GSTN releases offline tool of new GST return for trial run

New Delhi: Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) has released the trial version of offline tools of GST forms related to supply of goods and services. The offline tools have been released for Annexure of supplies (GST ANX-1) and Annexure of Inward Supplies (GST ANX-2), GSTN, which is the IT backbone of the indirect tax regime, said in a statement.

These two forms would be part of the proposed GST Return filing system under which a taxpayer would have to file FORM GST RET-1 (Normal) or FORM GST RET-2 (Sahaj) or FORM GST RET-3 (Sugam) on either monthly or quarterly basis. GSTN provides offline tools that can be downloaded for filing GST returns. All the outward supplies will be detailed in GST ANX-1 while GST ANX-2 will contain details of inward supplies auto-populated mainly from the suppliers' GST ANX-1.

It will also contain details auto-populated from Form GSTR-5 and Form GSTR-6. "The taxpayer will be required to take action on details of inward supplies contained in Form GST ANX-2 by accepting or rejecting the entries. The taxpayer can also keep the invoice pending by marking the entry accordingly," the release said. Meanwhile, Government auditor CAG said that GSTN should test the system and fix the deficiencies before rolling out to the public. In view of magnitude of the GST and its pan-India impact, it is all the more necessary that due care is taken both in development and testing of the system before roll-out, said the CAG report tabled in Parliament.

"The issues brought out in IT audit also pointed towards the need for GSTN to re-examine prioritisation of development of various functionalities, strengthen their root cause analysis and testing process to ensure that critical deficiencies in application are detected and rectified before roll-out to public," it said. Commenting on the GST implementation, the report said one significant area where the full potential of GST has not been achieved is the roll-out of the simplified tax compliance regime.

"Even after two years of GST roll-out, system validated input tax credit through 'invoice matching' is not in place and non-intrusive e-tax system still remains elusive."