GSTR-1 – Return Filing, Format, Eligibility & Rules

GSTR-1 is a monthly return that summarises all sales (outward supplies) of a taxpayer.

Latest Updates on GSTR-1

Basics of GSTR-1

What is GSTR-1?

GSTR-1 is a monthly or quarterly return that should be filed by every registered GST taxpayer, except a few as given in further sections. It contains details of all outward supplies i.e sales. The return has a total of 13 sections, listed down as follows:

• Tables 1, 2 & 3: GSTIN, legal and trade names, and aggregate turnover in the previous year
• Table 4: Taxable outward supplies to registered persons (including UIN-holders) excluding zero-rated supplies and deemed exports
• Table 5: Taxable outward inter-state supplies to unregistered persons where the invoice value is more than Rs.2.5 lakh
• Table 6: Zero-rated supplies as well as deemed exports
• Table 7: Taxable supplies to unregistered persons other than the supplies covered in table 5 (net of debit notes and credit notes)
• Table 8: Outward supplies that are nil rated, exempted and non-GST in nature
• Table 9: Amendments to outward supplies that are taxable and reported in table 4,5 & 6 of the earlier tax periods’ GSTR-1 return (including debit notes, credit notes, refund vouchers issued during the current period)
• Table 10: Debit note and credit note issued to unregistered person
• Table 11: Details of advances received or adjusted in the current tax period or amendments of the information reported in the earlier tax period.
• Table 12: Outward supplies summary based on HSN codes
• Table 13: Documents issued during the period.

When is GSTR-1 due?

The due dates for GSTR-1 are based on your turnover. Businesses with sales of up to Rs.5 crore have an option to file quarterly returns under the QRMP scheme and are due by 13th of the month following the relevant quarter. 

Whereas, those taxpayers who do not opt for the QRMP scheme or have total turnover above Rs.5 crore must file the return every month on or before 11th of the next month.

For businesses with turnover	Month/Quarter	Due Date
More than Rs.5 crore*	January 2021	11th February 2021
	February 2021	11th March 2021
	March 2021	11th April 2021
	April 2021	26th May 2021**
	May 2021	26th June 2021**
	June 2021	11th July 2021
Turnover up to Rs.5 crore	Jan-Mar 2021	13th April 2021***
	Apr-June 2021	13th July 2021***

*Upto December 2020 and until QRMP scheme was introduced, the turnover limit was Rs.1.5 crore

*Upto December 2020 and until QRMP scheme was introduced, the turnover limit was Rs.1.5 crore.

**Vide CGST Notification no. 12/2021 dated 1st May 2021 and CGST Notification no. 17/2021 dated 1st June 2021.

***Up to September 2020, quarterly GSTR-1 was due by the last date of the month following the relevant quarter up to September 2020.

Who should file GSTR-1?

Every registered person is required to file GSTR-1 irrespective of whether there are any transactions during the period or not. For nil GSTR-1 filers, there is a facility to file through an SMS that began from the 1st week of July 2020. The following registered persons are exempt from filing the GSTR-1:

• Input Service Distributors
• Composition Dealers
• Suppliers of online information and database access or retrieval services (OIDAR), who have to pay tax themselves (as per Section 14 of the IGST Act)
• Non-resident taxable person
• Taxpayer liable to collect TCS
• Taxpayer liable to deduct TDS

How to revise GSTR-1?

A return once filed cannot be revised. Any mistake made in the return can be rectified in the GSTR-1 filed for the next period (month/quarter). It means that if a mistake is made in GSTR-1 of June 2021, rectification for the same can be made in the GSTR-1 of July 2021.

Late Fees and Penalty

As per the GST law, a late fee for not filing GSTR-1 is Rs. 200 per day of delay (Rs. 100 as per the CGST Act and Rs. 100 as per SGST Act). The late fee will be charged from the date after the due date.

However, after going through the notifications issued up to February 2021, the late fees continue to be levied at a reduced fee of Rs. 50 per day and Rs 20 per day (for nil return). Note that on the GST portal, the late fee on GSTR-1 is currently not being demanded as a part of payment challan in PMT-06 at the time of filing GSTR-3B. 

