Comparing GSTR-3B with GSTR-1 is a much-needed process to be undertaken by every taxpayer in order to ensure that there are no variations or gaps, which could, in turn, lead to a demand notice from the tax authorities or unwanted issues that may arise and hinder the accurate filing of the annual returns.
GSTR-3B is a monthly summary return filed by a taxpayer by the 20th of the next month or 22nd/24th of month following a quarter. GSTR-3B discloses supplies made during the month along with GST to be paid, input tax credit claimed, purchases on which reverse charge is applicable, etc., and also makes a provision for the payment of taxes, if any, for the relevant month.
GSTR-1 is a monthly or quarterly return filed by taxpayers to disclose details of their outward supplies for the month – along with their tax liability. Here, invoice-wise details are to be uploaded so that the government can keep a check on every transaction. This forms the basis for the recipient of supplies to accept the same and take the eligible input tax credit.
It is important to reconcile form GSTR – 3B and Form GSTR – 1 on account of the following reasons:
Reconciliation at the time of filing of Annual return: At the time of filing an Annual return in Form GSTR – 9, a reconciliation of outward supplies is a must to ensure that the details disclosed match the details disclosed in GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B, across all months. Details of tax paid during the year need to be mentioned as well and this must tally with the total taxes disclosed and paid in GSTR-3B.
Therefore, it is important that GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B match as the return-filing system is integrated and a mismatch between the same could result in improper disclosure in the annual return.
Most commonly, the details disclosed in Form GSTR – 3B and GSTR – 1 may not reconcile on account of the following reasons:
After considering the situations mentioned above, if any discrepancies are found in Form GSTR – 1 and GSTR -3B across months leading to any shortage of tax paid by the supplier, the same must be paid along with interest.
It is, therefore, necessary to conduct this reconciliation for every filing period to ensure that both the returns match, which wouldn’t give rise to any interest that may become payable at a later date.
Clear GST offers easy imports and downloads of GST data for preparation of GST returns. It provides various options for a user to ingest data to prepare the GSTR-1, or any other return in under minutes.
Options like Excel ingestion or direct integration with ERP are available for importing sales or purchase data into Clear GST software. A user has to import the sales data for GSTR-1 just once. Based on this, the software auto-populates the details into GSTR-3B in a click of a button.
Thus, one can avoid errors and ensure 100% accuracy in reporting of data with minimal manual intervention. Clear GST also provides useful insights under the Health Check Report Tool, so you can now speed through the journey of GST compliance in a hassle-free way!
One such report that helps you compare GSTR-1 with GSTR-3B is the ‘GSTR-3B vs GSTR-1 vs Books Comparison Report’. The comparison report can be obtained for any time period. Even if the user has not filed the return on the Clear GST software in the past, the report section will allow the user to download this data from the GST Portal, and compare the same.
This report will help the user compare the supplies reported in GSTR-1 along with the data reported in GSTR-3B, before filing GSTR-3B thus avoiding any evident errors. Further, you can compare the data month-wise or for every financial year. You can also compare data at a GSTIN level or cumulatively at a PAN level.
Login to your Clear GST Account. Under the ‘Reports’ section, click on the report ‘GSTR-3B vs 1 vs Books report.
If GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B are both filed using the Clear GST software, then the report is automatically displayed. However, if the Clear GST software hasn’t been used before, then click on the button “Download data from GSTN” appearing on the right-hand side of the report section. The yearly data from the GSTN will be fetched after verification via OTP-based login credentials.
You can easily identify and reconcile mismatches using this report.
Comparing GSTR-3B with GSTR-1 is essential to prevent issues. Reconciliation of GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 is crucial due to various reasons, such as new rules and accuracy in tax payments. Mismatches can occur due to reporting errors, changes in invoices, or typographical mistakes. Take action on discrepancies to avoid interest payments. Clear GST offers tools for easy data comparison and accuracy.