Good News for Small & Medium Business Entrepreneur: GST Rules Changing from 1st Jan 2021. If you are a small and medium business entrepreneur, this is really good news for you! In a welcome move to ease the burden on small taxpayers, the Government has decided to roll out the quarterly filing of GST returns with monthly payment. On 5th December, the Government announced the launch of the QRMP (Quarterly filing of Return with Monthly Payment) Scheme from 1st January 2021. This new scheme is going to impact about 94 lakh taxpayers; which is almost 92% of the current tax base in the GST domain.

As per this scheme, from January onwards, it is sufficient for small taxpayers to file only eight GST returns (four GSTR 1 and four GSTR 3B) in a financial year. As of now, a taxpayer needs to file 16 returns in a financial year. The taxpayers will be able to make GST payments every month through challan either by self-assessment of monthly liability or 35% of his net cash liability of GSTR-3B of the previous quarter.

Are you eligible for this scheme?

You will be eligible to avail of this scheme if-

1. Your aggregate annual turnover was up to Rs 5 crore in the last financial year
2. You have filed your GSTR-3B return for October 2020 by 30th November.

Please note that a taxpayer can opt-in and opt-out of this scheme as and when he wants.

What are the advantages of this scheme?

• As the number of GST returns to be filed in a financial year gets reduced from 16 to 8, the professional expenses of a taxpayer will also get reduced significantly from January 2021.
• This scheme introduces the concept of providing ITC (Input Tax Credit) on the reported invoices only. Hence, it will help the Government to put a brake on fake invoice frauds.
• The QRMP scheme brings an optional feature named IFF (Invoice Filing Facility). It will enable you to file and upload all your invoices quarterly. You will be able to upload invoices even in the 1st and 2nd months of a quarter. Thus, it will help you to address high demands from the recipients.
• If you opt for the IFF  facility, you will also be able to receive the ITC even after the IFF cut-off date
• You can pay your monthly taxes by both pre-filled challan and cash ledger.