GST Alert: Have business with turnover over Rs 2 crore? Start filing GST audit reports for FY18 now

Businesses with an annual turnover of over Rs 2 crore can now start filing GST audit reports for fiscal 2017-18 as GST Network (GSTN) has made its format available on its portal. The audit report for 2017-18, the first year of the goods and services tax (GST) implementation, is to be filed by June 30. The ministry on December 31, 2018, notified the annual returns forms GSTR-9, GSTR-9A and GSTR-9C. The GST Council in December extended the last date for filing these forms by three months to June 30.

GSTN has now made available offline utility of GSTR-9C which can be filled up by taxpayer and uploaded on the portal. GSTR-9 is the annual return form for all taxpayers registered under GST, GSTR-9A is for composition taxpayers.
GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement, duly verified and signed by a chartered accountant or a cost accountant, and required to be furnished along with filing of annual return by the taxpayer whose turnover is above Rs 2 crore during a financial year.

EY Tax Partner Abhishek Jain said the industry was long awaiting the offline utility and the mechanics of filing the GSTR-9C online. "Clarifications like digital signature of auditor being required, balance sheet and profit/loss account being attached, etc, should help businesses plan well for executing this compliance," Jain said.

AMRG & Associates Partner Rajat Mohan said timely availability of the utility for filing GST annual audit report is a great assistance to taxpayers, especially those having a multi-locational places of business. "Taxpayers have more than 75 days to file GST annual audit reports and in case they start early then there would be no need for any extensions on the last day," Mohan added.