Important highlights in GST filing in 2020

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Changes under the GST applicable for New Year 2020
  1. E-invoice : New E-invoicing system is going to be implemented in GST which is mandatory from 1st April 2020 for taxpayers having an annual turnover exceeding Rs. 100 crore and then gradually to all B2B suppliers in the future. A mechanism for the continuous upload of revenue invoices on a real-time basis. This is the most remarkable change coming in Indian Book Keeping.  
  2. New IRP in GST: Invoice Registration Portal would be introduced this new year. IRP shall make an e-invoice of the invoices uploaded by the supplier. IRP shall send the e-invoice to the supplier and recipient. IRP shall send e-invoices data to GSTN portal
  1. New Return: New simplified auto-mated GST returns would be implemented from 1st April 2020 for all taxpayers. This new returns system will increase compliance and reduce tax evasion to a larger extent.
  1. Annexure 1 and Annexure 2: Anx-1 of Outward Supplies and Anx-2 of Inward Supplies will be the future base for filing of all GST Returns, thus these 2 reports will be the key for future reports of GST which will replace GSTR 1 and GSTR-2A.
  1. Restriction on claim of ITC: With effect from 01/01/2020, ITC in respect of invoices or debit notes that are not reflected in taxpayer’s FORM GSTR-2A shall be restricted to 10 percent of the eligible ITC reflected in his FORM GSTR-2A. Earlier the restriction was 20%. A major change in ITC availment.
  1. E-way Bill and GSTR-1: From 11th January, 2020 non-filing of GSTR-1 for two consecutive periods would block generation of E-way Bill. Thus, regular filing of GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B in year 2020 should go hand in hand.
  1. Waiver of late fees for Non-filing of GSTR-1: If the taxpayer has failed to file GSTR-1 from July 2017 to November 2019, then the taxpayers can file such returns till 10 January, 2020 and the late fees for the same has been waived of. This will also affect GSTR-2A of the recipient to claim ITC.
  1. GST Audit and Annual Return: The due date for filing GST Annual Return and Audit Report for F.Y. 2017-18 has been further extended to 31st January, 2020.The due date for filing GST Annual Return and Audit Report for F.Y 2018-19 has been extended to 31st March, 2020. For F.Y 2019-20 new format may be brought in because of inherent limitations in current forms.
  1. DIN notices and E-scrutiny: Due to decline in collection of revenue from GST, large scale e-scrutiny and e-assessment notices with DIN for the returns from July 2017 may be taken up. It would be done in order to check significant deviations in returns.
  1. GSTN Network is proposed to be reengineered for more taxpayer-centric services like reminder of return filing, status of refund, ITC matches and mismatches, etc.

Late fee to be waived on GSTR-1 if filed by Jan 10, 2020

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Late fee to be waived on GSTR-1 if filed by Jan 10, 2020

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) council has decided to waive off late fees for all taxpayers who have filed GSTR 1, if all refunds are filed by 10 January 2020.

In the 38th meeting of the GST Council on December 18, authorities had also waived of a late fee to be given all taxpayers in respect of all pending Form GSTR-1 from July 2017 to November 2019, if the same is filed by January 10th, 2020.

According to CBIC, the late fee waiver will be applicable only till 10 January 2020, beyond which a late fee of at least Rs 50 per day will be charged for non-filing of GSTR-1.

The late fine can also go up to a maximum of Rs 10,000 per statement as per existing provisions. The CBIC has also said that the government has planned to take a number of steps if the pending GSTR-1 is not filed by the 10th of next month, which may include steps such as blocking of the E-way bill, etc.

GSTR-1 is a monthly return that summarizes all sales (outward supplies) of a taxpayer. The due dates for GSTR-1 are based on turnover. Businesses with sales of up to Rs. 1.5 crore will file quarterly returns. Other taxpayers with sales above Rs. 1.5 crores have to file monthly return.

Availing of ITC restricted to 10% in case of GST details mismatch

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Businesses take advantage of facilities provided under existing system to generate fake invoices that cause loss to the Government

Tax authority given the right to restrict the use of balance in electronic credit ledger

In an effort to curb the menace of fake invoices and tax evasion, the Finance Ministry has notified a new norm of limiting the input tax credit to 10 per cent in case of GST details mismatch.

Experts feel that this will force businesses to restrict themselves to matched details and ignore the mismatched ones and thus incur losses, which could go into crores for big companies, due to complexities involved.

