Quarterly GST returns to ease compliance from January 1

The goods and services tax (GST) taxpayers with a turnover of up to Rs 5 crore will have the option to ease their compliance burden from January 1, as the facility to file GSTR-3B only on a quarterly basis kicks in. Currently, GSTR-3B is filed on a monthly basis along with payment of taxes.

The Quarterly filing of Return with Monthly Payment (QRMP) scheme, which was approved by the GST Council in October, means that instead of a mandatory 16 returns that need to be filed a year (12 GSTR-3B and 4 GSTR-1), the new system would provide for 8 returns (4 GSTR-3B and 4 GSTR-1).

The scheme will cover 92% or 94 lakh GST-registered taxpayers. Currently, there are about 1.2 crore registered taxpayers, including 17 lakh composition dealers.

However, an assessee opting for the scheme will need to pay tax on a monthly basis but will have the option to either discharge the actual liability via the cash ledger or through a pre-filled challan amounting to 35% of the cash paid as taxes in the previous quarter.

“This may also reduce his tribulations of late fee, as the pre-filled challan will allow taxpayers to deposit monthly 35% of the cash paid in the previous quarter in the electronic cash ledger,” a source said.

The sources said that the scheme was aimed at cutting down compliance cost of smaller taxpayers who are forced to engage professional help for filing returns.