As per CGST notification 20/2021 dated 1st June 2021, the maximum late fee chargeable from the period of June 2021 onwards. 

Registered persons having no outward supplies in the tax period are liable to a maximum late fee of Rs.500 (Rs.250 per Act). Whereas, registered persons having a total turnover of up to Rs.1.5 crore in the preceding financial year, other than the nil filers are liable to a maximum late fee of Rs.2,000 (Rs.1,000 per Act). On the other hand, the registered persons having an aggregate annual turnover of more than Rs.1.5 crore but up to Rs.5 crore in the preceding financial year, other than the nil filers can be charged a maximum late fee of Rs. 5,000 (Rs.2,500 per Act). There is no change in maximum late fee for taxpayers with total turnover more than Rs.5 crore and it remains Rs.10,000.

However, the tax officer may raise a notice demanding late fee for the period of delay at the time of assessment of returns.

How to file GSTR-1 on ClearTax GST Software?

FIling on ClearTax GST Software is simple and quick. Here is a detailed guide to file GSTR-1 on ClearTax GST Software.

ClearTax GST Advantage

• End-to-end filing on a single portal with EVC or DSC
• Import Tally data with a single click
• Import invoice data in any format through a custom mapper exclusively on ClearTax
• Ensure early error correction and 100% accurate returns filing
• Track the filing status of your business on a single dashboard

Frequently Asked Questions on GSTR-1

Should I file GSTR-1 even if there are no sales in a month?

Yes, filing GSTR 1 is mandatory. If your total sales for a year is less than Rs.5 crore you have the option to file the return on a quarterly basis. With this, there is also an Invoice furnishing facility available to upload sales invoices on a monthly basis (for the first two months of the quarter).

Can I upload an invoice only while filing the return?

You can upload invoices anytime. It is highly advised that you upload invoices at regular intervals during the month to avoid bulk upload at the time of filing return. This is because bulk upload takes a lot of time.

Can I change a bill uploaded on the GST Network?

After uploading bills you can make changes multiple times. There is no restriction on changing invoices after uploading them. But you can change an invoice only before submitting a return. Once submitted, the numbers are frozen.

Can I file GSTR-1 even after filing GSTR-3B?

GSTR-3B is a simple summarised return to be filed by taxpayers on a monthly basis ( or quarterly basis if QRMP scheme is chosen). With effect from 1st January 2021, GSTR-1 has to be filed before filing the GSTR-3B return. Prior to this date, a quarterly GSTR-1 filer would have filed his quarterly GSTR-1 end of the month succeeding the quarter, which would have been after filing GSTR-3B.

I have opted for the composition scheme. Should I file GSTR-1?

GSTR-1 should not be filed by you. Form CMP-08 must be used to make tax payments on a quarterly basis by such taxpayers opting for the composition scheme.

Should I make a GST payment after filing GSTR-1?

GSTR-1 is a return where details of sales are filed with the government. No tax has to be paid after filing this return. The tax has to be paid at the time of filing GSTR-3B.

I have been filing GSTR-1 on a quarterly basis so far. My annual sales are below Rs. 1.5 lakh. What happens if I choose the QRMP scheme now in December 2020?

You need to continue filing GSTR-1 on a quarterly basis and the GSTR-3B will also need to be filed on a quarterly basis with monthly tax payments. For more information about the QRMP scheme, read our article on “All about the QRMP scheme.”

Can amendments be made to details already filed in GSTR-1? If yes, then what will be the filing period to make amendments?

Yes, you can make amendments to an already filed GSTR-1 of a particular tax period by declaring the amended details in the return For example, Mr X of Kerala has sold goods to Mr Y of Karnataka for Rs. 1,00,000 on 30th August 2020 and declared in the GSTR-1 of August 2020. Now he realised that he made a mistake in the date of the invoice, so he can make an amended invoice with the correct invoice date i.e., 16th August 2020. This amended invoice can be shown in the GSTR-1 of September 2020.

What should the ‘Revised date’ be in the amended invoice?

The ‘Revised date’ to be mentioned in an amended invoice must be not later than the last date of the original invoice tax period. For example, if an original invoice dated 12th July 2020 is being amended in August then the revised invoice date cannot be later than 31st July 2020.

