GSTN to Cancel Registration of Idle Assessees

The people who have acquired registrations on GST portal but have not yet filed a single tax return till date might soon face cancellation of registration. There are still millions of GST registered taxpayers and firms who have not paid tax or even filed returns on the portal. As per the law, the Council has the right to cancel such registrations which it eventually plans to do.

GSTN has also stopped accepting six months or older returns. There are still many people who are trying to file their July/August monthly returns on the portal, however, it is not being allowed by the portal.

A senior GST official said that the government is now working on cleaning the taxpayers base to remove fake registrations. He said, “The GST registrations of any general assessee who has not filed his six continuous tax returns or a composition registration holder who has not filed three consecutive returns may be cancelled. In addition, many people have registered under voluntary scheme, but have not yet managed to even start their business. Their registrations may also be cancelled soon.”

According to officials, only about 57 percent assessees have filed their GSTR-3B returns for December 2017 as of January 20. The figures closely match with the previous month data.

Sanjay Sharma, Former-President, Delhi Sales Tax Bar Association, said that the GSTN has stopped accepting returns from those taxpayers who are looking to file their August month returns. This has created problems for even those genuine taxpayers who couldn’t file their tax returns due to technical issues on the portal or incomplete availability of data/forms. However, the Council has been asked to give an official clarification regarding this, and it is being estimated that the taxpayers who couldn’t file their July/August returns owing to technical issues might be granted an extension. The poor performance of the portal throughout this period should be considered to this.

Recommended: Complete Guide: Cancellation of GST Registration Online on GSTN Official Portal

However, it is almost certain that the assessees who have not filed any returns or paid any taxes will surely lose their access to the GSTN. The number of such assessees is close to 10 lakh people who have not filed a single tax return till date. Around 34 percent assessees have filed nil tax returns.

Out of 18 lakh people who registered under the GST composition scheme, only 8.5 lakh have filed their December month returns. This is a huge disappointment for everyone involved. Some specialists are even assuming that the lack of enthusiasm in assessees to file returns may be inspired by the relaxation provided by the government in compliance, such as continuity of GSTR-3B and availability of GSTR-1 for the next fiscal year as well.