As a business owner and a taxpayer, you must declare the income that you receive from carrying out business transactions. GST returns is a document that will contain all the details of your sales, purchases, tax collected on sales (output tax), and tax paid on purchases (input tax). Once you file GST returns, you will need to pay the resulting tax liability (money that you owe the government).
Who should file it?
All business owners and dealers who have registered under the GST system must file GST returns according to the nature of their business or transactions.
Different types of GST Returns
Regular Businesses
| GST Return | Purpose |
|---|---|
| GSTR1 | Tax return for outward supplies made (contains the details of interstate as well as intrastate B2B and B2C sales including purchases under reverse charge and inter state stock transfers made during the tax period). |
| GSTR2 | Monthly return for inward supplies received (contains tax payer info, period of return and final invoice-level purchase information related to the tax period, listed separately for goods and services). |
| GSTR3 | Consolidated monthly tax return (contains The taxpayer’s basic information (name, GSTIN, etc), period to which the return pertains, turnover details, final aggregate-level inward and outward supply details, tax liability under CGST, SGST, IGST, and additional tax (+1% tax), details about your ITC, cash, and liability ledgers, details of other payments such as interests, penalties, and fees). |
| GSTR3B | Temporary consolidated summary return of inward and outward supplies that the Government of India has introduced as a relaxation for businesses that have recently transitioned to GST. Hence, in the months of July and August 2017, the tax payments will be based on a simple return called the GSTR-3B instead. |
| GSTR9 | Annual consolidated tax return (It contains the taxpayer’s income and expenditure in detail. These are then regrouped according to the monthly returns filed by the tax payer). |
| GSTR9C | The GSTR-9C is an audit form that is to be filed by every taxpayer who is liable to get their annual reports audited. (A taxpayer must get their annual reports audited under GST law if their annual aggregate turnover exceeds Rs. 2 crores within a financial year.) |
Businesses registered under the Composition Scheme
| GST Return | Purpose |
|---|---|
| GSTR4 | Quarterly return for compounding vendors (It contains the total value of supply made during the period covered by the return, along with the details of the tax paid at the compounding rate (not more than 1% of aggregate turnover) for the period along with invoice-wise details for inward supplies if they are either imports or purchased from normal taxpayers). |
| GSTR9A | Consolidated annual return for compounding vendors, which includes all the quarterly returns filed in that financial year. |
Other types of business owners and dealers
| GST Return | Purpose |
|---|---|
| GSTR5 | Variable return for Non-resident foreign taxpayers (It contains the details of the taxpayer, period of return and invoice details of all goods and services sold and purchased (this also includes imports) by the tax payer on Indian soil for the registered period/month). |
| GSTR6 | Monthly return for ISDs (This return contains the details of the taxpayer’s basic information (name, GSTIN, etc), period to which the return pertains, invoice-level supply details from the GSTR-1 of counter-parties, invoice details, including the GSTIN of the taxpayer receiving the credit, separate ISD ledger containing the opening ITC balance for the period, credit for ITC services received, debit for ITC reversed or distributed, and closing balance). |
| GSTR7 | Monthly return for TDS transactions (This return contains the taxpayer’s basic information (name, GSTIN, etc), period to which the return pertains, supplier’s GSTIN, invoices against which the tax has been deducted (categorized under the major tax heads – SGST, CGST, and IGST), and details of any other payments such as interests and penalties). |
| GSTR8 | Monthly return for ecommerce operators (It contains the taxpayer’s basic information (name, GSTIN, etc), the period to which the return pertains, details of supplies made to customers through the e-commerce portal by both registered taxable persons and unregistered persons, customers’ basic information (whether or not they are registered taxpayers), the amount of tax collected at source, tax payable, and tax paid). |
| GSTR10 | Final GST return before cancelling GST registration (This final return is to be filed when terminating business activities permanently/cancelling GST registration. It will contain the details of all supplies, liabilities, tax collected, tax payable, etc). |
| GSTR11 | Variable tax return for taxpayers with UIN (It contains the details of purchases made by foreign embassies and diplomatic missions for self consumption during a particular month). |
Amendments
| GST Return | Purpose |
|---|---|
| GSTR1A | An amendment form that is used to correct the GSTR-1 document including any mismatches between the GSTR-1 of a taxpayer and the GSTR-2 of his/her customers. This can be filed between 15th and 17th of the following month. |
Auto-drafted Returns
| GST Return | Purpose |
|---|---|
| GSTR2A | An auto drafted tax return for purchases and inward supplies made by a taxpayer that is automatically compiled by the GSTN based on the information present within the GSTR-1 of his/her suppliers. |
| GSTR4A | Quarterly purchase-related tax return for composition dealers. It’s automatically generated by the GSTN portal based on the information furnished in the GSTR-1, GSTR-5, and GSTR-7 of your suppliers. |
Tax Notice
| GST Return | Purpose |
|---|---|
| GSTR3A | Tax notice issued by the tax authority to a defaulter who has failed to file monthly GST returns on time. |