The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the due date for filing GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for the financial year 2018-19 to 31 December 2020. It is important to note that these are 2 different statements and are applicable in different situations. In this article, we will help you understand the differences between GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C.
Difference Between GSTR-9 And GSTR-9C
| Subject | GSTR-9 | GSTR-9C |
|---|---|---|
| Law | Notified in Rule 80 under Section 44 of the CGST Act | Notified in Section 35(5) of Section 44 of the CGST Act |
| Nature | Consolidation of all GST returns (i.e. GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B) of the relevant Financial Year | Certified reconciliation statement (turnover, tax paid and ITC) |
| Type | GST Return | Reconciliation Statement |
| Certification | No (self-certified) | Yes (GST Auditor/ CA/CMA) |
| Signatories | Digitally signed by the taxpayer | Digital signed by GST Auditor/ CA/CMA and taxpayer |
| Applicability | All GST registered taxpayers^ | GST registered taxpayers having an aggregate turnover of more than INR 2 crores^^ |
| Due date for filing | 31 December of the next Financial Year* | 31 December of the next Financial Year (after GSTR-9 is filed)* |
| Late fees & Penalty | Late fees of INR 200 (INR 100 under CGST and INR 100 under SGST) per day of delay subject to a maximum of 0.25% of total turnover in respective State/UT. | Fixed amount – INR 25,000 |
| Structure | 6 parts | Part A: Reconciliation Statement (5 parts)
Part B: Certificate (2 parts) |
| Annexures | Not Applicable | Audited financials of the taxpayer need to be annexed |
| Format | Download here | Download here |
^For the Financial year 2018-19, filing of GSTR-9 for taxpayers with an annual turnover less than INR 2 crores is waived off.
^^For the Financial year 2018-19, filing of GSTR-9C for taxpayers with an annual turnover less than INR 5 crores is waived off.
*The due date for filing GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for the Financial year 2018-19 is 31 December 2020.
Important Points To Remember
- GSTR-9 must be filed before filing GSTR-9C.
- Taxpayers who are not required to file GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C are:
- Casual taxable person
- Non-Resident taxable person
- Input Service Distributor (ISD)
- Unique Identification Number (UIN) holders
- Online Information and Database Access Retrieval (OIDAR) service providers
- Composition dealers (They are required to file GSTR-9A)
- Taxpayers deducting/collecting TDS/TCS
- GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C cannot be revised.
- If a taxpayer has opted for composition scheme during the year, both GSTR-9 and GSTR-9A have to be filed for the respective periods.
- Tax liability identified while filing the annual return can be deposited with the Government using DRC-03 form.
- ITC, which is not claimed in GSTR-3B, cannot be claimed in GSTR-9.
- As per a recent Press Release, it is clarified that the taxpayers are required to report only the values pertaining to Financial Year 2018-19 and the values concerning to Financial Year 2017-18 (which may have already been reported or adjusted) should be ignored.
