The Central Government has extended the due date for filing GST Annual Return in form GSTR-9 to 31st March 2019.

Earlier, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has extended the due date for filing of GST Audit reports in forms GSTR-9, GSTR-A, and GSTR-9C FORM GSTR-9 and FORM GSTR-9A have been notified vide notification No. 39/2018-Central Tax, dated 04.09.2018 while FORM GSTR-9C has been notified vide notification no. 49/2018-Central Tax, dated 13.09.2018 as part of the CGST Rules. The competent authority has decided to extend the due date for filing FORM GSTR-9, FORM GSTR-9A and FORM GSTR-9C till 31st March 2019.

The requisite FORMs shall be made available on the GST common portal shortly, the CBIC said last week.

Every registered person, other than an Input Service Distributor, a person paying tax under section 51 or section 52, a casual taxable person and a non-resident taxable person, shall furnish an annual return for every financial year electronically in such form and manner as may be prescribed on or before the thirty-first day of December following the end of such financial year;

As per the notification issued by the Government last day night, “for the purpose of furnishing of the annual return electronically for every financial year as referred to in sub-section (1) of section 44 of the said Act, the electronic system to be developed is at the advanced stage and is likely to be made operational by the 31st January, 2019 as a result whereof, the said annual return for the period from the 1st July 2017 to the 31st March 2018 could not be furnished by the registered persons, as referred to in the said sub-section (1) and because of that, certain difficulties have arisen in giving effect to the provisions of the said section.”

The Government, therefore, notified that Central Goods and Services Tax (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2018 and declared that “the annual return for the period from the 1st July 2017 to the 31st March 2018 shall be furnished on or before the 31st March 2019.” To Read the full text of the Notification