Steps to Take Action in GST ANX-2 using the GST New Return Offline Tool

The GST New Return Offline Tool* has been launched, on a trial basis, for users to familiarise themselves with the return forms, introduced under the new system. Currently, only the annexures under the main return i.e. GST ANX-1 and GST ANX-2 are available – both on the online portal as well as offline. 

*The tool although named offline tool requires an internet connection for a brief time at two steps:  (a) To download the JSON file from the GST portal (before matching it with the purchase register, and  (b) To upload back the processed data in JSON on to the GST portal and submit the ANX-2 for a tax period. First, a user needs to download and install the GST New Return Offline Tool. Here are the steps to take action in the GST ANX-2 once the offline tool has been downloaded.   

Latest Updates

14th March 2020*
The new GST return system will be implemented from October 2020.
The present return filing system (GSTR-1, 2A & 3B) will continue until September 2020.
*Subject to CBIC notification

Step 1: Select a GSTIN in the Offline Tool

1. Once downloaded, double-click to open the offline tool. Here is how you can ‘Add a Profile’ in the offline tool. 

2. Select the relevant GSTIN from the drop-down menu. All the profiles added into the offline tool will be displayed here.

3. The Trade/Legal Name and Return Type gets automatically displayed. The Financial Year and Tax Period should be manually selected by the user.

4. Click on ‘Proceed’. 

5. A home screen which contains several tiles under Annexure of Supplies (GST ANX-1) and Annexure of Inward Supplies (GST ANX-2) will be displayed.

6. Click on the relevant option under Annexure of Inward Supplies (GST ANX-2) in order to take the necessary action.

Step 2: Download the JSON File from the GST Portal

(*The JSON file consists of the ANX-2 as auto-filled for certain relevant tables as per details reported by your corresponding suppliers.)

1. To download the JSON File from the GST portal, a user needs to open a browser and go to www.gst.gov.in. 

2. Once the GST home page is displayed, login with valid credentials.

3. Next, go to ‘Services’, click on ‘Returns’, and then click on ‘File Returns (Beta)’.

4. On the File Returns page, there will be a drop-down menu under each option, to enter the Financial Year, Return Filing Period, the Form/Return that is applicable, and the Preparation Mode. Click on ‘Proceed’.

5. Click on ‘Generate JSON File to Download’ on the next page in order to download all the details in one go. However, if only the details of a particular table are required, then that specific table can be downloaded by simply selecting the relevant table and entering the period.

6. Once the JSON file has been downloaded, a message will appear on the screen saying ‘JSON Downloaded Successfully’. The downloaded JSON file will be available in the Downloads folder on the user’s system.

Step 3: Open the Downloaded JSON File

1. Open the offline tool and click on ‘Open Downloaded JSON File’ under Annexure of Inward Supplies (GST ANX-2).

2. Select the JSON file, downloaded in the previous step, and click on ‘Open’.

3. A box containing certain information will pop-up on the screen. After reading the same, click on ‘OK’ to proceed.

4. A dashboard will get displayed, containing the following functionalities:

(i) Open Downloaded JSON File (ii) Remove Data in all Tables (iii) Matching Tool (iv) Export to Excel (v) Generate JSON File to Upload

5. Click on the relevant tile in order to use any of the above functionalities.

Step 4: Import and View Purchase Register

1. Click on the ‘Matching Tool’ tile on the dashboard. An option to import an Excel/CSV file will be available. Select the relevant file with purchase register details and click on ‘Open’.

Please note: Excel/CSV file templates for maintaining the purchase register are made available at the time of downloading the offline tool. If a user maintains his purchase register using the same format, it will be easy to import all entries into the GST ANX-2 and match the same with the data that has been downloaded from the GST portal. A purchase register which has been maintained in any other format will not get imported into the offline tool.

2. Once the purchase register has been imported, the ‘Summary of Purchase Register’ will get displayed on the screen.

3. A user has 3 options to take action: (i) Remove Purchase Register (ii) View Purchase Register (iii) Match

4. Click on ‘View Purchase Register’ in order to view the transactions that have been imported into the tool. The details can be viewed either ‘Summary-wise’ or ‘Document-wise’. 

5. Click on ‘Remove Purchase Register’ to remove all the entries imported from the purchase register. The summary in the table will become zero.

6. Click on ‘Match’ to compare all the entries in the purchase register that was imported, with the entries in Form GST ANX-2.

Here are the Steps to use the Matching Tool to match the purchase register with the entries in Form GST ANX-2.

Step 5: Take Actions in GST ANX-2 (After Matching)

1. Once the matching has been done, and the results are displayed, action can be taken in the GST ANX-2. Select the table on which action needs to be taken, such as ‘Table 3A – Supplies received from registered persons (B2B)’. 

2. To view the summary of documents which have been accepted, rejected or kept pending, click on ‘Table Summary’. (The summary can be collapsed by clicking ‘Table Summary’ again.)

3. Action can be taken on the documents, by viewing the details either ‘supplier-wise’ or ‘document-wise’. In the ‘supplier-wise’ view, click on the ‘+’ button next to a GSTIN, in order to view all the documents relating to that particular GSTIN. Further, in order to view the document details of any particular document, click on the Expand icon in the document number field.

4. The matching result can be viewed, along with the reasons, and actions can be taken, such as- Accept – If the details in the GST ANX-2 are correct, Reject – If the details in the GST ANX-2 are not correct, Pending – If the details cannot be confirmed at the present.

5. Click on ‘Confirm’ once action has been taken, in order to confirm the same. Click on ‘Reset’ in order to reset the actions that have been taken.

6. Click on ‘Back’ to go back to the main menu. Actions can be taken in all the tables similarly.

7. Click on ‘View Summary of GST ANX-2’ to view the summary details that have been auto-drafted based on action that has been taken. You can also view the individual summary details based on action taken.

8. Click on ‘View Table 4 of GST ANX-2’ to view the summary details of input tax credit, based on action taken in the various tables.

9. Click on ‘View Draft Table 4 of Return’ to view the draft return. 

Step 6: Generate and Upload the JSON File to Upload

1. Once the return is ready, click on ‘Generate JSON File to Upload’ on the main dashboard. 

2. The JSON file will be generated and downloaded, and will usually get saved in the ‘Downloads’ folder of the user’s system. Once downloaded, the JSON file needs to be uploaded to the GST portal.

3. To upload the JSON file, go to www.gst.gov.in, and log in to the portal with valid credentials.

4. Go to ‘Services’, click on ‘Returns’, then click on ‘File Returns(Beta)’.

5. Select the Financial Year, Return Filing Period, Form/Return and Preparation Mode from the drop-down list, and click on ‘Proceed’.

6. Click on the ‘Choose File’ button and select the relevant JSON file to be uploaded. Click on ‘Open’.

7. A message will appear on the screen once the file gets uploaded successfully. It could take up to 15 minutes for the GST portal to validate the data.

8. Once validated, the status will change to ‘Processed Successfully’.