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

Yes, filing GSTR 1 is mandatory. If your total sales for a year is less than Rs 1.5 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).

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.

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.

GSTR-3B is a simple summarised return to be filed by taxpayers on a monthly basis (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.

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 composition scheme.

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.

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.”

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 correct invoice date i.e., 16th August 2020. This amended invoice can be shown in the GSTR-1 of September 2020.

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 12/07/2020 is being amended in August then the revised invoice date cannot be later than 31/07/2020

The following details cannot be amended at Invoice level :

1. The Customer GSTIN
2. Changing a tax invoice to a bill of supply
3. 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
4. The following with respect to Credit Debit Notes cannot be amended:
   1. Receiver/Customer GSTIN. Note: However you may amend & link any other invoice for the same GSTIN.
   2. Place of Supply
   3. 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.
5. 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
   1. Nil Rated
   2. HSN summary of Outward supplies
   3. 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 the examples given below.

With respect to Place of Supply, note the following:

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

Let us understand the above with the following scenarios:

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.

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