In a bid to ease taxpayers filing woes, the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has issued an advisory stating that the GSTR-3B return will hereafter be auto-populated, based on the data available in the GSTR-1 return and GSTR-2B statement. Form GSTR-01 is the return for reporting outward supplies made by a taxpayer during a tax period. On the other hand, the GSTR-2B is the monthly input tax credit (ITC) statement prepared based on the GSTR-1, GSTR-5 and GSTR-6 of the taxpayer’s suppliers.
The liabilities in tables 3.1 (except table 3.1(d)) and 3.2 of Form GSTR-3B will be computed based on the details of outward supplies reported in the GSTR-1 for that particular tax period. The ITC details and details of inward supplies which are liable to reverse charge which gets reported in tables 4 and 3.1 (d) respectively will be computed from the system-generated GSTR-2B statement of that tax period.
If a taxpayer has not filed Form GSTR-1 for a particular period, then the system-generated summary will display ‘not filed’ for the respective values taken from Form GSTR-1, or ‘not generated’ for the respective values taken from the GSTR-2B statement. If a taxpayer has already entered and saved values in his GSTR-3B before the auto-population takes place, the saved values will not be overwritten by the system.
Taxpayers are required to verify the correctness of the auto-populated values in all respects before filing their GSTR-3B. They even have the option to edit these values wherever required. If the edited values are higher than the applicable threshold, then the system will alert the taxpayer. However, the taxpayer will not be restricted from continuing to file their GSTR-3B return.
Also Read: GSTR-3B Filing Defaults: Over 1.63 Lakh GST Registrations Cancelled
This is how the auto-populated values will be generated:
| GSTR-3B Table | Auto-populated from | Reference |
| Table 3.1(a) – Outward taxable supplies (other than zero-rated, nil rated and exempted) | Tables 4, 5, 6C, 7, 9, 10 and 11 in Form GSTR-1. | Values in these tables are computed by taking the sum of all values reported by the taxpayer in the corresponding tables of Form GSTR-1. The net positive values will be reported in the respective tables. The net negative values, if any, will not be considered in the table, and the system will display the value as zero. |
| Table 3.1(b) – Outward taxable supplies (zero-rated) | Tables 6A, 6B and 9 in Form GSTR-1. | |
| Table 3.1(c) – Outward taxable supplies (Nil rated, exempted) | Table 8 in Form GSTR-1. | |
| Table 3.1(e) – Non-GST outward supplies | Table 8 in Form GSTR-1. | |
| Table 3.2 – Of the suppliers shown in Table 3.1(a) above, the details of inter-state supplies made to unregistered persons, composition taxable persons and UIN holders | The Place of Supply (POS) details in Form GSTR-1. | The Place of Supply (PoS) details of inter-state supplies that are made to unregistered persons, composition taxable persons and UIN holders. |
| 3.1(d) – Inward supplies liable to reverse charge | Table 3 Part A Section III and Table 4 Part A Section III of Form GSTR-2B. | These values are auto-populated from Form GSTR-2B. The positive values will be reported in the respective tables, and the net negative values, if any, will not be considered in the table, and the system will provide the value as zero. If the actual liability is more than the value that was auto-populated by the system, then the taxpayers should edit the same and report the correct value in the Form GSTR-3B. The system-computed values do not contain the values relating to the supplies that are received from unregistered persons liable to reverse charge, and the tax to be paid on a reverse-charge basis on account of the import of services. These details need to be included by the taxpayer by editing the auto-populated values. |
| 4A (1, 3, 4, 5) – ITC Available | Table 3 Part A Section I, II, III, IV of Form GSTR-2B. | This figure is auto-populated from Form GSTR-2B. The positive ITC values will be reported in the respective tables. The negative values will be considered to be ITC reversal and will be reported in table 4B(2). |
| 4B(2) – ITC reversed – (2) Others | Table 3 Part B Section I and Table 4 Part B Section I of Form GSTR-2B. | This value is auto-populated from Form GSTR-2B. It covers the following:
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The GSTN release also stated that for users who wish to download the GSTR-3B summary, a downloadable PDF would be available on the GSTR-3B dashboard. The system-generated summary will be made available for all registered taxpayers filing their GSTR-1 return monthly and from the November 2020 tax period onwards. For quarterly filers, this facility will be enabled soon.
For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at athena.rebello@cleartax.in
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