What is GSTR 9?

GSTR 9 is the annual return which is to be filed by every registered taxable person. It is a compilation of all monthly/quarterly returns giving details about supplies made and received under CGST, SGST and IGST. This is a complex task involving compilation and reconciliation of GSTR 1, GSTR3B, GSTR2A and financial statements.

Who should file GSTR 9?

All the registered taxable persons under GST must file GSTR 9. However, following persons are not required to file GSTR 9

Casual Taxable PersonInput service distributors (ISD)Non-resident taxable personsComposition DealerPerson paying TDS under section 51 or 52Filing of GSTR9 has been made optional till now, for registered persons whose aggregate turnover is less than 2 crore

Due dates for filing GSTR 9 and penalties for late filing : 

The last date for filing the GSTR 9 for the financial year is 31st December of the next financial year. i.e. for filing returns of 2020- 21 the due date would be 31st December 2021. Extensions may be granted through government notifications from time to time. The penalty for late filing of GSTR 9 is R. 100 per day; per act. i.e. Rs. 100 per day for CGST and Rs. 100 per day for SGST. So, total Rs. 200 per day. There are no penalties levied on late filing of IGST, yet. Types of GSTR 9 :

What are different types of return under GSTR-9?

There are 4 types of return under GSTR 9: GSTR 9: GSTR 9 should be filed by the regular taxpayers filing GSTR 1, GSTR 2, GSTR 3. GSTR 9A – GSTR 9A should be filed by the persons registered under composition scheme under GST. GSTR 9B – GSTR 9B should be filed by the e-commerce operators who have filed GSTR 8 during the financial year. GSTR 9C – GSTR 9C should be filed by the taxpayers whose annual turnover exceeds Rs 2 crores during the financial year. All such taxpayers are also required to get their accounts audited and file a copy of audited annual accounts and reconciliation statement of tax already paid and tax payable as per audited accounts along with GSTR 9C.

Filing of GSTR 9 on the portal: 

While filing form GSTR 9 on the GST portal, following details are required: Part I : Basic details of the taxable person like GSTN, Legal name, Financial year etc are required. This is data is auto populated on the portal. Part II : Outward and Inward supplies made during the financial year. Here details like B2B supplies, B2C supplies, zero rated supplies, SEZ supplies, Nil rated and exempt supplies, Advances, RCM, Debit Notes, Credit Notes etc. is to be declared in the tables 4A to 4L and 5A to 5K. This data is fetched from GSTR 1 filed earlier by the taxpayer. Now this data has to match with financial statements. If there has been any omissions, mistakes or rectifications in the GSTR 1 during the year, the same can be corrected and updated here. Part III : Details regarding ITC claimed, eligible, ineligible and reversed are to be given here. Data pertaining to supplies from registered dealer, supplies from unregistered dealer, supplies from registered/unregistered persons liable to reverse charge, ITC from ISD, import of goods and services, ITC as per GSTR 2A, ITC available but not claimed, ineligible ITC, IGST paid on imports, ITC available  and availed/not availed on import of goods etc. is to be declared in the tables 6A to 6M, 7A to 7H and 8A to 8J. Again, this data is auto populated from GSTR 3B, ITC 03 and TRAN I & II wherever applicable. Similar to Part II, any earlier omissions or rectifications in GSTR 3B can be corrected and updated in this tables. Part IV : Here, the details of IGST, CGST, SGST, UTGST, interest, penalties, Cess etc. paid through ITC and/or cash that is reflected in the GSTR 3B files earlier, is auto populated. Part V : Transactions relating to previous financial year which are reported in current financial year are declared in this part. Such transactions can be declared in the first 6 months returns (Apr to Sept) of the current year or in the annual return (GSTR 9) of the previous year (upto 31st December of current year). Details regarding the transaction like supplies declared, ITC availed and reversed in the previous year and the differential tax paid, is to be furnished in table 10 to 14. Part VI : Further details like total refund claimed, sanctioned, rejected, GST demanded, paid and payable, supplies from composition dealers, deemed supply details, HSN wise inward and outward supplies summery and late fees paid or payable; are furnished in the table 15A to 15G, 16A to 16C, 17,18 and 19. Please note that GSTR 9 once filed, cannot be revised (some changes can be done in GSTR 9C if the taxable person is under audit). Hence, the information submitted has to be correct. Filing of an incorrect GSTR 9 will lead to payment of further tax, interests and penalties.

