GST Action Plan for September 2020

September 2020 is considered to be a significant month for any Financial Year as it includes major compliances under the Goods & Services Act. Here, I provide you with the list of activities which should be performed by a registered person under GST.

Extension of Due Date of various Returns and reduction in the Interest and Late fees due to COVID -19 Pandemic

The Government of India has extended various returns on account of the pandemic through reducing the interest amount and the late fees. The list of such extended returns are as follows:

1. Form GSTR-3B: Taxpayers with Turnover more than Rs. 5 crore:  Late fees has been reduced to maximum of Rs. 500 and Nil for Nil Returns, if the returns are filed till 30th September’2020

2. Forms GSTR-3B: Taxpayers having turnover less than Rs. 5 crores in previous FY in respect of States of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh or the Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep

3. Form GSTR-3B: Taxpayers having turnover less than Rs. 5Cr in previous FY in respect of States: Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand or Odisha or the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh and Delhi

Reconciliation of Outward Supplies made during the FY 2019-20 as per Books of Account with the Returns filed and adjusting/modifying the same

Under GST, the last date to add any missing outward sales is the due date of filing return for the period of September’2020. Hence, the registered person shall undertake the reconciliation in order to find out any missing invoices which were left out during the period.

Also, basis the reconciliation undertaken, if any invoices reported earlier are not correct, the same has to be adjusted/modified till the filing of GSTR-1/GSTR-3B for the month of September’2020. No amendment/addition of invoices are allowed after the due date of filing GST Returns for the month of September’2020.

GSTR-2A Reconciliation for FY 2019-20

Under GST Act, reconciliation means recording every transaction that took place during a period while also ensuring that the data filed by the supplier matches with those of the recipients. This enables one to make sure that no sales or purchases are missing or wrongly reported in the GST returns. So, it is compulsory for every taxpayer to reconcile their Input Tax Credit (ITC) with Form GSTR-2A at the end of every month/quarter of the Financial Year and avail the missed-out credit or reverse the excess ITC claimed earlier.  Any left out ITC for the FY 2019-20 may be loss to the registered person if not claimed within the due date of filing GSTR-3B.

In the course of the pandemic, the Government vide a notification has provided a condition that GSTR-2A reconciliation for the period February’2020 to September’2020 has to be undertaken cumulatively and total ITC availed in the GSTR-3B from February 2020 to September 2020 cannot exceed more than 10% of eligible credit available in GSTR-2A.

Reversal of ITC on account of Non-Payment of Consideration within 180 Days (Rule 37)

This rule implies that when a registered person who has availed ITC could not pay the full value of inward supply along with the tax amount to the supplier within the time period of 180 days then the ITC claimed on such inward supply needs to be reversed and if a part of invoice amount is paid then ITC will be reversed on a proportionate basis.

The registered person shall do a creditor ageing as on 30th September, 2020 and ensure that there are no creditors which has not been paid for the supplies made in the year. Any amount pending to be payable to creditors for more than 180 days, the ITC on the same shall be reversed.

Apportionment of ITC attributable to Exempt Supplies under Rule 42 & Rule 43

Rule 42 & Rule 43 states the procedure of apportionment of ITC in respect of inputs or input services or capital goods which attract the provisions of Section 17(2), being partly used for the purposes of business and partly for other purposes, or partly used for effecting taxable supplies including zero rated supplies and partly for effecting exempt supplies.

The apportionment has to be undertaken on monthly basis while filing GSTR-3B of the relevant month. However, the apportionment shall be calculated finally for the financial year before the due date for furnishing of the return for the month of September following the end of the financial year (i.e by the due date of GSTR-3B of September,2020 for FY 2019-20)

GST Audit for the FY 2018-19

The due date of furnishing GSTR-9 & GSTR-9C is as follows: