GST Returns

Registered taxpayers must file returns for Goods and Services Tax (GST) every month, a ‘return’ is stated as the paperwork that a taxpayer is required to file in accordance with the tax authorities. It is a record of all the taxes collected from the customers.

Every individual registered under the new regime of GST would need to file timely returns. Even if a legal entity has no ongoing activity, it must file returns as ‘GST nil returns’ to avoid GST compliance issues. Some of the benefits of GST return filing are;

BENEFITS OF GST RETURN FILING

• Greater Tax Base
• Lower taxes, subsuming of taxes
• Ease of doing Business
• Unified Platfor

GST return is a document that consists of all the details of income/sales, expense/purchase of any tax-paying individual or company. One must file their GST return with the tax administrative authority, according to the GST return filing consultants. The net tax liability of a person is calculated by the tax authorities with a GST return. In the GST regime, any regular business with more than 5 crores of annual aggregate turnover is obliged to file 2 monthly returns and 1 annual return. This totals to about 26 GST return filings in a year. However, under the QRMP scheme, the number of GST filings may vary for quarterly GSTR-1 filers. For them, the number of return filings in a year is 9 (this also includes GSTR 3B and annual return). Special cases such as composition dealers have separate returns that need to be filed. They are required to file 5 GSTR return filings in a year.

Here is the list of all the returns to be filed (along with their due dates) as prescribed under the CGST Act:

• GSTR-1: It is to be filed by normal taxpayers. It is just a return to report the sales transactions, no tax is required to be paid through this return. GSTR1 for 2021 must be filed before the due dates of Jan 13th and April 18th for the quarters Oct-Dec and Jan-March respectively.
• GSTR-2: This contains the purchases made during the tax period and must be filed by all normal taxpayers registered under GST.

               – GSTR 2A: It contains all the data of inward supplies of goods and services. The data is auto-populated and is a read-only return.

               – GSTR 2B: It is a fixed statement and shall be generated on the 12th of every month. It is an auto-drafted ITC statement introduced by GSTN to simplify ITC claims for taxpayers.

• GSTR-3: GSTR 3 contains the details of all the outward supplies. It is auto-generated on the basis of GSTR-1 and GSTR-2.

             – GSTR 3B: This contains summarized details of all outward supplies made, input tax credit claimed, tax liability ascertained and taxes paid. GSTR 3B Monthly Payment of tax for the first two months of the quarter should be made by the 25th of the next month.

• GSTR-4: GSTR 4 must be filed on annual basis by taxpayers who have opted for the Composition Scheme. It must be filed before April 30th of the next year.
• GSTR 5: This is to be filed by non-resident foreign taxpayers provided they are registered under GST and carry out transactions in India. The due date for filing GSTR-5 is within 20 days after the end of the calendar month or within 7 days after the validity of the period of registration, whichever is earlier.
• GSTR 6: This must be filed by Input Service Distributor. It contains details of all the documents issued for the distribution of input credit and the manner of distribution. The dues date for filing GSTR-6 is the 13th of the succeeding month.
• GSTR 7: This is to be filed by people required to deduct TDS under GST. It has information of TDS deducted, the TDS liability (payable and paid) and TDS refund claimed (if any). It must be filed before the 10th of the succeeding month.
• GSTR 8: This is to be filed by e-commerce operators who are required to collect TCS and are registered under GST. It contains information on all the supplies made through the E-commerce platform and the TCS collected on the same. GSTR-8 should be filed before 10 of the succeeding month.
• GSTR 9: This is an annual return filed by taxpayers registered under GST. It is a combination of all the monthly and quarterly returns filed during that year (GSTR-1, GSTR-2A and GSTR-3B)

               – GSTR 9A: This is a consolidation of all the quarterly returns filed during the year.

               – GSTR 9B: This is an annual return that contains details filed in GSTR 8.

               – GSTR 9C: This is a reconciliation filed by all the taxpayers whose turnover has exceeded 5 crores in that financial year.

• GSTR 10: This is a final return filed by a taxable individual whose registration has been cancelled or surrendered. It must be filed within 3 months from the date of cancellation or cancellation order, whichever is earlier.
• GSTR 11: Required to be filed by a person who has been issued a Unique Identity Number (UIN), this return contains data of all the inward supplies received and claimed refund.

Working with GST return filing consultants will ease the compliance burden for SMEs, and they can focus more on their business rather than getting occupied in compliance procedures.

Late fee & Penalty –

Filing GSTR-3B is mandatory. Even if a business has no transactions during July, it will still have to file a nil return. Hiring Shad & Doshi as your GST return filing consultants ensure prompt filing of GST returns without any delays, complications, or discrepancies.

From June 2021 onwards, the late fees will be levied and capped as follows:

For nill tax liability, the penalty is ₹20 per day and maximum ₹500. For others the penalty is ₹ 50 per day and thee maximum charges may vary depending on the Annual Aggregate Turnover (AATO). The maximum penalty for AATO upto 1.5 crores is ₹2000, for AATO between 1.5 to 5 crores the charges are ₹5000 and ₹10000 for AATO above 5 crores.

Interest is 18% per annum. It has to be calculated by the taxpayer on the amount of outstanding tax to be paid. The time period will be from the next day of filing to the date of payment.

In case of nil GSTR-3B filing, the maximum late fee charged will be Rs.500 per return (i.e Rs. 250/- each for CGST & SGST). The maximum penalty is Rs. 10,000 (if the turnover is more than 5 crores). There is no late fee on IGST.

Income Tax Returns

Income tax is tax levied on the income of a person by the government as per the provisions in the Income Tax Act, 1961. It is levied on the income earned during the year starting from the financial year, 1st April ending on 31st march.

