Filing Nil GSTR-3B Through SMS Facility is Live Now

The government has decided to implement an SMS facility for Nil return filers under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. In continuation of that, the government rolled out the facility for filing Nil GSTR-3B. The government is expecting that this facility will ease the GST compliance, and more than 22 lakh registered taxpayers will be benefited from this facility. Now, the taxpayers can file their nil GST return through an SMS if they have Nil liability towards GSTR-3B.

This article covers the following aspects related to Nil GSTR-3B through SMS:

• Eligible Taxpayers
• Pre-requisites
• Checklist
• Steps to file
• Eligible Taxpayers

The following taxpayers are only eligible for availing this SMS facility:

• Normal taxpayer
• Casual taxpayer
• SEZ unit
• SEZ developer

Also Read: GSTR-3B Late Fee Waiver to Be Discussed in the Next Council Meeting

Pre-requisites

The taxpayers should make sure that:

• The taxpayer should be one of the above eligible taxpayers.
• The authorised signatory and the mobile number must be registered on the GST portal.
• There should be no pending liability of tax, interest, late fee for previous tax periods.
• All the previous GSTR-3B must be filed.
• The data should not be saved at any stage in GSTR-3B online version.

Any authorised representative can file a Nil GSTR-3B through SMS facility. The vital thing to note is that the mobile number of the authorised representative should be unique and shall not be familiar with other authorised representatives of the same GSTIN.

Checklist

If the answer to any of the following questions is “YES” for a specific tax period, the taxpayers are not eligible for availing this SMS facility:

• Supplied any goods or services (including nil rated, exempt and non-GST supplies)
• Required to pay interest or late fee including pending late fee
• Received supplies liable to reverse charge
• Needed to pay off other liabilities

The taxpayers can file the GSTR-3B anytime on or after 1st of the subsequent month. For example, the May 2020 return can be filed on or after 01 June 2020.

Steps to File

The following steps are to be followed for filling the Nil GSTR-3B through SMS:

• Type the below and send SMS to 14409:
  • NIL<space>3B<sapce>Tax Period in the mmyyyy format
• The taxpayer will receive 06 digits validation code to the registered mobile number.
• Type the below and again send below message to 14409:
  • CNF<space>3B<space>06 digit verification code
• The taxpayer will receive a message with Application Reference Number (ARN) indicating that the filing of Nil GSTR-3B was successful.

The taxpayer can track the status of a filed return on the GST portal. All he has to do is navigate to Services>Returns>Track Return after logging in to the portal.

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at dvsr.anjaneyulu@cleartax.in