GST Return Filing: Process Simplified for Small Businesses (July 2018)

GST return filing just got easier! In a meeting held by the GST council on July 21, 2018 – the council decided upon some crucial changes to help ease the GST process for businesses across the country. The changes should also help block out loopholes in the GST Network.

The main focus of the GST council was to ease processes and improve compliance that could potentially benefit 93% of taxpayers. Additionally, rate cuts on consumer goods seem like a welcome change for consumers too.

The revised GST seems promising with a rate cut on more than 88 items. Some of the consumer goods are e-books, carpets, fridges, washing machines, paints, varnishes and more.

Here’s all you need to know about GST and how to file your GST taxes.

What’s new in the Revised GST:

• You can now lock your invoices!

Based on a new and simplified process, taxpayers can now pay via the “UPLOAD-LOCK-PAY” method. Businesses would no longer need to file multiple returns. The simplified procedure will now consist of only 2 main tables.

The table components are reporting onward supplies and availing input tax credit based on uploaded invoices by the suppliers. Invoices can also be simultaneously uploaded by the seller. Once done, it can be locked by the seller to avail input tax credit.

Taxpayers with a turn over below 5 Cr can now file GST on a quarterly basis instead of a monthly basis. The threshold has been increased from 1.5 Cr to 5 Cr. However, they will still require to pay the monthly taxes through a challan.

The returns can be filed under Sahaj (for B2C supplies) and Sugam (for B2B & B2C supplies.)

• NIL Return Filers:

If you do not have sales or purchases for the financial year, you can just declare it via SMS.

How the revised GST impacts your sector:

• Transporters: Under GST, transporters are required to carry an e-bill while transporting goods from one place to another. RFID readers or tags to be implemented in the next 6 months. This will allow for e-way bills to encourage faster payments at check-posts.
• Textile Industry: The GST on raw materials was way higher than the cost of the apparel itself. The council has now proposed for a provision which allows for a refund of the accumulated ITC. ITC (Input Tax Credit) now allows for merchants or sellers to reduce the tax you have already paid while purchasing the raw materials, thereby encouraging more trade and revenue generation.
• Banks & Jewellers: Supplies of warehouse goods to any individual before the clearance will not be treated as supply. No GST will be levied on such transactions.
• Consumer-related goods: Sanitary napkins have been exempted from GST. Other products like ethanol and phosphoric acid have also seen a rate cut. These are all welcomed changes to help the manufacturing industry flourish.

Note: Taxpayers with a Prov ID, but an incomplete registration can now complete their registrations with no “late fees.” This lasts till Aug 2018. Be sure to complete your registration to avoid a penalty.

With the simplified processes, businesses will now need to upload their invoices for the financial year. Creating and managing invoices may seem like a daunting task. With Instamojo, you can create GST-friendly invoices using the Invoice Generator app!

GET STARTED HERE