As many as 55 lakh GST returns have been filed for the month of January so far, GSTN Chairman Ajay Bhushan Pandey said on Wednesday.
The last date for filing initial GSTR-3B returns for a month is the 20th of the subsequent month. Hence, the sales returns for January has to be filed by February 20. However, businesses can continue to file returns after payment of late fee.
“The total number of 3B GST returns filed in the month of January till date is 55 lakh,” Pandey told reporters here.
The number is expected to go up when the government releases the GST collection figure later in the month as more businesses continue to file returns.
As per official data available, in December 56.30 lakh GSTR-3B were filed which fetched Rs 86,703 crore revenue to the exchequer, while in November 53.06 lakh returns were filed with total revenue of Rs 80,808 crore.
In October 50.1 lakh 3B returns were filed with revenue of Rs 83,346 crore, while in September it was 42.91 lakh with tax collection of Rs 92,150 crore.
The GST Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and comprising state counterparts, had in November decided to slash late filing fee in order to help businesses cope with the system and file returns even at a later date.
Businesses with ‘nil’ tax liability now have to pay only Rs 20 as late fee for the delayed filing of return while for the rest, the fee is Rs 50.