The change in the norm, the second in three months, has been initiated following a decision by the GST Council. Earlier, in October, the government limited ITC in case of details not uploaded by suppliers to 20 per cent which has now been halved. According to a new notification to be effective from January 1, ITC to be availed by a registered person in respect of invoices or debit notes, the details of which have not been uploaded by the suppliers, shall not exceed 10 per cent of the eligible credit available in respect of invoices or debit notes the details of which have been uploaded by the suppliers.

Two return forms

Businesses take advantage of facilities provided under existing system to generate fake invoices that cause loss to the Government. The existing system prescribes assessees to file two return forms — GSTR 1 (outward sales with tax liability) and GSTR 3B (summary returns with final tax payment). Since both are not auto linked, this could result in showing higher liability, claiming higher input tax credit and paying less tax in cash.

In other words, irrespective of the credit being visible in GSTR 2A (auto generated return for purchases), the service recipient used to claim credit without any restriction subject to having the invoice copy and satisfying other conditions laid down under the law. There is feeling that one of the reasons for availing higher input tax credit on the basis of fake invoices was the mismatch between the two — GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B.

This was affecting the government’s revenue. This has forced it to limit the ITC in case of details not matched and encourages the companies to monitor whether the suppliers are uploading their returns on a regular basis. However, experts feel that such a mechanism will lead to compliance cost for companies. Also, the companies might not prefer to go behind suppliers to see whether they have filed returns or not. Hence, they would focus only on matched details and incur loss on account of others.

Electronic Credit Ledger

The government has introduced additional conditions for use of amount available in Electronic Credit Ledger. It has given the right to the tax authority to restrict the use of balance in electronic credit ledger by recording the reasons to believe in writing. The key reasons for restricting credit are: invoice issued by registered person not in existence and recipient is not in procession of goods/services /invoice on which credit is claimed. Post restriction, the tax authority, upon being satisfied that conditions for disallowing debit of electronic credit ledger as above, no longer exist, can allow such credit in the electronic credit ledger.

Controlling tax evasion

According to Harpreet Singh, Partner at KPMG, one hopes that automatic blocking of credit is resorted to only where fraudulent intention is proved beyond doubt and the same is not used on a regular basis, as casual resort to the said provision may lead to harsh consequences for many innocent defaulters.

Rajat Mohan, Senior Partner with AMRG, said GST frauds are on the rise and so is the fiscal deficit which is forcing the government to introduce new methods to control tax evasion and take punitive action against the accused.

Source: Business Line

Major announcements in GST council meet dt : 18th Dec 2019

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Here are some of the major announcements in GST council meet dt : 18th Dec 2019

  1. The Council decided that input tax credit will now be restricted to 10 percent as against 20 percent earlier if invoices not uploaded.
  2. Deadline for GSTR 9 and GSTR 9C return filing for 2017-18 extended to January 31, 2020 from December 31, 2019 .
  3. Penalty for non-filing of GSTR-1 from July 2017 relaxed . Late fee waived for all assessees failed to file GSTR 1 , if they file it by 10th January 2019.
  4. GST Council exempts long term lease on industrial plots to facilitate setting up of industrial parks.
  5. Land lease GST rates to be applicable from January 1, 2020.
  6. Uniform rate of 18% for woven and non-woven bags.
  7. Uniform rate of 28% for lotteries.
    At present, lotteries run by state governments attract 12% GST while those authorised by them and sold outside the state are taxed at 28%.
  8. E-way bill for those who haven’t filed GSTR-1 for 2 tax periods shall be blocked.
  9. Standard procedure for officers to be issued in respect of action to be taken in cases of non-filing of GSTR-3B.
  10. Due date of filing GST returns for Nov 19 to be extended in certain north eastern states.
  11. Grievance redressal committees will be constituted to address the general problems of the taxpayers at zonal and state level with both CGST and SGST officers and including certain representatives.

Govt extends deadline for filing GSTR-9 (Annual Return) and Form GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement)

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In a relief to taxpayers, the government on Thursday extended the due dates for filing GST annual returns for 2017-18 to December 31 and for the financial year 2018-19, to March 31 next year.

The dates for filing the reconciliation statement has also been extended accordingly.

In another relief, it has also decided to simplify the two GST forms by making various fields of these forms as optional, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) said in a statement.

