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The draft of the new simplified GST return form will be out early next week. The government proposes to seek stakeholders comments before finalising the new form.
“We will put the new return filing format in public domain by Monday. Industry can send comments on the form for one month. Your feedback will help further improve the system,” Upendra Gupta, GST Commissioner, said at the CII Conference on GST here on Thursday. Tax authorities plan to put in place the new return filing system by January 1, 2019.
The new simplified return will end all existing forms and facilitate one return to be filed every month. There will also be provision to file return by SMS if turnover in a particular month is ‘nil’. It has been decided that businesses with annual turnover of up to ₹5 crore will have an option of filing the return on a quarterly basis.
Businesses under composition scheme are already permitted to file their return on quarterly basis. The new return forms will give an option to taxpayers to make amendments till September next year. The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister, had last week cleared the new return filing form. It would replace the current GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B returns. He said the amendments to the GST law, as approved by the Council, will be placed before Parliament in the ongoing monsoon session. Thereafter, the State Legislatures will have to pass it and consequently the amended law will come into effect. As per the amendment, threshold for availing composition scheme will be hiked to ₹1.5 crore, from ₹1 crore at present. Gupta said the GST Council will take a final call as to when and by how much the composition scheme threshold would be hiked.
New migrants
He also said that one month window is being opened for those who are yet to migrate to new tax system. He said that new migrants will be allowed to file returns for the period July 2017 to August 2018 without any late fee. They can possibly claim transitional credit.
Addressing the conference, the Chairman of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Custom (CBIC), S Ramesh, urged the industries to give compliance ‘top priority’ and pass on the benefits of rate cut to the customers. Recently the GST council lowered rates on around 50 product categories, including lowering rates on small-screen TV, fridge and washing machines, to 18 per cent from 28 per cent.
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