In a welcome move, the government has extended the due dates of filing GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for the financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 to 31 December 2019 and 31 March 2020 respectively.
| Particulars | Financial year | Old due date | Revised due date |
| GSTR-9 (Annual return) and
GSTR-9C (Reconciliation statement/audit) |
2017-18
|
30 November 2019 | 31 December 2019 |
| 2018-19 | 31 December 2019 | 31 March 2020 |
Furthermore, a bigger relief is that the government has also substantially simplified FORM GSTR-9 (annual return) by removing the following requirements:
- Splitting the input tax credit availed into inputs, input services, and capital goods;
- Providing HSN level information for both outward and inward supplies.
SKP's Comments
The due dates of GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for financial years 2017-18 and 2018-19 have seen an extension on multiple occasions. However, there was always a need felt for simplifying these forms to ensure that businesses can comply with their various requirements. The requirements to split the ITC availed and providing HSN level data of inward supplies were seen as an onerous task by businesses as these details were not readily available, and removing these requirements is expected to provide much-needed momentum to the GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C filing process.
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