“The government has decided today (Thursday) to extend the due dates of filing of Form GSTR-9 (Annual Return) and Form GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement) for 2017-18 to December 31, 2019 and for 2018-19 to March 2020,” it said.

The earlier deadline for filing of GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for 2017-18 was November 30, 2019, while that for 2018-19 was December 31, 2019.

Notifications regarding the extension of the dates have been issued.

This is the fourth extension being given to businesses to comply with the return filing requirement for the July-April period of FY18 in view of the numerous changes in rules as well as the difficulties faced by them in shifting to the new technology reliant indirect tax regime.

GST return Form GSTR-9C is a statement of reconciliation between the GST annual return and the audited financial statement of the tax payer.

The CBIC in the revenue department has also notified the amendments regarding the simplification of the annual return and reconciliation statement forms.

A reconciliation statement allow taxpayers to not provide split of input tax credit availed on inputs, input services and capital goods for 2017-18 and 2018-19.

CBIC further said it is expected that with the simplifications in the two forms and the extension of deadlines, “all the GST taxpayers would be able to file their annual returns along with reconciliation statement in time”.

Various representations regarding challenges faced by taxpayers in filing of GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C were received on which by the government has “acted in a very responsive manner”, the CBIC statement added.

GST annual return due date extended till 31 August 2019 for FY 2017-18

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35th GST Council Meeting Highlights

35th GST Council Meeting was held on 21 June 2019 at New Delhi, after a gap of more than three months, chaired by Union Finance Minister, Mrs Nirmala Sitharaman.

This GST Council meeting has been called at a time when the countdown to upcoming Union Budget 2019 is less than a month away. A lot of expectations piled up over months concerning various indirect tax issues will be addressed in this meeting.

Highlights of 35th GST Council Meeting

The 35th GST Council meeting concluded with consensus on the following matters

  1. GST annual return due date extended till 31 August 2019 for FY 2017-18

The due date for filing GSTR-9, GSTR-9A, and GSTR-9C for the FY 2017-18 has been extended by two months, till 31 August 2019. Official notification can be made anytime soon.

  1. Aadhaar-enabled GST Registration introduced:

In order to ease the current process of GST registration and reduce the paperwork involved, GST Council has given a go-ahead to a new system for verification of taxpayers registering themselves under GST.  Aadhaar number shall be linked to the GSTIN while generation.

  1. NAA tenure extended by two years

Tenure of National Anti-profiteering Authority (NAA) was due to end by 30 November 2019. GST Council has further extended this tenure by two years, to enable it to take up all the pending cases. Hence, the authority can take up new cases in future due to rate cut issues, indicating that the GST Council has plans for further rationalisation of GST rates.

  1. 10% penalty to apply for any delay in depositing profiteered amount

GST Council has approved a levy of 10% penalty for delay in depositing the profiteered amount by more than 30 days. This is a fair measure that would encourage timely compliance by the taxpayer.

  1. E-invoicing to start from January 2020

The new system for raising all the tax invoices on the GST portal has received in-principle approval for implementation from 1 January 2020. This applies to only B2B invoicing. By this system, no separate e-way bill will be required in case of e-invoice. Returns to be framed from these e-invoices. A phased implementation is being worked out.
Earlier, the government had fixed Rs 50 crore as the limit for the applicability of e-invoicing.

  1. E-ticketing made mandatory for multiplexes

Among other major decisions, the GST Council approved the electronic ticketing system, for multiplexes, having multi-screens. This will help curb cases of tax evasion and the use of black tickets that have been prevalent.

  1. Rate cut decision on electric vehicles, chargers & leasing thereof deferred; Committee to submit its report

The decision to cut GST rates for electric vehicles and electric chargers have been postponed to the next Council meeting. The matter has been referred to the Fitment Committee for checking the feasibility of the rate cut. At present, the GST rates for electric vehicles and electric chargers are 12% and 28% respectively.

Likewise, the valuation rules for goods and services pertaining to solar power generating systems and wind turbines will be placed before the next Fitment Committee. The suggestions made by this Committee will be placed before the next GST Council meeting.

  1. Rate cut for lottery put on hold; Matter to be referred before an Attorney General

The previous council meet had not tabled the rate cut matter for lotteries. The 35th GST Council meeting discussed the matter at length and also brought to light two pending cases on this matter before the high court and supreme court respectively. Although the courts had referred the matter back to GST Council, the Council has decided to consult the Attorney General of India.