An Income Tax Return is a statement of Income earned to calculate tax liability and payment or refund of taxes to the government. Thus the purpose of filing the return is to report our income and taxes paid to the government.

Every person is liable to pay tax in India if his Income is more than the income notified by the government in the slab rates. The definition of person includes;

• An Individual
• A Hindu Undivided Family(HUF)
• A Company
• A Firm
• An Association of Persons(AOP) or a Body of Individuals(BOI)
• A Local Authority
• Artificial juridical persons

The payment of income taxes can be made to the government manually i.e. cash/cheque in any designated bank branch or through e-payment. Payment should be made in Challan 280 in both the cases. The challan should be filled with the utmost accuracy as it is important for further processing.

FEATURES

Register online:

To e-file, the income tax returns, register on the Income Tax Department’s online tax filing site (incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in). Provide permanent account number (PAN), name and date of birth and choose a password.

The PAN will then act as a user ID.

Choose the required form:

Form ITR-1 (SAHAJ)is for individuals having income from salaries, one house property and other sources like interest.

Form ITR 4 is for individuals and Hindu Undivided Families having income from a proprietary business or profession, also used by proprietorship firms.

Form ITR 5 is used by most partnership firms as it is intended for persons other than individuals, Hindu Undivided Families, companies and person filing Form ITR-7.

Form ITR 6  is used by companies like one person company, private limited company, public limited company and other for-profit companies.

Form ITR 7 is used by persons, political parties, news agencies, universities and entities in receipt of income from property held under trust for charitable or religious purposes.

Documents required:

PAN, Form 16, interest statements, TDS certificates, details of investments, insurance, and home loans.

Download Form 26AS, that summarizes tax paid against PAN. Validate the tax return with Form 26AS to check tax liability.

Fill form online or fill form offline & then upload on the site.

Verify ITR-V:

On submitting the ITR form, an acknowledgment number is generated. In case the return is submitted using a digital signature, just preserve this number.

If the return is submitted without a digital signature, an ITR-V is generated and the same is sent to the registered email ID.

TDS Returns

Professional Tax (PTRC) Returns

Many salaried employees might be very well aware of the term ‘professional tax’ as it would have been mentioned in the pay slips/Form 16 issued to them. But all of them may or may not understand what it is and why is it appearing in their pays slips/Form 16 as a deduction from their salary income. Hence, this article is an attempt to provide a better picture of what is ‘Professional tax’ and why is it deducted and is it only salaried class who are bearing it.

What is Professional tax and who levies it?

The nomenclature ‘Professional tax’ could be one those terms which do not completely convey the real meaning of the term. It is just not the tax levied only on professionals unlike the name suggests. It is a tax on all kinds of professions, trades, and employment and levied based on the income of such profession, trade, and employment. It is levied on employees, the person carrying on business including freelancers, professional etc. subject to income exceeding the monetary threshold if any.

As per Article 246 of the Constitution of India, only Parliament has the exclusive power to make laws with respect to Union List which includes taxes on income. The state has the power to make laws only with respect to Concurrent list and State list. However, Professional tax though is a kind of tax on income is levied by State Government (Not all states in the country chose to levy a professional tax). State Government is also empowered to make laws with respect to professional tax though being a tax on income under Article 276 of the Constitution of India which deals with a tax on professions, trades, callings, and employment.

It may be noted that professional tax is a deductible amount for the purpose of Income-tax Act, 1961 and can be deducted from taxable income.                                 

Professional Tax Rate

Professional tax being levied by the State Government is different in different states. Every state has its own laws and regulation to govern professional tax of that particular state. However, all the states do follow slab system based on the income to levy the professional tax.

Further, Article 276 of the Constitution which empowers State Government to levy professional tax also has provided for a maximum cap of Rs. 2,500 beyond which professional tax cannot be charged on any person.

Following Details are provided for PTRC for the State of Maharashtra

Registrations:

Obtaining a PTRC registration is mandatory within 30 days of employing first staff in the business. A delay in obtaining the PTRC Certificate will be charged at Rs.5 per day from the due date.

Slab for PTRC Payable by the Employer in Maharashtra:

*Rs.300 in the month of February.

PTRC Payment and Filing of Returns:

The professional tax return must be filed by those having professional tax registration. For example, in the state of Maharashtra, those entities having a professional tax liability of more than Rs.50, 000 are required to file a monthly professional tax return before the last date of each month. Those entities having a tax liability of less than Rs.50, 000 in the previous year are required to file a tax return annually – on or before the 31st of March.

A revised professional tax return can be filed in Maharashtra if any omission or incorrect statement has been furnished. Return can be revised at any time before a notice for assessment is served or before the expiry of a period of six months from the end of the year for which the return was due.

*Periodicity is monthly in the first year of registration.

Professional Tax Fines & Penalties

While the actual amount of penalty or penal interest may depend on respective State’s legislation, the penalty is being levied by all such states for not registering once professional tax legislation becomes applicable. Further, there are penalties for not making the payment within due date and also failing to file the return within specified due date.

For Example, Maharashtra Professional Tax Fines and Penalties

Non-compliance under Professional Tax regulations in Maharashtra could attract heavy penalties or fines.

The penalty for Not Obtaining Professional Tax Registration

A penalty of Rs.5 per day of not obtaining professional tax registration (PTRC) in case of an employer and Rs.2 per day in case of a person (PTEC) is applicable.

 The penalty for Late Filing of Return  

The Late filing of professional tax return attracts a penalty of Rs.1000 due before the filing of the return. The penalty amount is payable in addition to any amount payable as per the return.

The penalty for Late Payment         

The Late payment of professional tax dues can be penalized with a penalty of 10% of the tax due. Further, interest on late payment can be charged at up to 1.25% per month.