New GST Return Filing System Will Simplify Process, Says Sushil Modi
Big tax payers need to file 12 returns a year while small taxpayers, must file only four, said the minister.
The new Goods and Services Tax return filing system will enable traders to file returns in a single format once a month instead of multiple formats, said Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi.
Dubbing the new system as GST-2, Modi—who heads the group of ministers tasked with looking into revenue shortfall after the roll-out of the indirect tax—said at a press conference after a meeting in Bengaluru yesterday that the GST Council has decided that the new filing system would be launched on Oct. 1.
The deadline for implementation of the new system for small taxpayers is Jan. 1, 2020 whereas for big taxpayers above Rs 5 crore, it’s Oct. 1, 2019, he said, adding the prototype of the filing system will be made available on Monday. New forms , ‘Sahaj’ and ‘Sugam’, have been developed for different class of traders, Modi said.
He said the GST implementation would complete two years on July 1 and the emphasis would be on more simplification of the process, compliance and how to check tax evasion. Elaborating on GST-2, Modi said when GST was designed, there were three return formats and one had to file 36 returns per month. Then there was another return and audit report too, Modi said.
The new return does away with all the hassles as one has to file returns only once in a month, according to him.
“For big tax payers it’s 12 returns a year and for small taxpayers, it is only four returns a year.”
The meeting pertained to information technology initiatives in the GST.