Over 90 per cent of large corporate taxpayers have complied with annual Goods and Services Tax (GST) return filing rules for the financial year 2017-18, the GST Network (GSTN) announced on Sunday. This is the first annual return filing exercise since the new consumption tax regime’s roll out in 2017 and the tax department had mandated deadlines of February 3, 5 and 7.
“Statistics show that out of eligible large taxpayers, 91.3 per cent had filed their annual return by February 12, 2020. Similarly, 92.3 per cent eligible large taxpayers had filed their reconciliation statement before the said date,” the GSTN said in a statement. According to GST rules, while annual return filing is optional for taxpayers having annual turnover up to Rs2 crore, the same is mandatory for those having annual turnover above Rs2 crore.
There are two returns to be filed by such large taxpayers: annual return form GSTR-9 and a reconciliation statement GSTR-9C, which has to be filed after the GSTR-9 form. According to data released by the GSTN, the number of taxpayers with a turnover of more than Rs2 crore for the fiscal year 2017-18 was 12.42 lakh, only 13.4 per cent of the overall total GST taxpayer base of 92.58 lakh. While 80.16 lakh taxpayers are not mandated to file annual returns due to lower turnover, 1.04 lakh taxpayers who had an annual turnover of up to Rs2 crore have filed the reconciliation statement.
The GSTN data also shows which states recorded the highest number of filings among eligible businesses, with Maharashtra leading the list with 96 per cent having filed returns. Rajasthan and Gujarat with 95 per cent compliance follow the country’s largest state economy. “The taxpayers who have not filed by the due date can still file the returns for 2017-18 but will be required to pay the late fee,” the GSTN said. High compliance in GST return filings will make the system smoother and give the government better perspective on tax collections. The past three months have also seen an improvement in Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenue, with collections aggregating to over Rs1 lakh crore for the third straight month in January 2020.
12.42 L
is the number of taxpayers with a turnover of more than Rs 2 crore for the fiscal year 2017-2018
92.58 L
is the overall nation-wide GST taxpayer base registered with the Ministry of Finance for the FY 2017-18
1.04 L
taxpayers who had an annual turnover of up to Rs 2 crore have filed the reconciliation statement
Rs 1 Lcr
GST revenue collection for the third straight month in January 2020.