GST taxpayers for flexibility in deciding whether to pay monthly taxes

Starting January 1, GST providers will be able to pay their taxes based on a self-assessment without going through the cumbersome process of filing monthly tax returns. The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBIC) will introduce a new Quarterly Declaration and Monthly Payment Plan (QRMP) to GST taxpayers starting next year that will allow taxpayers to file only 4 returns from GSTR-3B in one year instead of 12 statements at the present time.

According to the scheme, while returns will be filed through the GSTR-3B form only every quarter and not monthly as is currently the case, taxpayers will be less likely to pay tax premiums per month based on the self-assessment method.

The self-evaluation of taxpayers will allow their monthly installments to be made based on 100% of the net cash liability paid in the previous month or 35%  of the cash obligation paid in the previous quarter or the actual self-assessment of tax debt after deducting the credit for input tax (ITC).

Under the new scheme, the GSTR-3B will only be offered at the end of the three-month period.

Under the QRMP Scheme, taxpayers will have the preference to pay their monthly due taxes according to their choice, either through the cash ledger or through a pre-loaded challan, which will be 35%  of the cash paid out from the previous quarter or can pay according to the actual amount. Therefore, a small taxpayer will need professional help, when needed, especially in the last month of the quarter, and can be free of tax-related pressures by simply making the payment through a pre-loaded challan and originating system.

The scheme will affect approximately 94 lakh taxpayers, that is, approximately 92 percent of the total GST tax base, who have an Annual Gross Turnover (AATO) of Rs. 5 crores said sources from the Revenue Service (DoR).

Sources familiar with this said that the QRMP has an optional invoice filing (IFF) feature to alleviate business-related difficulties for small and medium taxpayers. Under the IFF facility, small taxpayers who choose to be quarterly providers under the QRMP scheme can upload and submit these invoices even in the first and second months of the quarter in which the recipients are requested. Also, this may include buyers who previously used to avoid buying from small taxpayers in wanting to bill the system on a monthly basis.

According to sources, the taxpayer will not need to upload and submit all invoices for the month and can only upload and submit those invoices which must be filed in the IFF as per the recipients' request. The remaining bills for the first and second months can be charged to the GSTR-1 quarterly statement. The IFF will be available until the deadline and credit will flow to the recipient after the IFF submission deadline.

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