From the 1st of January, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) payers would need to fill only 4 GSTR-3B returns in a year, instead of 12 returns a present.
In a major reform, the Government has eased the return filing experience for the GST taxpayers with the introduction of the Quarterly filing of Return and Monthly Payment (QRMP) Scheme.
As per sources, the scheme has chances to impact approximately 94 lakh taxpayers, 92 percent of the total tax base of the GST, who have an annual aggregate turnover (AATO) upto Rs 5 crore.
With a quarterly scheme put to practice in GST, the small taxpayer from January onward would need to file 8 returns (4 GSTR-3B and 4 GSTR-1 returns) instead of 16 returns at present in a financial year. Also, taxpayers’ professional expenses on return filing would get reduced significantly for they would be required to file just half the number of returns for 16 a present.
The scheme would be available on the GST common portal, with a facility to opt-in and opt-out, if one eagers to.
According to some of the sources, this process might also bring in the concept of providing input tax credit (ITC) only on the reported invoices, thereby putting a significant curb on the menace of fake invoice frauds.
As stated, in the ongoing nationwide drive against fake invoice frauds, the GST intelligence wing DGGI along with the CGST Commissionerates has so far arrested 114 unscrupulous persons besides booking 1,230 cases against 3,778 fake GSTIN entities.
Under the facility of IFF, the small taxpayers who opt to be quarterly return filers under the QRMP scheme would be able to upload and file such invoices even in the first and second month of the quarter for which there is a demand from the recipients.
In addition to that, this would also engage buyers who earlier used to avoid purchase from the small taxpayers in the want of uploading of invoices in the system on monthly basis.
According to sources, that the taxpayer would need not upload and file all the invoices for the month and could upload and file only those invoices which are required to be filed in IFF as per the demand of the recipients. The remaining invoices of the first and second months can be uploaded in the quarterly GSTR-1 return. The IFF would be available up to a cut-off date and credit would flow to the recipient after the cut-off date on the filing of the IFF.
Explaining the reform, sources said that under the QRMP scheme, the taxpayer would have the preference to pay their due monthly taxes as per his own choice either by cash ledger or through pre-filled challan which would be 35 percent of the previous quarter’s cash paid or may pay as per actual.
Thereby, a small taxpayer would require professional help, as and when required, particularly in the last month of the quarter, and can be free from tax-related stress by simply making payment through a system-generated, pre-filled challan.
This may also reduce tribulations of late fees, as the pre-filled challan will allow taxpayers to deposit monthly 35 percent of the cash paid in the previous quarter in the electronic cash ledger.
This would be an optional facility available, in place of doing a self-assessment in the first two months of a quarter. Availing this option would imply doing self-assessment only once in a quarter, and would reduce compliance cost for small taxpayers, the source added.
The scheme is based on the existing return system with suitable modifications to give much-needed flexibility to small and medium enterprises in relation to compliance under GST and was approved in principle by the GST Council in its 42nd meeting on October 5.
