Steps to Make Tax Payments Under the QRMP Scheme

The Quarterly Return Filing and Monthly Payment of Taxes (QRMP) Scheme was introduced by the CBIC from 1st January 2021, to help small taxpayers by way of reducing their compliance burden. The article covers the process of tax payment to be made for the first two months of the quarter by these taxpayers filing quarterly GSTR-3B.

Latest Updates on QRMP Scheme under GST

26th August 2021
From 1st September 2021, taxpayers will not be able to file GSTR-1 or use the IFF for August 2021 on the GST portal if they have pending GSTR-3B filings. It applies if GSTR-3B is pending for the past two months till July 2021 (monthly filer) or for the last quarter ending 30th June 2021 (quarterly filer), as per CGST Rule 59(6).

28th May 2021
At the 43rd GST Council meeting, the following was announced:
(1) The time limit to furnish B2B supplies on the IFF (optional facility for the taxpayers opting into the QRMP scheme), for May 2021 has been extended from 13th June to 28th June 2021.
(2) For any delayed submission of PMT-06 for April 2021 and May 2021, interest relief has been provided as follows:
(i) For April 2021, No interest is charged for delayed submission up to 9th June, whereas 9% of reduced interest is charged between 10th June and 9th July, and 18% of interest is charged thereafter.
(ii) For May 2021, No interest is charged for delayed submission up to 10th July, whereas 9% of reduced interest is charged between 11th and 25th July, and 18% of interest is charged thereafter.
(3) Quarterly GSTR-3B filing for Jan-Mar 2021 has also got interest and late fee relief as laid down here.

1st May 2021
The time limit to furnish B2B supplies on the IFF (optional facility for the taxpayers opting into the QRMP scheme), for April 2021 has been extended from 13th May to 28th May 2021.

What is the QRMP Scheme?

A registered taxpayer with an aggregate annual turnover of up to Rs.5 crore in the preceding financial year can opt for the QRMP scheme. This scheme allows taxpayers to file the GSTR-3B quarterly, while paying taxes on a monthly basis. Thus, small taxpayers can now file only eight regular returns in a year, i.e., four GSTR-1 returns and four GSTR-3B returns instead of 16 returns, i.e., four GSTR-1 and twelve GSTR-3B returns. 

Under the QRMP scheme, an Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) is also available to taxpayers, to upload their sales invoices every month on the GST portal, even though the GSTR-1 is to be filed quarterly. These invoices will be reflected in the GSTR-2A and GSTR-2B of their GST registered buyers, who can use the input tax credits (ITC) on a timely basis. This prevents their customers from losing out on eligible input credits and in turn them losing their customers.

Due Dates For Payments Under the QRMP Scheme

All registered persons under the QRMP scheme should pay the tax due in each of the first two months of the quarter by the 25th of the next month in that quarter. For example, the tax due for the month of February 2021 (Month 2) should be deposited by 25th March 2021.  

A taxpayer should deposit the tax using Form GST PMT-06. The taxes can be paid either using the fixed sum method or the self-assessment method. Both the methods are discussed in detail in the further sections of this article.

On the other hand, the tax payment for the third month is due by 22nd or 24th of the month succeeding the quarter and must be paid together with the GSTR-3B filing.

Methods of Making Payments Under the QRMP Scheme

Registered persons can make payments for the first two months of the quarter by using either of the following methods:

• Fixed Sum Method- Under this method, a taxpayer shall pay an amount of tax as reflected in the pre-filled challan (on the basis of the previous tax payment) in Form GST PMT-06, for an amount equal to 35% of the tax paid in cash.

For example:

Tax paid in Quarter Jan-Mar’21		Tax to be paid in each month, for Apr’21 and May‘21
CGST	100	CGST	35
SGST	100	SGST	35
IGST	200	IGST	70

However, if a taxpayer has been filing his return monthly prior to the quarter of opting into the QRMP scheme, i.e., Apr-Jun’21, then he/she can opt to pay an amount equal to the tax paid in the last month of the preceding quarter.

Tax paid for Mar’21 monthly return period		Tax to be paid in each month, for Apr’21 and May‘21
CGST	100	CGST	100
SGST	100	SGST	100
IGST	200	IGST	200

• Self Assessment Method (Actual Tax Due): Under this method, a taxpayer will pay the tax on outward supplies after taking into consideration the input tax credit available. In this case, the taxpayer will manually arrive at the tax liability and deposit the same in Form GST PMT-06. The taxpayer can refer Form GSTR-2B to arrive at the amount of ITC available.

Important Notes:

• The amount deposited by the taxpayer for the first two months of the quarter shall be solely debited for the purpose of offsetting the liability in that quarter’s Form GSTR-3B. Any amount remaining after filing that quarter’s Form GSTR-3B may either be claimed as a refund or used for any other purpose in the subsequent quarters. 
• In the case of cancellation of registration of a taxpayer during any of the first two months of the quarter, he would still be required to furnish his Form GSTR-3B for that relevant tax period.

Applicability of Interest Under the QRMP Scheme

Interest is applicable under the QRMP scheme if:

• Payment is not made in Form GST PMT-06: If the payment is not made within the due date, interest will be applicable from the due date of furnishing Form GST PMT-06 until the date of making payment.
• Non-filing of Form GSTR-3B: If the return in Form GSTR-3B is not filed within the due date, then interest is applicable as per the provisions of Section 50 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act for the tax liability, net of ITC.

For instance,

• The tax due in the first month is not paid on or before the 25th of the next month.
• The tax due in the second month is not paid on or before the 25th of the next month.
• The total tax liability for the quarter (net of ITC) reported in the Form GSTR-3B, which is not filed on or before the due date.

In this case, interest will be charged separately for the number of days delayed in the first month, second month, and in filing the quarterly GSTR-3B. 

Rate of interest- It shall be 18% of the net tax liability which remains unpaid or paid after the due date for any of the months of the quarter. Also, a late fee is applicable if there is a delay in filing the returns (GSTR-3B/GSTR-1). A late fee of Rs.50 per day is charged (Rs.20 for nil returns), subject to a maximum of Rs.5,000. However, no late fee is charged for a delay in payment of tax for the first two months of the quarter.

Steps to Make Tax Payments Under the QRMP Scheme

Step 1: Log in to the GST portal and navigate through Dashboard> Payments> Create challan.

Step 2: Under ‘Reason for Challan’, select the ‘Monthly payment for quarterly return’ option. Select the financial year, period, type of challan and then click on ‘Proceed’.

Step 3: 

• To pay tax using the 35% challan method, click on ‘35% challan’ under challan type. 

• To pay tax under the self-assessment method, click on the ‘Challan on self-assessment basis’ option.)

Step 4: 

• If the ‘35% challan’ type is selected, click on ‘Generate 35% challan’ on the next page. This will auto-generate the challan based on the previous periods’ GSTR-3B.

• If the ‘Challan on self-assessment basis’ is selected, the taxpayer will need to manually compute his tax liability and enter the same in the relevant cells. Once the values are entered, he will need to click on ‘Generate challan’.

Note: A taxpayer is not required to make any tax payment during the first two months of the quarter if the balance in the electronic cash/credit ledger is sufficient for the tax due, or there is a nil tax liability.

Step 5:

Pay the challan generated as per your preferred mode of payment. To know more about steps to make payments under GST, read our article on “Step-by-step process of GST payments”.

To know more about the compliance under QRMP scheme, read our articles:

• IFF – All About Invoice Furnishing Facility in GSTR 1
• How to file the IFF on the GST portal?
• How to Change the Profile Under the QRMP Scheme?