During the initial stages of GST enrollment we saw government helping to familiarize the tax payers & professionals with the new routine of GST Tax payments by sharing previews of step by step procedure Guide for GST payments across the GSTN.
In this article we will be talking about every aspects of GST Payment as how it is paid, where this tax amount paid by us is reflected and what are the modes of payment of GST and many more. But first let us analyse the status of tax payer or how they paid taxes with regards to tax liability payment under erstwhile indirect tax taxation laws
Earlier, in the indirect tax taxation law if there was any balance Output Tax payable after setting off the Input Tax Credit, the dealer had to pay it out of his own pocket. This balance payment is known as Cash Liability. They needed to make this payment along with any interest, penalty, fees, etc. as applicable.
There is no change to this system under the new portal. It remains the same as the old system. Apart from that the names they used to call Cash Liability is now changed into GST E Cash ledger, Input tax credit into E credit ledger and the Tax liability into E liability ledger.
In GST the major change with respect to payment of taxes, viewing of tax credits and liability is that everything has now been properly fit in IT infrastructure called as GSTN which could be viewed anytime anywhere from any supported devices as well such as mobile phone.
In previous taxation laws also we as taxpayers services the tax liability on the due dates. Similarly in GST we have due dates for filing GST returns and paying taxes. Here in GST after drawing in the amendments we have classification of taxpayers who file and pay their taxes on different due dates.
Payment and Returns Schedule for different taxpayers :
Criteria | Return Schedule | Return Type | Payment Schedule | Return Type |
Tax payers with turnover less than Rs. 1. 5 Crores | For Oct to December 17 – on 15th Feb 2018
For Jan to March 18 – On April 30th 2018
|
Quarterly – GSTR-1 (a return containing details of outward supplies) | Tax payment for every tax period from July till date today – On 20th of the following month for which tax is being self assessed | Monthly Return – in GSTR3B containing cumulative details about taxes paid and collected on outward supplies made and inward supplies received by a taxpayer respectively – in GSTR 3B |
Tax payers with turnover more than Rs 1.5 Crores | For Dec 2017 – on Feb 10 2018
For Jan 2018 – on March 10 2018 |
Monthly Return – GSTR-1 |
Tax payment for every tax period from July till date today – On 20th of the following month for which tax is being self assessed | Monthly Return – in GSTR3B containing cumulative details about taxes paid and collected on outward supplies made and inward supplies received by a taxpayer respectively – in GSTR 3B |
Taxpayers who opted for Composition Scheme | For Oct to December 17’ – on 18th Jan 2018 | Quarterly Return – GSTR4 | Tax payment for every tax period from July till date today – On 20th of the following month for which tax is being self assessed | Even a composition taxpayer is required to file cumulative return containing details of taxes on outward and inward supplies in Form GSTR-3B |
For registered Taxpayers who are Non Resident Indians registered under GST | For July to Dec 17 – on Jan 31st 2018 and
from here on for every month within a week following the expiry of their GST registration (if the return is filled for a period less than 30 days) or to be filed monthly before 20th of the following month if their registration extends over a period of several months.
|
Monthly – GSTR 5 | 20th of the Following month if their registration extends the period of several months or
Every month within a week following the expiry of their GST registration. |
GSTR 5
Note : A Non resident registered taxable person is not required to assess cumulative tax value and pay taxes in separate return such as normal tax payers in GSTR3B |
Input Service Distributors | For July 17 to Feb 2018 – on 31st March 2018 | Monthly – GSTR 6 (Containing details of ITC received by an Input Service Distributor and distribution of ITC.) | 20th of the following month for which tax is being assessed. | GSTR 6
Note : Similarly an Input Service Distributor is also not required to assess cumulative tax value and pay taxes in separate return such as normal tax payers in GSTR3B |
So how to service the GST payments once we assess our tax liability : There are three modes by which one can service the tax payments. They are.
