Skip to main content

Nearly 3 million GST returns filed in August

Nearly 3 million GST returns filed in August
As many as 2.97 million assessees have filed the summary input-output return under the new goods and services tax (GST) for the month of August (ā€˜GSTR 3Bā€™), much less than the 4.6 million that came for the month of July.
As many as 46 per cent of filers ā€” 1.37 million ā€” submitted returns on Wednesday, the deadline for doing so.
However, the July returns had risen after an extension of five to eight days was given to assessees, depending on whether they wanted to claim input tax credit for pre-GST stocks or not. The GST Network (GSTN), the entity handling the information technology backbone for the new structure, is hopeful that return filing would equal the tally of July.
Even if the same number of filers are there for the month of August as in July, proportionately it would be much less. This is so because there were only 5.95 million registrations under the GST in July, excluding those opting for the composition scheme. Now, a little over nine million businesses have registered under the GST. Of this, around one million was for the composition scheme; these may file quarterly returns.
Taxes to the tune of Rs 95,000 crore were collected in the maiden month of the roll-out. The central GST (CGST) and state GST (SGST) laws mandate an interest levy at 18 per cent for delayed payment of tax. And, Rs 100 a day will be levied for SGST and CGST each for filing late returns.
Bolstered by the August number and the fact that the system did not crash despite the last-minute rush, except for stray incidents, GSTN Chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey said this showed the systemā€™s robustness. Having taken charge earlier this month, he said the network was in a ā€œvery sound state", and the number of returns were testimony to this.
He said the GSTN accepted up to 85,000 returns an hour on Wednesday, the the last day to file a GSTR-3B for August.
About 75 per cent of the registered businesses had not filed their returns until then. As many as 1.37 million of these entities had flocked the GSTN portal on Wednesday to do so, the highest in a day under the GST so far.
ā€œThough our system can take the load, it is in the interest of businesses not to wait till the last moment because there could be some problem at their end or their computer might not work," Pandey said.
The GST Council had earlier this month constituted a Group of Ministers under Biharā€™s Deputy Chief Minister, Sushil Modi, to address issues faced by businesses while filing returns and paying taxes on the portal. After its first meeting last week, Modi had said 25 issues were identified and there would be visible changes on the GSTN portal in a week to 10 days.
AT A GALANCE
GSTN accepted up to 85000 returns per hour on wednesday, which was the last day of filing GSTR-3B for August About 75% of the registered business had not filed their returns until september 20.
According to the central gst and state GST Acts,an interest at the rate of 18% will be levied for delayed payment of tax and filling of returns.
The Business Standard, New Delhi, 22th September 2017

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

GST collection for November rises by 8.5% to Rs.1.82 trillion

  New Delhi: Driven by festive demand, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections for the Union and state governments climbed to Rs.1.82 trillion in November, marking an 8.5% year-on-year growth, according to official data released on Sunday. Sequentially, however, the latest collection figures are lower than the Rs.1.87 trillion reported in October, which was the second highest reported so far since the new indirect tax regime was introduced in 2017. The highest-ever GST collection of Rs.2.1 trillion was reported in April. The consumption tax figures highlight the positive impact of the recent festive season on goods purchases, providing a much-needed boost the industry had been anticipating. The uptick in GST collections driven by festive demand had been anticipated by policymakers, who remain optimistic about sustained growth in rural consumption and an improvement in urban demand. The Ministry of Finance, in its latest monthly economic review released last week, stated that I...

Budget: Startup sector gets new Fund of Funds, FM to allocate Rs 10K cr

  The Indian startup sector received a boost with Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announcing the establishment of a new fund of funds (FoF) in the Budget 2025. The minister unveiled a fresh FoF with an expanded scope, allocating Rs 10,000 crore. The initial fund of funds announced by the government with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore successfully catalysed commitments worth Rs 91,000 crore, the minister said.   ā€œThe renewal of the Rs 10,000 crore commitment to the Fund of Funds for alternative investment funds (AIFs) is a significant step forward for the Indian startup and investment ecosystem. The initial Rs 10,000 crore commitment catalysed Rs 91,000 crore in investments, and I fully expect this fresh infusion to attract an additional Rs 1 lakh to Rs 1.5 lakh crore in capital,ā€ said Anirudh Damani, managing partner, Artha Venture Funds.   Damani further added that this initiative will provide much-needed growth capital to early-stage startups, further strengthenin...