GSTR 1 : Return, Format and Rules

GSTR 1 prescribes the details to be provided by the taxpayer in relation to outward supplies made to the buyer for the relevant period. GSTR 1 needs to be filed by every taxpayer except Composition Scheme taxpayers, Non-Resident Foreign taxpayers, TDS deductors, E commerce Operators and Input Service Distributors as there are separate returns for them. This return is required to be filed by the 10th of subsequent month. (Ex: GSTR-1 for the transaction month of April has to be filed before 10th May).

The government has notified new GST Return formats in this regard and removed the mandatory requirement to quote HSN codes for goods and SAC codes for services in each table. The GST Return Formats have been updated to ease the process and simplify compliance for taxpayers under GST.

1. What is GSTR-1?
2. When is GSTR-1 due?
3. Who should file GSTR-1?
4. How to revise GSTR-1?
5. Late fees and penalty
6. What details should GSTR-1 contain?
7. General queries on GSTR-1

What is GSTR-1?

GSTR-1 is a monthly report done by all regular and casual registered taxpayers that needs to include details about the outward supplies for the taxable period. In layman terms, GSTR 1 contains details about all the sales transactions that a registered dealer has done in a month.
The GSTR 1 that a registered dealer files is used by the government to auto complete GSTR 3 for said dealer and GSTR 2A for dealers to whom the respective supplies have been made. GSTR-1 has to be filed even in situations where there is no business activity in a given taxable period.

When is GSTR-1 due?

The due dates for GSTR-1 are based on your turnover.
Businesses with sales of upto ₹1.5 crore will file quarterly returns.
Other taxpayers with sales above ₹1.5 crore have to file monthly return.

Who has to file GSTR-1?

Every registered person is required to file GSTR-1 irrespective of whether there are any transactions during the month or not. They can do this though the government GST online portal, the offline portal that is provided specially for returns or through a GST Suvidha Provider (GSP).

There are some categories of registered persons who are exempted from filing GSTR 1, these include:

• Input Service Distributors (ISD)
• Registered under the Composition Scheme
• Non-resident taxable person
• Taxpayer liable to collect TCS
• Taxpayer liable to collect TDS
• Suppliers of online information and database access or retrieval services (OIDAR), who have to pay tax themselves (as per Section 14 of the IGST Act)

How to revise GSTR-1?

Return once filed cannot be revised. Any mistake made in the return can be rectified in the next periods (month/quarter) return. It means that if a mistake is made in August GSTR-1, rectification for the same can be made in September’s GSTR-1

Late fees and penalty?

Late Fees for not filing GSTR-1 is ₹200 per day of delay (₹100 as per CGST Act and ₹100 as per SGST Act. The late fees will be charged from the date after the due date.
Update : The late fees have been reduced to ₹50 per day and ₹20 per day (for nil return).

What details should GSTR-1 contain?

1. GSTIN (or provisional ID if you do not have a GSTIN)
2. Legal name of the registered person. This gets auto completed once you login into the GST Portal.
3. Total Turnover for the last Financial Year (total value of all taxable supplies made, excluding the value of inward supplies on which tax is payable by reverse charge), exempt supplies, exports of goods or services.
   Total Turnover between April to June 2017.
   
   
   
4. Details of taxable outward supplies made to registered persons (including UIN-holders): All B2B supplies, including exempted sales and nil tax rate sales should be mentioned here.
   
   
   
5. Details on taxable outward inter-state supplies to unregistered persons (B2B) and end customers (B2C) where the value exceeds ₹2.5 lakh.
   
   
   
6. Zero-rated supplies and deemed exports.
   
7. This section contains a tax rate wise summary of all sales made during the taxable period.
   - Intra-state: Mention all sales including the ones made through e-commerce operators. Also separate supplies made through e-commerce operator should be declared here.
   - Interstate supplies where the invoice value is upto ₹2.5 lakhs: place of supply and supplies made through e-commerce operators.
   
   
   
8. Exempted, NIL-rates and non-GST outward supplies.
   If nothing was declared in the above sections, complete details of these supplies have to be mentioned here.
   
   
   
9. Amendments to outward supply to registered dealers from earlier tax periods in tables 4, 5 and 6 (including any current and amended debit notes, credit notes, and refund vouchers):
   Any correction to sales data submitted in returns of previous months pertaining to registered dealers can be done by filling this section.
   
   
   
10. Amendments to outward supplies to unregistered persons (both for B2B and B2C) provided in earlier returns.
    
    
    
11. Tax liability out of advance receipts.
    - All advances received during the earlier period corresponding to invoices raised during the current period need to be mentioned
    - All advances received in the month for which invoices were not raised
    
    
    
12. HSN-wise summary of outward supplies: If you are a registered dealer you need to provide a HSN wise summary of the goods sold.
    
    
    
13. Documents issued during the tax period, including details of all invoices issued in the taxation period, all revised invoices, debit notes, credit notes etc.
    
    
    

General queries on GSTR-1?

Q. Should I file GSTR-1 even if there are no sales in a month?
Yes, filing GSTR 1 is mandatory. If your total sales for a year is less than Rs 1.5 crore you need to file the return on a quarterly basis.

Q. Can I upload invoice only while filing the return?
You can upload invoices anytime. It is highly advised that you upload invoices at regular intervals during the month to avoid bulk upload at the time of filing return. This is because bulk upload takes a lot of time.

Q. Can I change a invoices uploaded on GST Server?
After uploading invoices you can make changes multiple times. There is no restriction on changing invoices after uploading them. But you can change an invoice only before submitting a return. Once submitted the numbers are frozen.

Q. Should I file GSTR-1 even after filing GSTR-3B?
GSTR-3B is a simple return to be filed by traders on a monthly basis. You still need to file the return on a monthly or a quarterly basis.

Q. I have opted for composition scheme. Should I file GSTR-1?
GSTR-1 should not be filed by you. GSTR-4 on a quarterly basis has to be filed by a taxpayer opting for composition scheme.

Q. Should I make GST payment after filing GSTR-1?
GSTR-1 is a return where details of sales are filed with the government. No tax has to be paid after filing this return. The tax has to be paid at the time of filing GSTR-3B (until March 2018).