Nearly 1 month and 22
days have already passed in 2019, and the year has already seen various
changes in Goods and Services Tax (GST). The GST portal has come out
with several new updates in 2019. GST asks all registered businesses to
file monthly, quarterly and annual returns based on their
operations.
The filing of GSTR is similar to like Income Tax Return (ITR) filing,
and every exporter, manufacturer, retailer, businesses needs to file
GSTR, which is a return document containing details of income of a
taxpayer.
Let’s take a look at some of the updates to understand them in detail, as per Archit Gupta, Founder & CEO
ClearTax.
TDS/TCS Credit available for utilisation
A new window has been enabled for claiming TDS/TCS credits.The
taxpayer has the option of accepting or rejecting the TDS/TCS credits
available and filing their return, after which the credits get
transferred to the cash ledger and can be used for making GST payments.
This facility helps taxpayers easily identify such credits and take action accordingly.
E-way bill data can be imported for GSTR-1
The E-way bill (EWB) and the GST portal has now been integrated. The
same gets automatically imported for the B2B and B2C (large) invoices
sections as well as the HSN-wise-summary of outward supplies section.
Users only need to verify the data and proceed.
This has definitely saved both time and effort for a business person,
as it avoids unnecessary data-entry. However, many businesses were
performing this sort of reconciliation themselves using smart tools to
ensure accuracy of data.
List of preferred banks available for making payments
A taxpayer can choose from a list of 6 preferred banks that will be
auto-saved at the time of making payments. If he makes payment through a
7th bank account, the same will get added, and the least used bank
account will get removed. He has the option to delete the bank accounts
at any point in time.
With this feature in place,the taxpayer need not enter bank details
every time, as he can simply select a bank with the click of a button
and proceed to make payment.
Refund applications can be filed monthly for quarterly filers
There is good news for taxpayers opting to make payments on a quarterly basis. They now
do not have to wait for the quarterly filing of refund applications, as
the same can be done monthly. However, a prerequisite for the same
would be to ensure that GSTR-1 for the quarter has been filed.
This will definitely help mobilise the working capital flows of a
business as there is no longer a need to wait till the end of a quarter
to apply for a refund.
Appeals can be filed online and system-generated acknowledgements will be issued
A taxpayer can file an appeal against an order passed by an appellate
authority, or against an advanced ruling by an appellate authority on
the GST portal. He even has the option to file an application with the
appellate authority in the case of rectification of a mistake in order
passed.
In the event of an appellate authority failing to issue a final
acknowledgement within the stipulated time, then a system generated
final acknowledgement will be issued with the remark “subject to
validation of certified copies”. This has simplified the process of
filing appeals and also helps tracking the status of the same.
Composition taxpayers can reply to SCN online for compulsory withdrawal
For composition taxpayers, there is a simpler way to reply to show
cause notices(SCN) now. This is in the case of a show cause notice being
issued for compulsory withdrawal from the composition scheme, and if
proceedings are initiated against the composition taxpayer, he now has
the option to reply to show cause notices on the portal.
Bank account details not mandatory at the time of registration
Declaring bank account details are now optional at the time of
registration for Normal, OIDAR and NRTP taxpayers. Previously, this was a
mandatory requirement. The bank account details can be updated at a
later date, which will be at the time of the first login.
Hence, a GST registration number can be obtained without the same.
New businesses who are in the process of obtaining bank accounts can
simultaneously proceed with GST registration, thus saving time.
Claiming of ITC and amendment of B2B invoices of 17-18 are re-opened up till March 2019
Users can now amend B2B invoices of FY 2017-18. The facility to amend
the GSTR-1 details of FY 17-18 was closed on filing the September 2018
return. The same has been made available while filing returns for the
months of January to March 2019. Input tax credit of FY 2017-18 that was
omitted and hence unclaimed up till September 2018 can be claimed now
up to March 2019 as well. This was a much-needed remedy for taxpayers
who made errors reporting any invoice in the past, or previously missed
out claiming genuine credit.
While there are updates being rolled out from time-to-time, users
are still hoping to see a smooth system that is completely online and
indefectible. In the future, users can look forward to more new updates
that would familiarise taxpayers with the new return system that is
likely to be introduced by July 2019