Govt may extend last date of filing GST annual return, audit report for FY19

The government may extend the last date of filing Goods and Services Tax (GST) annual return and audit report for the financial year 2019. The high-powered GST Council may take this decision soon, though there's no clarity if it will be decided in the upcoming GST meet on September 20.

The GST Council can extend the last date from December 31, 2019, because businesses are yet to complete the GST return filing process for FY18. The deadline to file GST return and audit report for FY18 is November 30. The last date was extended by three months in August after businesses faced technical glitches and problems in reconciliation.

Notably, the government had extended the deadline for filing FY18 GST return and audit report thrice due to several changes and technical glitches during the shift to the new tax regime.

As part of GST Annual Return and GST Audit, two forms GSTR 9 and GSTR 9C need to be filed. GSTR 9 is the consolidation of all returns filed, while GSTR 9C is the reconciliation of financial statements with the returns filed.

Edited by Manoj Sharma

Also read: Technical glitches behind GST annual returns deadline extension