What are the amendments not admissible or not allowed?

The following details cannot be amended at Invoice level :

• The Customer GSTIN
• Changing a tax invoice to a bill of supply
• The following with respect to Export Invoices cannot be amended: a) Shipping Bill Date/Bill of Export Date b) Type of Export- With/Without payment
• The following with respect to Credit Debit Notes cannot be amended:
  • Receiver/Customer GSTIN. However you may amend & link any other invoice for the same GSTIN.
  • Place of Supply
  • Reverse charge applicable Reason: Since the above details are based on the original Invoice which it Is linked to, Hence these details must match with the details of the linked Invoice.
• If the receiver of goods has taken action on the invoices i.e. accepted or modified and the supplier accepts such modifications in GSTR-1A, he will not be allowed to amend those invoices. The reason is that those invoices will automatically get reflected in the GSTR-1 of the supplier in the month of such acceptance under the relevant amendments table. The following details cannot be amended at a summary level
  • Nil Rated
  • HSN summary of Outward supplies
  • Cannot add a new place of supply

Note: However, you can replace the existing place of supply with another place of supply with some limitations. Refer to the examples given below.

What are the amendments allowable with respect to the Place of supply?

With respect to Place of Supply, note the following:

• You can amend the original place of supply for a transaction.
• You cannot add any new place of supply to a transaction.

Let us understand the above with the following scenarios:

Edit

Nature	Place of supply	Rate of Tax	Taxable Value	Amendment
Original	Kerala	18%	10000	Allowed
Amended To	Karnataka	18%	10000
Original	Kerala	28%	50000	Allowed
Amended To	Karnataka	18%	50000
Original	Karnataka	5%	10000	Allowed
		12%	20000
Amended To	Karnataka	18%	30000
Original	Kerala	18%	60000	Allowed
Amended To	Karnataka	28%	20000
	Karnataka	12%	40000
Original	Kerala	18%	60000	Not Allowed
		12%	40000
Amended To	Karnataka	28%	50000
	Kerala	12%	50000

We can see that in all those cases where the original place of supply was amended from Kerala to Karnataka (whether or not there was a change in tax rates or invoicing), the amendment is allowed.

But in the last case where in addition to Kerala, Karnataka is also added as a place of supply (irrespective of change in tax rates or invoicing) amendment does not hold good

Where to show the amended invoices in GSTR-1?

Declare the amended invoices or details in the tax period in which the amendment takes place as follows:

Sl. no.	Type of Amendment	Explanation
1	B2B Amendments (9A)	Amendments made in the invoices already issued earlier must be reported here. These are the invoices for taxable supplies made to registered taxpayers including supplies made to SEZ/ SEZ Developers with or without payment of taxes and deemed exports.
2	B2C Large Amendments (9A)	Amendments in the original invoices already issued must be mentioned here These reflect original invoices issued for taxable outward supplies made to unregistered taxpayers where 1. Supply is made interstate and 2. Total invoice value is more than Rs 2,50,000/-
3	Credit/Debit Notes (Registered) Amendments(9C)	Credit or debit note amended against already issued Credit or debit note reported under B2B (i.e where supply is made to registered taxpayer), will be reported here.
4	Credit Debit Note (Unregistered) Amendments(9C)	Amended Credit or debit note issued against original Credit or debit note reported under B2C Large and Export Invoices section, will be reported here.
5	Export Invoices Amendments(9A)	Amended invoices issued against already issued original invoices must be reported here. Export invoices includes 1. Export under bond/LUT-If you are exporting under bond or letter of undertaking and not paying IGST. 2. Export with IGST-If you are exporting without furnishing bond/letter of supply and paying IGST on such supply (It excludes deemed exports & supply to SEZ)
6	B2C Others Amendments (10)	Amendments made in the invoices already issued earlier must be reported here. These are all those invoices not covered under 1. B2B 2. B2C Large 3. Exports
7	Advances Received (Tax Liability) Amendments (11(2))	Any amendments made to the advances received in previous tax periods has to be declared here.
8	Adjustment of Advances Amendments (11(2))	Any amendments made to the advances adjusted in previous tax periods have to be declared here.

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