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A registered taxpayer must submit the GSTR – 9 annually, as a statement or document. But what is this form?

Are you a registered taxpayer? Here’s the ultimate guide with everything you need to know about GSTR – 9!

In this blog, I am going to cover,

• What is GSTR – 9?
• GSTR – 9 types
• Who needs to file GSTR – 9?
• Due dates for filing GSTR – 9
• Information needed to fill out GSTR – 9
• Steps to file GSTR – 9
• How to check the status of GSTR – 9
• Penalties for  not filing GSTR – 9 on time
• Summary
• FAQs

What is GSTR – 9?

Taxpayers who are GST-registered must submit or file form GSTR 9 annually.

This record will include information on all purchases made and receipts made during the full year under the various tax headings (CGST, SGST, and IGST), as well as details on turnover and audits for those purchases.

If you are a taxpayer with a turnover of more than Rs. 2 crores, you need to submit a GSTR 9C audit form annually. This is been implemented by the government. It serves as a fundamental reconciliation between the taxpayer’s audited yearly financial statements and the annual returns filed in GSTR 9 that were filed.

GSTR – 9 types

There are additional forms that are available with various eligibility requirements. Let’s shed some light on these GST Return form categories:

GSTR 9A

As a taxpayer, if you have chosen the composition scheme at any point during the relevant financial year need to submit Form GSTR-9A once every fiscal year.

GSTR 9B

According to section 52(5) of the CGST Act of 2017, if you are an E-commerce operator and collect tax at source, you need to must file Form GSTR-9B annually. It includes information about the outward supply of goods and services, potential returns, and the total amount collected over the course of the fiscal year.

GSTR 9C

Any taxpayer with a turnover above the 2 crore INR level must submit GSTR 9C with their annual filings. It resembles a tax audit report. Additionally, you must include copies of all the audited accounts with the GSTR 9C form. You need to get this done along with an audit of these firm accounts by authorised persons. The form also requires you to fill out details of gross and taxable turnover.

Who needs to file GSTR – 9?

To submit a GSTR-9:

• You must have a 15-digit PAN-based GSTIN and be registered as a taxpayer under the GST.
• Your company should have an aggregate annual revenue of more than 20 lakh rupees.
• All registered GST taxpayers, with the exception of those who have a Unique Identification Number (UIN) and non-resident taxpayers, must file this form.
• For the whole year, you must record all transaction information at the invoice level. This includes stock transfers between your company’s locations that are spread out across several states, as well as intra-state and inter-state transactions, B2B and B2C transactions, transactions involving exempted goods, non-GST suppliers, and transactions related to exempted items.

All taxpayers and taxable individuals must submit the GSTR 9 form.

The following, however, are NOT necessary to file GSTR 9:

• A Casual Taxable Person

A casual taxable person (CTP) is a person who occasionally provides taxable products or services in a taxable territory without a fixed place of business. The individual may supply goods or services as a principal, an agent, or in any other position as long as it advances the business.

Say, for example, Person A operates a firm that I s registered in Bangalore and offers management consulting services in Hyderabad. He has no physical office in Hyderabad. Therefore, before offering these services, Person A must register in Hyderabad as a casual taxable person.

• Input service Distributors

Input Service Distributor (ISD), is a type of GST taxpayer who must distribute GST input tax credits associated to its GSTIN to its units or branches with different GSTIN but registered under the identical PAN.

• Non-resident taxable persons

A ‘non-resident taxable person,’ according to the Goods and Services Tax Law, is any person who occasionally engages in transactions involving the supply of goods or services, or both, whether as principal, agent, or in any other capacity, but who has no fixed place of business or residence in India.

• TDS payers in accordance with Section 51 of the CGST Act.

Due dates for filing GSTR – 9

The deadline for filing this form for a fiscal year is December 31st of the year following the relevant fiscal year.

For example, the due date for the fiscal year 2021-22 is December 31, 2022.

The GSTR-9 annual returns and GSTR-9C self-certified reconciliation statement for fiscal years 2021-22 are due on December 31, 2022.

Information needed to file GSTR – 9

GSTR-9 is divided into six sections and nineteen parts. Each section requests information that is readily available from your previously filed returns and books of accounts.

• In general, this form requests disclosure of annual sales, categorising them as tax-exempt or non-tax-exempt.
• On the purchase side, the annual value of inward supplies and ITC derived from them must be disclosed.
• These purchases must also be classified as inputs, input services, or capital goods. Details about any ITC that must be reversed due to ineligibility must be entered.

Steps to file GSTR -9 online

By following these steps, you can easily file GSTR online.

1. Login to the GST portal using your login credentials
2. Click on “Service” then go to the “Returns” section
3. From there, go to the “Annual Returns” section
4. Once that is done, you will now be able to select the relevant financial year
5. You will then be able to proceed to select the “Prepare online” option
6. You will see a couple of options. Depending on our intent either click in “Yes” (to file ‘Nil returns) or “No”. Then click on “Next”
7. If you selected “Yes”, proceed to compute the liabilities and then file the digital signature certificate or the electronic verification code
   However, if you selected “No” in the previous step, the website will automatically redirect you to the “Annual returns for normal taxpayer” page
8. Go to each of the displayed sections and fill out the required details 
9. You can then view a summary of the details either in Excel or PDF format. To do that, click on the “Preview Button”
10. To calculate the late fee, click on “Compute Liabilities”. Once a message appears on the screen, refresh the page. Then a title reading “Late fee payable and paid” will appear. Along with it, information like available cash balance will be shown in the “Electronic cash ledger balance”
11. In the case of tax balance being lower than cash liability, respective details will appear in the “Additional Cash Required” section
12. Click on “Create Challan” for the challan to appear (auto-populated).
13. After you select the payment method you can click on “Generate Challan” 
14. You can then click on “Preview Draft GSTR – 9 (PDF)” to download the form
15. Once you have checked the declaration box and authorised signatory, you can then click on the “File GASTR – 9” button

How to check the status of GSTR – 9

You can check the status of GSTR – 9 in 4 easy steps.

1. Login into the GST portal using your credentials
2. Go the the “Servies” section
3. Once you click on the “Returns” option you will see a button that says “Track returns status”. Click on it
4. By adding the Return filing period and the ARN, you will be able to check the GSTR status 

Implications and penalties for not filing GSTR – 9 on time

The late fee for failing to file the GSTR – 9 by the due date is Rs 100 per day, per act.

What does this mean?

In the event of a delay in the filing of GSTR – 9, there is a late fees of Rs 100/- under the CGST in addition to a late fee of Rs 100/- under SGST . This basically means Rs 200/- per day of failing to file the form.

Also, it is important to note that a total late filing fee for every single annual GST return, cannot go above 0.25% of the total turnover

GSRT – 9 – Summary

Now that you know exactly how to file GSTR – 9, you will never have to worry about it ever again. The process is extremely simple and easy to follow!!

FAQs

Not to be considered as tax, legal, financial or HR advice. Regulations change over time so please consult a lawyer, accountant  or Labour Law  expert for specific guidance.