  1. GSTAT to be GST Appellate Tribunal.

The GST council also definitively stated the Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal will be the appellate authority and will adjudicate on appeals arising from central and state tax authorities’ in-house dispute resolution system. The states will decide the number of GSTAT required by them as a result of which there can be two tribunals in a single state.

  1. Other Due date extensions
Form New due date
ITC-04 for July 2017- June 2019 31 August 2019
CMP-02 for opting into the composition scheme for service providers under Notification 2/2019-CT rate 31 July 2019
  1. For non-filing of GST returns, E-way bills to be blocked

The law stated that where the GST returns in GSTR-3B/ GSTR-4 is not filed for two consecutive tax periods, e-way bill generation for such taxpayers would be disabled. This will be brought into effect from 21 August 2019, instead of the earlier notified date of 21st June 2019.

CBDT to share data with GST department to trap tax evaders

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Highlights
• This move will apply for all those assessees who have business income and file the returns specified for those with this income i.e. ITR 3 to ITR -7.
• Before sharing any information, the income tax authority shall determine that such information is necessary for the GSTN authority to perform its functions.

The government on Tuesday authorized the income tax department to share details including sales and profits that businesses have reported in their income tax returns with GSTN, the company that processes Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns, to scale up scrutiny and check tax evasion.

The move will allow direct and indirect tax authorities to zero in on discrepancies in the information that business have disclosed in their respective tax return forms and nail tax evaders. The move comes as part of tightening of anti-evasion measures after the GST Council gave several relaxations in recent months to ease the rigors of tax compliance to businesses, especially to small ones. A formal system of data sharing between direct and indirect tax authorities means businesses have to be extra careful while filling up their tax returns and avoid mismatches. The move is significant considering that businesses did not show enthusiasm in opting for a single window tax facility for corporate tax, service tax and central excise in 2006 under the name Large Taxpayer Unit as they apparently preferred to avoid simultaneous scrutiny by different tax authorities.

An office order issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Tuesday authorized the Principal Director General of Income Tax (systems) or Director General of Income Tax (systems) to share specified data with an officer of GSTN. The designated officers from both sides will also decide ways of simultaneous exchange of information

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Order.  F. No. 225/105/2019/ITA.ll              Order Under Section 138(1)(a) of the Income Tax Act, 1961

F. No. 225/105/2019/ITA.ll
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes

New Delhi, the 30th  April, 2019

Order In exercise of powers conferred under section 138(1)(a) of the Income tax Act, 1961 (‘Act’), for purposes of sub-clause (i) of section 138(1)(a) of the Act, the Central Board of Direct taxes (‘CBDT’) hereby directs that Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director General of Income-tax (Systems), New Delhi shall be the specified income-tax authority for furnishing information respecting assessees to the Nodal Officer, Goods and Services Tax Network (‘GSTN’).

2.  The data/information to be furnished by the specified income-tax authority shall be: (a)  Request based exchange of data, wherein, important financial fields which are captured in the Income Tax Returns (ITRs) such as (i) status of filing of ITR; (ii) turnover; (iii) gross total income, (iv)turnover ratio; (v) GTI range; (vi) turnover range and (vii) any other field, the modalities of which shall be decided by the concerned specified authorities. (b)  Spontaneous exchange of data, the modalities of which shall be decided by the concerned specified authorities. (c)  Automatic exchange of data, the modalities of which shall be decided by the concerned specified authorities.

While furnishing the information, the specified income-tax authority shall form an opinion that sharing of such information is necessary for the purposes of enabling the specified authority in GSTN to perform its functions under the Goods and Services Tax.
3.  To facilitate the process of furnishing information, Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director General of Income-tax (Systems) would enter into a Memorandum of Understanding (‘MoU’) with nodal officer, GSTN, which inter-alia would include modalities of exchange of data, maintenance of confidentiality, mechanism for safe preservation of data, weeding out after usage etc. The time line for furnishing information shall also be decided by Pr. Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director General of Income-tax (Systems) in consultation with concerned nodal officer and included in the said MoU.
4.  A copy of MoU shall be forwarded to this division for record purposes.
5.  This issues with the approval of Chairman, CBDT.
(Rajarajeswari R.) Under Secretary,
(ITA-Il), CBDT