New dates for filing GSTR-3B return as per three different categories of the taxpayer. This decision by tax ministry is in order to eliminate glitches in GST filing.
Staggered Dates for Tax Filing
To ease the process of GST filing, the ministry provided three dates to three categories of taxpayers. Before this decision, 20th was the last date for payment of tax. Now, the ministry has set three dates of every month for paying taxes. Taxpayers having an annual turnover of Rs 5 crore or more in the previous year can file GSTR-3B till the 20th of every month. For those earning less than Rs 5 crore annually will be divided into two categories.
First category includes 15 states with around 49 lakh taxpayers who can file GSTR-3B till 22nd of each month without late fee penalty. In the second category, the remaining 46 lakh payers from 22 states can file GSTR-3B till the 24th of every month.
Reasons for Date Extension
The decision is in line with the online service provider, Infosys. It is working on increasing the efficiency of the online portal of GSTN permanently. The effects will come into place by April 2020. Pratik Jain, partner, and leader of indirect tax at PwC India, stated that the government may make this a permanent feature. A total of 5.65 lakh GSTR-3B forms have been filed by 20th January for December 2019.
Effects on Taxpayers
The move would provide relief to the taxpayers. It will not only reduce pressure on the portal but will also ensure timely compliance of tax returns by the payers. The official stated that traders usually file the tax return on the last date that was the 20th of every month. This resulted in malfunctioning of the portal and posed a challenge to the traders.
To sum up, the government’s decision will allow traders to file taxes smoothly.