GST Information Return
Under the section 150 of CGST act, asks specified taxpayers to furnish an Information Return. This document is not like the regular GST returns. It is an information statement that helps in verifying the compliance levels of registered persons through information procured from independent third-party sources.
Who Should File The Information Return?
The information return under GST should be filed by any person who is a:
- Taxable entity
- Local authority/public body/association
- Authority of the State/Central Government responsible for collecting state/central-level taxes (SGST/CGST)
- Income tax authority
- Banking company
- State Electricity Board or distributor of electricity
- Registrar or Sub-registrar appointed under the Registration Act, 1908
- Registrar under the Companies Act
- Registering authority under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
- Collector under Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013
- Recognised stock exchanges
- Depositories
- Officer of Reserve Bank of India
- Person holding Unique Identity Number (UIN)
- Any other person recommended by the council
When Should The Information Return Be Filed?
The assessee mentioned above should file the Information Return if they are required to maintain the following details under any law in force:
- Registration records
- Statement of accounts
- Periodic returns
- Details of tax payments
- Details of the transactions of goods or services
- Transactions relating to a bank account
- Transactions relating to the consumption of electricity
- Transactions of purchases or sale or exchange of goods or property
- Right or interest in a property
Penalty
If the assessee fails to furnish the Information return within the prescribed/ordered time, he/she will have to pay INR 100 as a penalty for every day for which the default continues. However, the maximum amount of penalty payable for the failure to furnish this return is INR 5000.
Other Pointers
- In case the Commissioner or an officer authorised by the Commissioner believes that the information furnished in the information return is defective, he may intimate the defect to the assessee. The assessee is expected to rectify and re-furnish the return within 30 days of intimation.
- In case an assessee has failed to file the return within the specified time, the authorised authority may issue a notice to the assessee asking him/her to file the Information Return within 90 days.