Reetu | Dec 9, 2024 |
GST Return Deadline: Last Date to File GSTR-7; Know Details
The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has issued a new advisory informing GST registered taxpayers who are required to file Form GSTR-7 returns about mandatory sequential filing on or before the December 10, 2024 deadline.
Every GST registered person who is required to deduct TDS under the applicable GST rules must now file a GSTR-7. TDS under GST is deducted by specified buyers before making payment to the seller if the total value of taxable goods and services supplied exceeds Rs.2.5 lakh.
According to a December 4, 2024, advisory, “Multiple tickets have been received regarding the sequential filing of return in Form GSTR-7. Taxpayers are referring to FAQs that state ‘it is not mandatory’. To explain, the following changes have been made to the GSTR-7 return filing process from November 1, 2024.”
GSTR-7 filing has been made sequentially beginning with the October tax period, as stated by Notification No. 17/2024-Central Tax, dated September 27, 2024, and effective November 1, 2024. Thus, GSTR-7 returns must be filed in chronological sequence, beginning with the October 2024 return period. It is important to note that if no deduction is made for a given month, deductors must file a NiL return.
This new adviosry essentially instructs GST registered taxpayers to file GSTR-7 on or before the deadline (December 10, 2024), even if TDS was not deducted during the applicable tax period. Needless to mention, if a GST registered person deducted TDS during the applicable tax period, they must file a GSTR-7 form.
This ensures thorough compliance, increases data accuracy, and streamlines the GST system’s overall reconciliation process.
The president of the Chartered Accountants Association Surat (CAAS) expressed concern over the mandatory filing of GSTR-7.
“Filing GSTR-7 in any month with no transactions incurring TDS deductions was not mandatory. This has already been displayed on the portal. However, out of nowhere, an advisory from ‘Team GSTN’ arrives and makes it essential. This will undoubtedly cause chaos in terms of late fees and penalties that may be imposed, given that it is now mandatory, albeit not legally. Even after more than 7 years of GST implementation, the unwritten rule of GSTN Software supersedes the GST enacted by parliament, and all stakeholders remain quiet spectators,” he stated.
In the central government’s Budget 2024, the finance minister proposed amending section 39 and mandated filing of returns by TDS deductors for every month. During its 53rd meeting, the GST council made a similar recommendation.
Previously, if you had not filed GSTR-7 for any month, you might have filed the following month’s GSTR-7. However, the GSTN has now stated that all GSTR-7s must be filed sequentially, which means that if you skip one month’s GSTR-7 filing, you will be unable to file the following month’s GSTR-7.
Failure to file the return by the due date leads to a late fee of Rs.100 per day under Central GST and State GST, respectively, with a maximum of Rs.5000 for CGST and SGST. Non-deposit of TDS will additionally result in interest at 18% per annum from the due date of filing the return to the actual payment.
GST registered taxpayers who are also registered for TDS have been exempted from filing GSTR-7 for October 2024. This exemption applies exclusively to GST registered taxpayers who received their TDS registration in November 2024.
According to another GSTN advisory dated November 26, 2024, many tickets have been received indicating that taxpayers are unable to disclose TDS deducted in the month of October 2024 because they are unable to file a return for the month of October 2024. This issue arose because, despite applying for GST registration in October 2024 in accordance with the aforesaid notification, their GST registrations were only accepted in November 2024. As a result, those taxpayers cannot see the month of October 2024 in the return dropdown. This is consistent with the present GSTN system design, which does not allow taxpayers to file returns for tax periods previous to the registration month.
To fix the issue, taxpayers who were granted registration in November 2024 but deducted TDS in October 2024 are recommended to disclose the whole amount of TDS deducted from 10.10.2024 to 30.11.2024 in the GSTR-7 return to be filed for the month of November 2024.
In case of any Doubt regarding Membership you can mail us at [email protected]
Join Studycafe's WhatsApp Group or Telegram Channel for Latest Updates on Government Job, Sarkari Naukri, Private Jobs, Income Tax, GST, Companies Act, Judgements and CA, CS, ICWA, and MUCH MORE!"
