Simplification of Annual Return for Financial Year 2020-21

Following changes to apply for the filing of annual return GSTR 9 for the FY 20-21 stated in 43rd GST Council Meeting.

1. Optional GSTR 9 Filing for Micro Taxpayers – Filing of annual return in GSTR-9 / 9A for FY 2020-21 to be made optional for taxpayers having aggregate annual turnover up to Rs 2 Crore
2. The reconciliation statement in GSTR-9C for FY 2020-21 will be required to be filed by taxpayers with annual aggregate turnover above Rs 5 Crore
3. Taxpayers would be able to self-certify the reconciliation statement in GSTR 9C, instead of getting it certified by chartered accountants. This change will apply for Annual Return for FY 2020-21. Amendments in sections 35 and 44 of CGST Act made through Finance Act, 2021 to be notified soon. This would ease the compliance requirement in furnishing reconciliation statements in GSTR-9C.

In our previous article, we have covered all about annual returns and their different form types that need to be filed by different entities. Now let us focus on GSTR-9 Annual Return Form

GSTR 9 Annual Return Form Filing

GSTR-9 is an annual return form that needs to be filed once a year by registered taxpayers under GST disclosing a detailed summary of outward supply and taxes paid thereon, input tax credits claimed, taxes paid, and refund claimed in the financial year in respect of which such annual return is filed.

Who needs to file GSTR-9?

Registered Regular taxpayers under GST who file GSTR-1 and GSTR-3 are liable to file GSTR-9 Annual Return Form.

What does GSTR-9 Annual Return form consists of?

The GSTR-9 return form consists of 19 tables grouped into 6 parts. the 6 parts can be broken down as follows:

• Part 1:It covers the basic details such as financial year, GSTIN, legal name, and trade name (if any).
• Part 2: In this section, you need to provide consolidated details of all your outward supplies and advances received on which tax is applicable during the financial year for which the return is filed. You also need to fill details of outward supplies on which tax is not applicable as mentioned in the returns filed during the respective financial year.
• Part 3:The tables under Part 3 deal with the Input Tax Credit (ITC) details, which is divided further into 3  subsections as follows:
  • 1^st Sub-Section: In the first sub-section, you have to mention the details of ITC availed as declared in returns filed during the financial year. The mentioned details can be obtained from FORM GSTR-3B.
  • 2nd Sub-Section: In the second sub-section, you have to provide details of ITC reversed and ineligible ITC as declared in return filed during the financial year.
  • 3^rd Sub-Section: The third sub-section asks for details of other ITC details, which is auto-populated.
• Part 4 of GSTR 9:It covers details of actual tax paid during the financial year.

• Part 5 0f GSTR9 :You have to disclose details of amendments made i.e. additions or deductions made for the supplies of the previous financial year in the returns of April to September of the current financial year or the date of filing of an annual return for the previous financial year, whichever is earlier.
• Part 6 of GSTR9:In this part, you have to provide information of any refund, demand, supplies received from composition taxpayer, deemed supply and good send of approval basis, HSN wise summary of outward and inward supplies and if any late fee payable or paid.

What is the Penalty for Non-Filing of GSTR-9 Annual Return Form?

As per Section 47(2) of Central Goods and Service Tax Act (2017), a person will be fined a penalty of INR 100 per day (CGST) + INR 100 per day (SGST), amounting to a total of INR 200 per day if he/she fails to file GSTR-9 before the due date. However, the maximum amount of penalty a person can be fined is 0.25% of the total turnover.

When is the due date for filing GSTR-9?

The due date for filing GSTR-9 is 31st December of the subsequent financial year. For example, the due date for filing GSTR-9 for the financial year 2017-2018 is 31st December 2018. However, the same has been extended until 31st August 2019.

GST Annual Return GSTR 9 is quite an elaborate return and consolidates all the details and transactions of the financial year. As businesses have been filing monthly and quarterly GST returns, some of the sections of GSTR 9 hence can be directly derived from the previously filed GST returns.

How IRIS Sapphire can make GSTR 9 Filing Simpler?

IRIS Sapphire helps you to automate your GSTR 9 preparation and simplify computation at various levels.  It provides computation details auto-drafted in the GSTR 9 form. Using the GSTR 1, 3B and Ledgers data uploaded, it computes the tables that get available in  auto-populated GSTR 9. This enables you to verify and reconcile with the auto-drafted details.
It gives a section-wise view of the  GSTR 9 with auto-drafted details and uploaded details. This makes the review process easier and efficient.  This enables complete as well as incremental save of data.
IRIS Sapphire helps you bulk fetch of GSTR 9 auto-drafted details and also provides reports based on GST Returns data and reconciliation results.  This puts your GSTR 9 preparation on fast-track mode and supplements the data preparation process for additional sections of GSTR 9 Annual Return Form.

You can schedule a demo for GSTR9 filing through IRIS Sapphire here.

Update 26th August 2019: The finance ministry extended the last date for GSTR 9 Filing  by three months to November 30 from 31st August 2019. _______________________________________________________________________

Update 21 June 2019: 

The due date for filing GSTR 9, GSTR 9A and GSTR 9C has been extended upto August 31 , 2019 in the 35th GST Council Meeting held on June 21, 2019. There were certain other changes also announced in the meeting regarding GSTR 9, please go through the other GST Council Meeting details.
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22 December 2018: The due date for filing GSTR 9, GSTR 9A and GSTR 9C has been extended upto June 30, 2019 in the 31^st GST Council Meeting held on December 22, 2018. There were certain other changes also announced in the meeting regarding GSTR 9.

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IRIS Business is a leading GST Suvidha Provider (GSP) providing easy and efficient GST Software  (IRIS Sapphire) and E-way bill Software (IRIS Topaz) compliance. To have your GSTR-9 queries solved and to know more about our solution for filing GSTR-9, please request for a free demo or contact us at support@irisgst.com.