Filing NIL GSTR 3B via SMS has now been allowed by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), as a measure to ease the compliance process via GST Notification 38/2020 dated 05/05/2020.

The notification which was released amidst pandemic, also allowed registered entities which were a company, to file GSTR-3B through EVC till June 30th 2020.

What is Nil GSTR 3B?

GSTR 3B is a self-declaration form where taxpayers are required to furnish their tax liabilities on a monthly basis. Due to the COVID-19 crisiscrises, many businesses went on hold. And several taxpayers had nil business transactions for those months. To simplify compliance for such taxpayers, government introduced the facility to file a nil GSTR 3B via sms. With this SMS filing facility, it has become very convenient for them to carry out the process and stay compliant. 

Who needs to file NIL GSTR 3B?

Taxpayers who have not made any outward supply; not have any reverse charge liability and, the taxpayers who do not intend to take any Input tax credit and do not have liability for that or previous tax-periods must file NIL GSTR 3B.

Steps to file NIL GSTR 3B via SMS:

Step 1: To file your NIL GSTR 3B returns via SMS, you need to send a formatted message to the authorities using your official i.e. registered mobile number and receive a unique code.

Message Body: “NIL (Space) 3B (Space) GSTIN (Space) tax period in MMYYYY format.” Send this SMS to 14409 from your registered mobile number.

Step 2: You will receive a 6 digit validation code. The verification code is valid for only 30 minutes.

Step 3: After receiving the verification code, you need to send another message to file your returns.

Message Body: “CNF (Space) 3B (Space) your 6 Digit Verification Code” Send this SMS to 14409 from your registered mobile number.

Step 4: You should receive a success message after this procedure is complete. The success message will have the ARN number which indicates NIL Filing has been successful.

For any help in this regard, you can send an SMS for the same. Just type ‘Help’ (Space) 3B and send to 14409 from your registered mobile number.

In order to track your application status, you can log-in to the GST Portal and track.

• On the GST Portal: navigate to ‘Services’ > ‘Returns’ > ‘Track Return’
• Note: You cannot revise the NIL Returns once filed via SMS. You can only track its status on the official GST portal.

In the same notification, the CBIC has also stated the return filing format for taxpayers who have registered as ‘company’. The notification also states that if the registered entity is a company, then GSTR-3B can be filed through EVC till June 30th 2020.

Is it mandatory to file Nil GSTR 3B?

Filing NIL GSTR 3B is mandatory for all taxpayers despite conducting no business activity for a particular tax-period if they fall under this category i.e. all conditions for NIL Returns are satisfied. 

There are multiple compliance due-dates this month. Check out our GST Compliance Calendar  so as to avoid missing any due dates. 

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