The government has further extended the deadline for filing the Goods and Services Tax (GST) annual return and the audit report for the first two years to December 31. It has also simplified the forms to make it convenient for businesses to comply with the filings.
The new due date for GST return form 9 and a statement based on the audit report in GST return form 9C for FY18 is 31 December 2019, said the finance ministry in a statement.
The earlier deadline set for the same was 30 November. This is so far the fourth extension given to businesses to adhere with the return filing requirement for the July-April period of FY18 in wake of the several changes in rules as well as the difficulties faced by them in complying to the new technology-reliant indirect tax regime.
GST return form 9C is a statement of understanding among the GST annual return and the audited financial statement of the tax payer.
In a bid to file the annual report and the reconciliation statement for the second year of GST, FY19, the decided new due date is 31 March 2020. The previous due date was 31 December.
An official communiqué from the ministry said the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has notified about simplified return forms. With the simplification, tax payers will not have to give the breakup of the tax credits asked on raw materials, services and capital goods purchased by them. Further, they are not required to furnish details of purchases and sales at the highest level in terms of ‘Harmonized System of Nomenclature’ for the first two years of GST’s launch.
“CBIC expects that with these changes and the extension of deadlines, all the GST taxpayers would be able to file their annual returns along with reconciliation statement for the financial years FY18 and FY19 in time,” said the ministry statement. It said that the extension of due date was given in view of the challenges faced by taxpayers.
