The introduction of goods and services tax is one of the greatest tax reforms that combines indirect taxes such as VAT, CST, central excise duty, etc. The registered businesses can file returns monthly, quarterly or annual basis depending upon the category of business on the online GST portal.

The GST return filing process has a facility for manual filing of GST returns it allows the individuals to prepare the return offline and then they upload it on the online GST portal through the GSTIN facilitation center.

GST return

The GST return is a document that contains all details about the income, sales, purchase, and expenses. This document also records the input and outward tax paid and collected from their customers registered. It will be used by the authorities to calculate all the taxes and liabilities to be paid to the government.

Every entity registered with GST has to file the returns on the 10th,15th, and 20th of every month without fail even if they haven’t recorded any business under that particular period.

The GSTR return file mainly includes

• Purchases
• Sales
• Input tax credit
• Output tax

Benefits of filing GST returns

1. GST eliminates the cascading effect by combining all different forms of taxes like duty tax, customs duty, sales tax, Vat into a single tax and the online filing system has made it more simplified for individuals
2. Seamless flow of input tax credit allows the supplier to forward the ITC to the buyer
3. Higher threshold benefits for business as compared to the tax system
4. Benefits for start-ups to avoid taxes up to a certain limit
5. Allows E-commerce businesses to do interstate delivery of products and services online
6. The organized tax filing system allows businesses to pay online tax without any hassle

Various GST return forms

The taxpayers have to file various forms depending upon their registration and type of transaction. Some common forms for taxpayers include:

GSTR-1

This file has to be filled by the registered supplier about the details of outward supplies of goods and services. This form contains details about the business name, the period for which return is filed, GSTIN, previously issued invoice and the tax collected against it, the advance amount received about future orders, and any modifications from previous sales bills.

GSTR-2

This form contains details about all the purchase transactions of a registered dealer for a particular month. The GSTR-2 filed by the dealer would be utilized by the government to check with sellers GSTR-1 for reconciliation.

GSTR-3

This form contains all the details automatically obtained from GSTR 1 and GSTR 2 forms. It has details about the tax paid under CGST, SGST, and IGST, input tax credit claims, and also you can claim a refund or carry forward of excess tax being paid.

GSTR-4

This form has to be filed by taxpayers who have opted for GST composite schemes. It contains a summary of inward and outward supplies, services imported, and supplies attracting reverse charges.

GSTR-5

This form is filled by all non-resident taxpayers and has all details about name and details of the business, outward and inward supplies, imported goods details, closing stock details, debit and credit notes, etc

GSTR-5A

This form is filed by non-resident online information and database access or retrieval (OIDAR) services supplied from a place outside India to an individual in India.

GSTR-6

This form is filed by the input service distributor which contains all basic details along with automatically obtained details of GSTR1 and GSTR5 forms.

GSTR-7

This form is filed by people whose tax is deducted at the source. It includes all information about TDS details, late fee or interest in TDS, invoice details, and TDS amount.

GSTR-8

This form is filed by all the e-commerce businesses who are required to collect tax at source and it involves information about supplies made and received, TDS amount, and fines

GSTR-9

This form is filed by normal taxpayers which contains the details about all supplies made and received during the entire year along with turnover and audit details for the same. However, GST Audit has been abolished from the Financial year 20-21

GSTR-10

This will be filed by taxpayers if they need to cancel their registration .this form will contain information like application reference number (ARN), date of cancellation of GST, closing stock details, and unique ID of cancellation order.

GSTR-11

This form is filed by everyone requiring to claim a refund of the tax on inward supplies by using their GSTIN.it will have all details of inward purchases from su8ppliers, period of return, and UIN.

GST return dates

Return form	frequency	Due Date
GSTR 1	Monthly or quarterly	11th of the following month 13th of next month of the quarter
GSTR-3B	Monthly or quarterly	20th of the following month (Turnover> 5 Crores) 22th or 24th of next month of the quarter
GSTR 4	Annually	30th of April following the financial year
GSTR 5	Monthly	20th of the following month
GSTR 6	Monthly	13th of the following month
GSTR 7	Monthly	10th of the following month
GSTR 8	Monthly	10th of the following month
GSTR 9	Annually	31st Dec of next financial year
GSTR 10	Once, when GST registration is canceled	Within 3 months of cancelation order
GSTR 11	Monthly	28th of the next month for which statement was filed

Steps to file GST return

• Visit the online GST portal
• Enter your unique user id password
• Upload all the invoices on the GST portal after that a reference number will be generated for each invoice
• File the inward, outward, and cumulative monthly returns and check the errors
• File outward supply in GSTR 1 through GST common portal
• Outward supply details will be furnished by the supplier will be added to GSTR 2A to the recipient
• Verify and modify the outward supply details and file the debit and credit notes
• Recipient has to furnish inward supply details in GSTR 2. This form has been replaced by the GSTR-3B
• Supplier can accept or reject the changes made on inward supplies
• A summary return GSTR-3B for Outward and Inward supplies by a registered person through the common portal.

Late return filing

If any taxpayer fails to file the returns within the time limit, they are liable to pay fines and penalties. Even if there are no transactions you are required to file nil returns.