Important changes to the QRMP scheme on the GST portal

The government has introduced the Quarterly Return and Monthly Payment of Taxes (QRMP) scheme for the convenience of small taxpayers with a turnover of less than Rs 5 crore. The QRMP scheme allows the taxpayers to file returns quarterly and pay tax every month. Recently, the GST portal introduced new features mentioned below for QRMP scheme taxpayers on the GST portal.

• Auto-population of GSTR-3B liability from IFF and GSTR-1
• Filing of Nil Quarterly GSTR-1 through SMS
• Liability to file GSTR-1 when QRMP taxpayer cancels the GST registration

Auto-population of GSTR-3B liability from IFF and GSTR-1

A taxpayer who opted for the QRMP scheme can declare their liability through the optional Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) for month 1 and month 2 of a quarter. The taxpayer can upload the invoices in GSTR-1 for month 3 of that quarter. 

The liability declared in IFF and GSTR-1 would now be auto-populated in their quarterly GSTR-3B for that quarter. The auto-populated fields are editable, and in case their values are revised upwards or downwards, the system will highlight the edited field(s) in red colour, and a warning message will be displayed to the taxpayer. However, the system would not prevent taxpayers from filing GSTR-3B with edited values.

Filing of Nil Quarterly GSTR-1 through SMS

The QRMP scheme taxpayer can file Nil quarterly GSTR-1 through SMS by sending a message to 14409 in the specified format. 

The format of the message to be sent is:

<NIL> space <Return Type (R1)> space <GSTIN> space <Return Period (MM/YYYY)>

Example: NIL R1 06XXXXX4321H8Z6 062020. It is to be noted that the return period to be mentioned in the format must be the last month of the quarter.

However, the QRMP scheme taxpayer can not file Nil quarterly GSTR-1 in the following scenarios when:

• IFF for months 1 or 2 of a quarter is in the submitted stage but not filed.
• Invoices are saved in IFF for month 1 or 2 of a quarter but not submitted or filed by the due date.

Liability to file GSTR-1 when QRMP taxpayer cancels the GST registration

Suppose a QRMP scheme taxpayer cancels the GST registration with effect from any date after the 1st day of month 1 of a quarter. The taxpayer would be required to file GSTR-1 for the complete quarter as the last applicable return. For example, when the taxpayer’s registration is cancelled, w.e.f. 1st April, they are not required to file GSTR-1 for the Apr-Jun quarter, and GSTR-1 for the Jan-Mar quarter shall become the last applicable return.

However, if the registration is cancelled later during the quarter, the taxpayer must file GSTR-1 for the Apr-Jun quarter. In such cases, the return filing will become open on the 1st of the next month, in which registration is cancelled. For example, if the registration is cancelled on 20th April, the taxpayer can file GSTR-1 for the April-Jun quarter anytime on or after 1st May.

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