GST annual return
The GST annual return is Form GSTR-9. A regular dealer files it by 31 December of the next financial year, after every GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B of that year. Company Suggestion prepares GSTR-9, and GSTR-9C when turnover exceeds ₹5 crore.
What is GSTR-9?
Section 44 of the CGST Act requires an annual return for every financial year. GSTR-9 summarises outward supplies, inward supplies, input tax credit claimed and reversed, and the tax paid, as already reported in the periodic returns.
Two conditions come before the form. The GSTIN was active during that financial year, and the applicable GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B of the year are filed. GSTR-9 does not replace those returns.
Who does not file GSTR-9?
Section 44 leaves these persons out of the annual return.
- An input service distributor.
- A person paying tax under section 51, and a person paying tax under section 52.
- A casual taxable person, and a non-resident taxable person.
- A composition dealer. That dealer files GSTR-4 by 30 April instead. GSTR-9A is not in use.
A registered person whose aggregate turnover is up to ₹2 crore has been exempted from GSTR-9 for the years covered by notification. The notification is year-specific, so the year being filed is checked before the form is skipped.
How does GSTR-9C differ?
GSTR-9C is a reconciliation statement. It is filed by a person whose aggregate turnover in the financial year exceeds ₹5 crore, along with GSTR-9. It matches the figures in the returns with the books.
It is self-certified. It is not a substitute for GSTR-9, and a turnover up to ₹2 crore is not redirected into GSTR-9C. GSTR-9B, the form once listed for e-commerce operators, is not in use.
- GSTR-9: annual return of a regular dealer.
- GSTR-4: annual statement of a composition dealer, due 30 April.
- GSTR-9C: reconciliation when turnover exceeds ₹5 crore, filed with GSTR-9.
What are the filing steps?
Company Suggestion files the annual return in four steps.
- Every GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B of the year is confirmed as filed.
- Outward supplies and input tax credit are matched to those returns.
- GSTR-9 is filed by 31 December, unless that year is extended or exempt.
- GSTR-9C is filed in the same window when turnover exceeds ₹5 crore.
Frequently asked questions
4 questions cover the rules that decide this registration.
When is GSTR-9 due?
By 31 December following the end of the financial year, unless the government extends that date by order.
Is turnover up to ₹2 crore exempt from GSTR-9?
The government has exempted a registered person whose aggregate turnover is up to ₹2 crore for the years those notifications cover. The exemption is issued for a financial year. It is not a permanent rule in the Act.
Does a composition dealer file GSTR-9?
No. A composition dealer files GSTR-4 as the annual statement, by 30 April. GSTR-9A is not in use.
Is GSTR-9C a compulsory audit certificate?
No. GSTR-9C is a self-certified reconciliation of the returns with the books. It is filed when aggregate turnover exceeds ₹5 crore. It is filed with GSTR-9, not instead of it.