Four GST portal updates in March 2022 you need to know

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has recently released new functionalities or enhancements on the GST portal. These include extending the requirement to complete Aadhaar authentication while applying for a GST refund. It further improves the GST registration filing facility to enhance user experience and more critical updates. Read on to know more about the GST portal updates.

Need for Aadhaar authentication to apply for GST refund

If your business wants a GST refund, you must compulsorily complete Aadhaar authentication. The GST portal blocks the refund applications submitted until the taxpayer does the Aadhaar authentication. 

The CGST notification 35/2021 issued on 24th September 2021 notifies this requirement. However, there was no validation in place until now. Rule 10B of the CGST Rules, 2017 was amended where the Aadhaar authentication for persons was made mandatory for refund application and revocation of cancelled GST registration application.

A pop up appears with the message asking for confirmation upon noticing that Aadhaar authentication is not done. It appears while furnishing the declaration of refund application. The message states that if a taxpayer has to be eligible for claiming a refund in Form RFD-01, they must complete Aadhaar authentication. 

Check the status of Aadhaar authentication on the GST portal by navigating to the ‘My Profile’ option on the dashboard. After that, they can click on the ‘Aadhaar authentication’ button to see whether or not Aadhaar authentication is done successfully.

GST registration application User Interface (UI) enhanced

Users can notice the following enhancements while filing Form REG-01 to apply for GST registration on the GST portal-

• The portal has added the map tile and the drag and drop option for selecting the address pinhead to capture the exact location.
• Upon capturing the exact location, the portal auto-fills the complete address in multiple address fields.
• The taxpayers can find that the GST portal automatically populates several macro-level information such as the district, pin code and state based on the above action.
• The GST registration applicants can edit the address information with the extra provision of a drop-down facility to choose the nearest inputs and prevent any mistakes.
• The GST portal auto-fills the latitude and longitude, which are not editable.

The GSTN released these updates as an advisory on 10th March 2022.

Auto-population of e-invoice details into GSTR-1

The GST Network released yet another advisory on the 3rd March 2022. The advisory covers information about the e-invoice auto-population into GSTR-1. 

It is mandatory to generate e-invoices by certain taxpayers notified by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC). Such taxpayers must prepare and share e-invoices. They must declare their Business to Business (B2B) invoice information as per the e-invoice schema in Form INV-01 and report these on the Invoice Registration Portal (IRP). 

Such invoices obtain a unique Invoice Reference Number (IRN) and a signed Quick Response (QR) code. The documents such as the invoices, debit notes, credit notes are transmitted from the IRP electronically to the GST system. It then gets auto-populated in the respective tables of Form GSTR-1.

Facility to file Form CMP-02 to opt into the composition scheme

All those persons who wish to opt into the compositions scheme for the supply of goods or services or both for the upcoming financial year 2022-23 must file Form CMP-02 on the GST portal by 31st March 2022. The GST portal has opened up the facility to file this form, and eligible persons must file the form at the earliest.

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