Three major enhancements on GST portal to make monthly return filing easier

1. GSTN deployed two major functionalities in view of the simplifying GSTR-3B filing
2. System will compute liability and Input tax credit availability for the filer
3. 1.03 crore normal taxpayers are required to file monthly tax return, GSTR-3B

The filing of the monthly return for normal taxpayers is going to be a far better experience from this month onwards. Thanks to the enhancements made by GSTN in form of linking of returns which is aimed to simplify the filing process of GSTR-3B.

Usually, the taxpayers face two main issues while filing their GSTR-3B which are related to their liability and Input Tax Credit (ITC). Till now, taxpayers had to do a lot of exercises to compute these two data. Now, this job will be completed by the system itself through two important functionalities.

System to compute liability for filing of GSTR-3B:

Just after the filing monthly GSTR-1, the outward supply statement, the system will compute liabilities along with the break-up and will make it available as a PDF document on the GSTR-3B dashboard of the taxpayer. This data can be used for filing of GSTR-3B for August 2020 and onward after reconciliation. Currently, this facility is available for monthly GSTR-1 filers. For quarterly filers of GSTR-1, this functionality will come in next few months.

Auto-drafted Input Tax Credit statement:

In this enhancement, system will auto-generate the invoice-wise ITC statement based on information furnished by the suppliers of the taxpayer. It essentially means that the taxpayer can know how much ITC is available for the month. A new form GSTR-2B has been launched for this purpose which is, unlike GSTR-2A a static statement and will be made available for each month on the 12th day of the succeeding month.

The linking of returns is expected to give GSTN a big edge in curbing under-reporting of liability and over-reporting of ITC which has been a major concern for the Government. Once taxpayers get used to these two statements, the data from them will start automatically start flowing into GSTR-3B. In other words, GSTN will auto-populate the GSTR-3B return of the taxpayers.

Delinking credit note/ debit note with original invoice

Delinking credit note/ debit note with original invoice

The much awaited de-linking of original invoices and credit and debit notes is incorporated on GSTN portal. The same was amended vide CGST amendment Act,2018 wef 01 Feb 2020. However, the same is incorporated today on the portal.

Important

• Before you extract and run the downloaded file, ensure that the file is not corrupted. How do I know that my file is not corrupt?
• Go through the Readme document before you begin installation.
• Double-click on GSTR2B_Matching_Tool_v1.0.exe to install the offline tool.

What’s new v1.0(Released on 13/09/2020)

• Downloading the auto-drafted input tax credit (ITC) statement – GSTR-2B from the dashboard at GST Portal and opening the same in the Offline Tool for viewing.
• Importing the purchase register in the Offline Tool for matching with GSTR-2B downloaded from the GST Portal. Taxpayers will have to use Excel/csv template provided with the tool to prepare their purchase register and import the same in this Offline Tool.
• Comparing the auto-drafted ITC statement – GSTR-2B, downloaded from the portal and the purchase register using the ‘Matching’ tab provided in the tool to identify documents which are fully matched, partially matched or not matched.

System Requirement

To use the tool efficiently, ensure that you have the following installed on your system:

1. Operating system – Windows 7 or above. The tool does not work on Linux and Mac. 2. Browser: You need one of these browsers installed on your system:
• Internet Explorer 10+
• Google Chrome 7+
• Firefox 45+
2. Microsoft Excel 2007 & above
3. Alternatively, for any below versions, the tool will open in a default browser.
4. Before installation of Offline tool, ensure that you have 200 MB of free disk space in your local machine