GST Council extends date of filing of Annual Returns to August 30

New Delhi : Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman decided to extend the last date for filing of annual returns by two months to August 30 in her first meeting as the head.

Speaking to media later, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey said, “One of the major changes that we’ve made is for the ease of GST registration. In the earlier system, people had to give various documents. Now we have decided to use Aadhaar. By using Aadhaar, several advantages will occur to the business.”

Explaining the process, he said, “The person who is applying can go online, using his Aadhaar number through OTP authentication he can register himself on the GSTN portal and get a GSTN registration number.”

He also mentioned other changes made during the GST council meeting. “GST registration limit threshold limit was raised from Rs 20 Lakh to Rs 40 Lakh. Earlier, it was done through a notification and now, appropriate changes have been made in the laws,” Pandey said.

He said that dealers with a turnover of up to Rs 5 crore will be filing quarterly returns and those with a turnover of above Rs 5 crore will be filing monthly returns. “Composition scheme for service providers, a decision which was taken in GST Council a few months back and done through a notification will be made a part of the law.”