October to remain compliance heavy for bizmen

Businessmen and tax practitioners will be busy filing returns in October. At least 10 returns pertaining to GST, IT, PF and ESI need to be filed during the month. The extension of deadline for many of the GST returns for previous months because of network bottlenecks and some quarterly returns have all fallen together.

"We are engaged only in filing returns. After fighting on one front, we begin a fight on another," said Axat Vyas, a tax practitioner.

Tax expert Monish Bhalla said that the situation has come up because of spillover of returns which were supposed to be filed in previous months. "Because of network bottlenecks and inability of businessmen to tune in into the new system, the deadlines for filing of returns for the previous months were extended. You have to make up for all the delay. If these returns were filed as per the schedule, this situation would not have arisen," Bhalla told DNA.

What is more, the due date for filing of GSTR-3B for September is October 20, which is New Year Day in Gujarat and with Diwali days beginning from October 16, there would be a rush for filing of returns on festive occasions, something that local businessmen will not like.

In addition to monthly returns, quarterly returns for other compliance are also scheduled in October, which has complicated the matter.

During a recent visit by a high powered central team of revenue officers to Gujarat in the previous week, leading business bodies had suggested that monthly filing of GST returns should be replaced by quarterly or six-monthly filing of returns, till the GST Network is streamlined.

DATE FOR RETURNS

7: TDS/TCS Challan

10: GSTR-1 for July

15: TCS Return for Income Tax

15: ESI & PF

18: Quarterly Return for Composition Dealers

20: GSTR3B for September

31: TDS Return for Income Tax

31: Income Tax Audit Cases

31: GSTR-2 for the month of July

31: TRAN-1