply returns in the GSTR-1 form through the information section at the GST Common portal (GSTIN) on or before the 10th of the following month.
• The outward supplies furnished by the supplier will be received from the GSTR-2 form.
• The recipient has to verify the details of the outward supplies done by him and file details of credit notes or debit notes.
• Supply details of the inward supplies of goods and services in the GSTR-2 i.e., GST return form.
• The supplier can accept or reject the details provided by the inward supplies made in the GSTR-1A
• If there are any errors, you have the option to correct them and refile the returns.

You can also download the return form from the government portal by following the given steps:

• Login to the GST portal
• Go to the services, then returns and then return dashboard
• Choose the month and year from the menu
• Click on ‘Prepare offline’
• Click to download and then click on ‘generate file’
• The next step is to click on the ‘Click here’ link for downloading the link.
• Open the file using the GST offline tool by clicking on ‘open’ under the open downloaded return file from the GST portal.

What Are The Types Of GST Returns?

Depending on the type of business, one needs to do a monthly or quarterly GST filing in addition to the annual filing in accordance with the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. The registered dealer has to file a return that includes Purchases, sales, Output GST and Input tax credit. Following is the list of return applications that need to be filled as per the act:

• GSTR-1 – A GSTR-1 return is filled monthly or quarterly by registered businesses to provide information regarding their sales or outward supplies.
• GSTR-2 – This type of return provides details of purchases, transactions, or inward supplies for a month, including purchases with applicable reverse charges.
• GSTR-3 – GST return 3B provides the summarized details of all monthly purchases and sales, along with the GST amount to be paid.
• GSTR-4 – It is to be filled annually by composition dealers.
• GSTR-5 – All registered non-resident foreign taxable persons or suppliers not having a business establishment in India are required to file this return.
• GSTR-6 – This is to be filled monthly by an Input service distributor.
• GSTR-7 – This is to be filled by those who are required for tax deduction at source (TDS) under GST.
• GSTR-8 – All e-commerce operators are mandatory for tax collected at source (TCS) must file this return.
• GSTR-9 – It includes details of the inward and outward supplies made is GST return or received during the financial year. It provides consolidated data of all the monthly or quarterly returns filed during the year.
• GSTR-10 – All the registered taxable persons who have opted for surrendering or canceling the GST registration need to file this return.
• GSTR-11 – A person who has received a Unique Identity number (UIN) i.e., a special classification number assigned for foreign diplomatic missions and embassies exempt from Indian taxes.
• Besides the returns that are required to be filed, there is a statement of input tax credit available to the taxpayers, namely GSTR-2A (dynamic) and GSTR-2B(static). There is an Invoice furnishing facility (IFF) which is available to small businesses taxpayers who are registered under the provided QRMP scheme.

How To Check GST Return Status?

There are three ways to check the return status. The following are the different ways:

Track status using the ‘Return Filing Period’ option.

Before tracking the return status, the taxpayer needs to access their GST account. The following steps are given:

• Visit the GST portal
• Log in with your credentials
• Move the cursor, select service, click on returns and file track return status.
• Select the return filing period
• Select the given financial year for which the return is to be filed
• Click on the search button.

Track status using the ‘ARN’ option:

• Visit the GST portal
• Log in with your credentials
• Move the cursor, select service, click on GST return filing online and track the return status.
• Type your ARN number in the dedicated ARN space.
• Lastly, click on the search to track the return status

Track status using the ‘Status’ option:

• Visit the GST portal
• Log in with your credentials
• Click on the service tab, click on returns and file track return status.
• Select the status of the return option
• Click on the search to view the return status.

Conclusion

GST stands for goods and services tax and returns under GST mean for business owners and service providers. Every individual who comes under the GST law shall file their income to the Tax department of India. The GST returns list includes the details of every sale and purchase.

Under the taxation system, the concerned individuals must file their returns under GST 26 times a year. While businessmen have to go for GST two times every month, they must also file two additional half-yearly returns. In this blog, we have discussed the return filing process with various types of returns and tracking of return status.