Records to be maintained by the Tax payer 

For minimizing discrepancies in the GSTR 9 vis a vis financial statements, following records should be kept updated on monthly or quarterly basis :

HSN wise Sales Register and Purchase RegisterHSN wise Stock RegisterDebit notes / Credit notesRCM LedgerLUTTransaction data pertaining to previous financial year; which is going to be reported in current financial yearCGST/SGST/IGST ledgerList of products and services along with HSN classification and gst ratesBalance Sheet and Profit & Loss account

Verification of all the General Ledgers, reconciliation of GSTR 1 and GSTR 3B with financial statements along with justifications for differences, should be done beforehand for filing GSTR 9.

Cost Audit and GSTR 9

In the Cost Audit annexures HSN wise sales in Part A4 and consumption details in Part B2A; are reported after reconciling the same with financial statements. In Part D6, state wise data regarding GST payable, GST paid through ITC, GST paid by cash, interest and penalties levied; is submitted from GSTR 3B returns of the taxable person. This information can be aligned with GSTR 9 while filing the return.

What types of details to be provided in GSTR-9

GSTR 9 has total of 9 sections

  1. Provide GSTIN: Each taxpayer will be allotted a state-wise PAN-based 15-digit Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number (GSTIN). GSTIN of the taxpayer will be auto-populated at the time of return filing.
  2. Legal name of the registered person: Name of the taxpayer will be auto-populated at the time of logging into the common GST Portal. Whether liable to Statutory Audit: Statutory audit is compulsory in case of companies and in case of individual/HUF if turnover exceeds Rs 1 crore.
  3. Date of statutory Audit: Mention the date of the statutory audit.
  4. Auditors: Mention the name of the auditors of the entity who has audited the accounts of the entity.
  5. Details of Expenditure: Details of goods and services purchased during the financial year must be provided. Such information needs to be provided along with the HSN / SAC codes applicable and the taxable value of such goods and services. These details are mentioned in GSTR 2. This information is divided into following heads:

a) Total value of purchases on which ITC availed (inter-State)b) Total value of purchases on which ITC availed (intra-State)c) Total value of purchases on which ITC availed (Imports)d) Other Purchases on which no ITC availede) Sales Returnf) Other Expenditure (Expenditure other than purchases)

  1. Details of income: Details of all supplies and sales made during the year needs to be provided here. Such details are also mentioned in GSTR 1. These categories are as follows:

a) Total value of supplies on which GST paid (inter-State Supplies): It includes the supplies made in other states on which IGST is paid.b) Total value of supplies on which GST Paid (intrastate Supplies) : It includes supplies within the state on which SGST and CGST is paid.c) Total value of supplies on which GST Paid (Exports): It includes export of goods and services made during the year on which IGST is paidd) Total value of supplies on which no GST Paid (Exports): It includes export of goods and services made during the year on which no IGST is paide) Value of Other Supplies on which no GST paid: It includes the details of supply of goods and services made during the year without any GST paid on it. i.e CGST and SGST in case of intra supply and IGST in case of inter state supply.f) Purchase Returns: Detail of purchase return made during the year is to be provided here.g) Other Income (Income other than from supplies): Any other income earned during the year other than supplies mentioned in above points should be mentioned here.

7. Return Reconciliation Statement

After furnishing all the information, the system will auto-reconcile the transactions and will determine tax liability payable against the tax actually paid. The system will also populate the amount of tax difference, interest, penalty if any

8. Other

If there is any other payable the same will be auto-populated here. It may include arrears or any liability because of the assessment.

9. Profit as per the Profit and Loss Statement

In this section, mention the breakup of gross-profit, profit after tax and net profit. Once all the particulars are furnished correctly, the taxpayer is required to sign digitally either through a digital signature certificate (DSC) or Aadhar based signature verification to authenticate the return.