Issues while Filing GSTR 9/9C - Reasons And Solutions

It is a fact that Filing of Income Tax Return (ITR) is a long process including various procedures but finally, everything has to be done correctly. 

Highlights of today’s write-up are the issues encountered by a taxpayer while filing their form GSTR 9/9C. 

Annual Return Form or GSTR - 9

Annual return i.e. return filed once a year, GSTR -9 is a return filed by a taxpayer once a year. Only registered taxpayers under GST Regular Scheme (Monthly, Quarterly) are liable to file GSTR-9 by Gen GST Software.

Issues Faced By A Taxpayer While Filing Gstr-9:

(1) Itc Figures In Gstr-9 Does Not Match Figures In Gstr-2a
Stated by some taxpayers, that figures of the Input Tax Credit (ITC) pre-loaded in table 8A of Form GSTR - 9 mismatch with the figures visible in their form GSTR 2A.

Following are the Probabilities of this Issue:

• Figures in GSTR 2A are auto-populated depending on filed /saved or submitted Form GSTR 1 by the taxpayer. Whereas figures in table 8A in form GSTR 9 is auto-populated based on the filed form GSTR 1 by the taxpayer. So clearly, if the taxpayer fails to file GSTR 1 then the credit related to those invoices will not be mentioned in table 8A of Form GSTR 9.
• Form GSTR 1 is used to file ITC for a financial year and has to be filed by a taxpayer before the due date (30 April 2019), if the due date is missed by the taxpayer, the figures will not be auto-populated in Table 8A of Form GSTR 9 but will be visible in the form GSTR-2A.
•  Only the recent figures have been auto-populated in Table 8A of Form GSTR 9 including other amendments. For instance, issued in the Form GSTR 2A, is the invoice with Rs. 200 as taxable amount and Rs. 28 as tax for January 2018 and the same is changed to Rs. 180 in March 2018 in GSTR 2A then, First, January month GSTR 2A will show ITC  of Rs. 28 Second, March month GSTR 2A will show ITC of Rs. 180, Third, recent table 8A of Form GSTR 9 will show ITC of Rs. 180.
• If the taxpayer living in State A makes any kind of expenses in State B, the tax paid by him on the expenses will be included in GSTR 2A but will not be mentioned in table 8A of Form GSTR 9. Clearly, the invoice of Form GSTR 9 is bonded to a single state.
• ITC figures will not be auto-populated in table 8A of Form GSTR 9 if the taxpayer is under composition scheme.

(2) Disabled Proceed To File Button

This is to keep in mind while filing GSTR 9, Proceed To File Button is the last stage and will only be enabled after clicking ‘Compute Liability’ option. ‘Compute Liability’ is used to compute the late fees (if any). The taxpayer can recheck all the information filled by him by using ‘Preview Draft GSTR 9 PDF’. After all the procedures ‘proceed to file’ button has to be pressed by the taxpayer to file the return. Please note: GSTR 9 once filed cannot be re-edited.

Form Gstr-9c- Reconciliation Statement

GSTR 9C is a reconciliation statement which is to be filed by the taxpayer whose gross earnings are above 2 Crores in a Financial Year. Turnover of the complete year i.e. 1 April 2017 to 31 March 2018 is calculated. 

Issues Faced By A Taxpayer While Filing GSTR 9c:

(1)  Error Message While Filing GSTR 9c - A lot of taxpayers witnessed error message popping up while filing GSTR 9C. To sort this issue and to prevent it from coming in the future, one must use Microsoft Excel Version above 2007 while preparing GSTR 9C.

(2) Need Correct Membership Number - For successful filing of GSTR 9C Audit return from, at the time of filing Part - B of GSTR 9C, auditors are advised to provide their membership number without adding 0. For example, if the membership number is ‘018’, then one must mention ‘18’, without including zero in it.