GST Returns FilingThe Goods and Services Tax is a multi-stage, destination-based indirect tax levied on the manufacture, sale and consumption of goods and services. By subsuming a number of state and central taxes into a single tax, GST aims to eliminate the cascading effect of taxation in a big way. This is in par with the government’s goal of setting up a common national market as well. The new tax regime was rolled out by the Central government on July 1, 2017.Any individual registered under the GST Act has to produce the details of the sales and purchases of products and services as well as the tax collected and paid. To do so, the individual has to file online returns. GST returns are documents filed by taxpayers with the income tax authorities of India on a periodic basis. Those registered on the GST portal have to provide their business information (sales, purchases, tax collected and tax paid for instance) by filing GST returns online. The tax authorities use this information provided to calculate tax liability.Types Of Returns Applicable Under GST LawGST returns can be filed using different forms. They are:GSTR 1: GSTR 1 has to be submitted by the 10th day of a month. It will contain details of a registered taxable supplier’s outward products supplied and services rendered. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 1 are:GSTIN (which stands for Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number)Legal name of the registered personPrevious financial year’s aggregate turn over Taxable outward supplies to a registered personTaxable outward supplies to a consumerAmendments to details of any outward supplies for previous periodsGSTR 2: GSTR 2 has to be filed by the 15th day of a month. It summarizes the details of inward purchases of taxable products and services. GSTR 2 will list the registered dealer’s purchase transactions undertaken in a month. Additionally, it will include purchases where reverse charge is applicable. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 2 are:GSTINLegal name of the registered personInward supplies received besides those attracting reverse chargeInward supplies where tax is applicable on reverse chargeTDS and TCS credit receivedAmendments to details of inward suppliesGSTR 3: GSTR 3 is a monthly return form, auto-generated by pulling information from GSTR 1 and GSTR 2. It should be filed by the 20th day of a month. This form will have the details of the inward and outward supplies of products and services, which are mentioned in GSTR 1 and GSTR 2. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 3 are:TurnoverInter-state suppliesIntra-state suppliesTax effect of amendments made concerning outward suppliesInward supplies attracting reverse chargeGSTR 4: GSTR 4 needs to be filed by taxpayers opting for composition scheme. Under this, taxpayers are required to file their returns on a quarterly basis. Two of the conditions associated with this scheme are: i) taxpayers with a turnover of up to Rs. 75 lakhs can only opt for the scheme and ii) they should only be involved in intrastate trade. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 4 are:GSTINLegal nameInward supplies where tax is payable on reverse chargeConsolidated statement of advances paidAmendments to details of inward supplies furnished in returns of previous periodsGSTR 5: GSTR 5 is required to be filed by registered non-resident foreign taxable persons. It should be filed by the 20th day of a month. Such individuals are foreign suppliers that have come for a short while to make supplies in India. They do not have a business establishment in the country. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 5 are:GSTINLegal nameImported goodsImported servicesOutward supplies madeDetails of debit credit notesGSTR 6: GSTR 6 is required to be filed by every input services distributor. The due date for filing this form is the 13th day of a month. It mentions the documents issued for distribution of input tax credit as well as the manner of distribution of credit. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 6 are:GSTINLegal nameAmendment to distribution documents and credit or debit notes of previous periodsInput tax credit received for distributionGSTR 7: GSTR 7 has to be filed by the 10th day of a month. It contains the details of tax deductions made in a month. This needs to be furnished by taxpayers, registered to deduct TDS at source. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 7 are:GSTINLegal nameTDS detailsReturn periodLiability – payable and paidGSTR 8: GSTR 8 has to be filed by e-commerce operators who collect tax at source. The filing for a month is due on 10th of the next month. The main intention of GSTR 8 form is to maintain a complete record of the transactions done on an e-commerce platform. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 8 are:GSTINLegal nameDetails of supplies made via e-commerce operatorTax paid and payableDetails of interestGSTR 9: GSTR 9 is an annual return form which needs to be furnished by all registered taxpayers. The form, which is a compilation of the taxpayer's 12 monthly GSTR 3 forms, has to be filed by 31st December every year. Form GSTR 9 contains the details of exports, imports and the tax paid by the applicant in a year.GSTR 10: GSTR 10 is required to be filed by a taxpayer whose GST registration is surrendered or cancelled. This 'final' return should be filed in a span of 3 months from the date of cancellation or date of cancellation order, whichever comes later. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 10 are:GSTIN (which stands for Goods and Services Taxpayer Identification Number)Legal nameEffective date of cancellation/surrenderCancellation order dateTax payable on closing stockGSTR 11: GSTR 11 needs to be filed by individuals to whom a Unique Identity Number (UIN) has been issued for the purpose of getting a refund on their purchases in India. Only foreign embassies or diplomatic bodies holding UIN can file GSTR 11. It must be noted that this return should only be filed in those months when purchases are made. Some of the critical headings under form GSTR 11 are:Unique Identification NumberName of the person having UINDetails of suppliesTax period