- E-Payment (using debit card, credit card and net banking through GSTN portal)
- NEFT / RTGS (directly from your bank account using Third Party Transfer options)
- Over the Counter (by presenting the challan along with cheque, cash or demand draft at the bank counter)
A taxpayer can choose any of the above modes of payment. But for Over the counter GST tax payment the center has limited the amount of tax that could be paid over the bank counters by way of Cash, Challan along with Cheque or Demand draft to be Rs. 10,000/-
So if a taxpayer has tax liability of more than Rs. 10,000/- then he cannot choose that option and have to revert back to other two available methods – E payment or NEFT/RTGS.
Let’s us now learn about the payment process on GST Portal. This requires very minimalistic and easier steps. And a taxpayer could easily pay the taxes as the online platform (GSTN) is so informative that it easily guides the taxpayers towards the payment gateway.
Step 1 :
Login to GST portal. Go to GST Services and click on Payments. A “Create Challan” screen will appear.
At this screen you have to enter details of CGST, IGST and SGST tax that you are paying. You also need to enter details such as Tax amount, Interest, Penalty, Fees and Others purposes. After entering all the details, you need to click the Save Button.
You can also save all the details in the challan and generate it later. It is also possible to partially fill up the challan, edit it later and then generate it. Such saved challans shall appear in the second tab “Saved Challans”.
Step 2:
After submission of challan details, a confirmation screen will appear. Here you can verify the details and proceed to payment.
Every challan generated will have a 14 digit unique Common Portal Identification Number (CPIN). This CPIN shall remain valid for 15 days from the date of generation. This means that challan once generated remains valid for 15 days. For making payment, first you have to select the mode of payment.
Accordingly the portal will ask you to fill the bank details. For all modes of payment, challans shall be generated online only. You can use a print out of the same for Over the Counter payments. Further, you cannot fill the challan manually. Only online challans are acceptable.
- If you select E-Payment, the portal shall give you options amongst Preferred Banks, Net banking, Debit/Credit Cards.
- For Over the Counter payments, the portal shall ask you details of Bank Name and mode of payment amongst Cash, Cheque and Demand Draft.
- Similarly for NEFT/RTGS, the portal shall display Account Number, IFSC Code, Payee Bank and Account Name. You can then process the NEFT or RTGS, as the case may be.
Finer Points : If you select E-payment as option, the system will take you to the E-payment screen. In other cases, you will get options to Print or Download the challan.
Step 3 :
At this step, you pay your taxes and collect the Challan Receipt. Every challan receipt will have a 17 digit unique Challan Identification Number (CIN). CIN is a 14 digit CPIN along with a 3 digit Bank Code.
Step 4 :
After completing the payment process, you can find the details of all transactions in the ‘Challan History’ tab. This tab will have a column called ‘Challan Status’ which will explain whether you payment was successful or not.
Below are the various terms used here.
- AWTD – Payment confirmation awaited
- PAID(P) – Payment received
- EXP – Challan Expired
- CLP – Cheque or Demand Draft pending for clearance
- CHQD – Cheque dishonored
- REV – Reversal
- NP(CR) – Not Paid, Conditional Receipt
- PP(OFC) – Provisional Payment at Com Tax Office
Thus the GSTN build by the law makers is certainly seamless with lots of opportunities for improvement in IT building. Which will eventually become stronger once it is used and reviewed by taxpayers who will be interacting with it on continuous basis.
The GST payment features such as save challans and track their history are quite useful. The various options like RTGS/NEFT, Over the Counter payment, Credit Card, Debit Card, Net banking, etc. GSTN make the portal even more user friendly.
Unlike the erstwhile indirect tax taxation laws such as Excise or Service Tax payment, GST challans do not require any Payment Codes. The GST payment process is indeed seamless as it allows dealers to make payments by themselves instead of relying on professional help.
Also Read:
GST: Relief For Retailers As GST Invoicing Norms Eased
Input Tax Credit And Its Roots To GSTR 2 Return
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