GSTR - 5: GST Return Filing Procedure on GST Portal

Who is a Non-Resident Foreign Taxpayer?

A non resident foreign taxpayer is a supplier who do not have a permanent business establishment in India. He or she is just for a short period to make supplies in India. The person who comes under this category has to furnish details of his supplies in GSTR 5 that are taxable.

Importance of GSTR-5

The return GSTR 5 is very important for a non resident foreigners as it includes all the details of his or her sales and purchases. All the details flows from GSTR 5 of the non resident supplier to GSTR 2 of the buyer.

Due date of GSTR-5

Due date of filing GSTR 5 is the 20th of every month as per the GST Act. For instance, the return of October 2018 will be due on 20th November 2018.

Prerequisites for filing GSTR-5

For filing of Form GSTR-5 the taxpayer should fulfil various conditions. They are as follows:

• The taxpayer should be a registered Non-Resident taxable person.
• The taxpayer should have a valid GSTIN.
• The taxpayer should have a valid User ID and password for authentic login.
• The taxpayer should also have a valid and non-expired Digital Signature Certificate (DSC). This condition is specially for those taxpayers for whom digital signing is compulsory such as Companies, LLP or FLLP, and so on. For other cases the authentication of the return can be done through EVC.

Registration of Non-residents under section 27

The non resident taxable person or even casual taxpayers are issued a special certificate of registration. This certificate is of a temporary nature valid for specified period or 90 days from the date of registration whichever is earlier. The non residents can make taxable supplies only after receiving this certificate of registration.

With this registration the non residents have to file GSTR 5 within 7 days after the last day of the registration period.

Details that are mentioned in GSTR-5

There are 14 heads in GSTR-5 format that is prescribed by the government.
Each head along with its details stated under GSTR-5 are as follows:

• 1.GSTIN
  The taxpayer has to provide his or her GSTIN. Provisional ID can also be used in place of GSTIN if the taxpayer do not have have GSTIN.
• 2. Name of the Taxpayer, Validity period of registration, Month, Year
  The details under this head includes name of the taxpayer including legal and trade name.
  The validity period of the registration will be auto-populated.
  One has to mention the relevant month and year for which GSTR-5 is tp be filed.
• 3. Inputs/Capital goods received from Overseas (Import of goods)
  

  The Non Residents have to report their inputs and capital goods that are imported into India. All the details of the bill of entry along with rate of tax, IGST, cess paid and amount of ITC available are to be mentioned.
  A Non Resident will only have import inward supplies that are purchases.
  The format is as under:

  
• 4. Amendment in the details furnished in any earlier return
  In this head , the Non Residents can amend any details in imports furnished in previous returns.
  Various changes can be made in the following-
  1. Bill of entry
  2. Taxable value
  3. Rate of IGST
  4. Amount of ITC now available
  5. Amount of IGST & Cess
  6. Differential amount of ITC (if excess will be reversed and vice versa)
  Both original and revised details of bill of entry has to be given.
  The format for this head is:
  
  
• 5. Taxable outward supplies made to registered persons (including UIN holders)
  This heading includes all the invoice wise details of B2B sales in India including sales to UIN holders.
  Details of IGST/CGST & SGST & Cess along with State has to be given. The format for this head is given below:
  
• 6. Taxable outward inter-State supplies to un-registered persons where invoice value is more than Rs 2.5 lakh
  This section includes all details of B2C Large sales, that is inter-state sales where invoice value is greater than Rs.2.5 lakhs to unregistered persons.
  The format is given below:
  
  
• 7. Taxable supplies (net of debit notes and credit notes) to unregistered persons other than the supplies mentioned at Table 6
  This section contains the details of sales to unregistered dealers (B2C Others). Both intra-state and inter-State sales less than 2.5 lakhs have to be mentioned here.
  Intra-state sales can be mentioned in a consolidated summary. While inter-state sales must be mentioned state-wise.
  The format is as under:
  
  
• 8. Amendments to taxable outward supply details furnished in returns for earlier tax periods in Table 5 and 6 [including debit note/credit notes and amendments thereof]
  Any changes in the details of B2B and B2C Large of previous months have to be mentioned here.
  Original debit notes and credit notes that are issued during the month also needs to be furnished here.
  All the amendments for invoices and debit & credit notes issued will also be displayed here. In case of such revisions, original details will also be mentioned.
  The format for this head is:
  
  
• 9. Amendments to taxable outward supplies to unregistered persons furnished in returns for Earlier tax periods in Table 7
  This head contains all the changes in the details of B2C sales of the previous months (originally disclosed in Table 7).
  Intra-state sales can be mentioned in a consolidated summary. While inter-state sales must be mentioned state-wise.
  The format is mentioned below:
  
  
• 10. Total Tax Liability
  This head will display the total tax liability.
  A. On account of outward supply: This section of the head will show details of tax liability for outward supplies for the relevant month.
  B. On account of differential ITC being negative in Table 4: This section will include the additional tax to be paid due to the reversal of ITC (i.e., differential ITC being negative) because of making changes in any imports of earlier months (Table 4).
  The format for this section is as follows:
  
  
• 11. Tax payable and paid
  This head contains the details of tax that the taxpayer is actually paying during the month.
  All the details regarding Breakup of IGST, CGST, SGST & Cess will be displayed here. The taxpayer can opt to pay this tax liability through cash or use his or her ITC.
  The format for this head is as follows:
  
  
• 12. Interest, late fee and any other amount payable and paid
  This section will include the details of interest and late fee if any that is due and actually paid on account of late filing of the return.
  The format for this head is mentioned below:
  
  
• 13. Refund claimed from electronic cash ledger
  This section of return includes the details of all the refunds received into electronic cash ledger. There is an option with a dropdown to select in which bank account the Non Resident wants to receive the refund.
  The format is shown below:
  
  
• 14. Debit entries in electronic cash/credit ledger for tax/interest payment [to be populated after payment of tax and submissions of return]
  This heading displays the debit entries in electronic cash ledger, that is cash outflow for payment of tax or interest or late fees. It is generated after payment of tax and submission of return.
  The format is as under:
  
  
  
  Final step is to verify the return by the authorized signatory. Authorized signatory is a representative of the Non Resident who is a person resident in India with a valid PAN card. The format of verification is shown below:
  
  

What happens if GSTR-5 is not filed ?

If GSTR-5 return is not filed by the taxpayer then the return of next month cannot be filed. As well as late filing of GST return will have a negative effect that leads to heavy fines and penalties.

What happens when GSTR-5 is filed late ?

When there is a delay in filing of GSTR 5 , the taxpayer will be liable to pay interest and a late fee as penalty. Interest is charged at the rate of 18% per annum. The interest is calculated on the amount of outstanding tax to be paid by the taxpayer. The time period will be from the next day of filing that is the 21st of the month till the date of payment.
A late fee as a penalty is charged at Rs. 50 per day for all taxpayers and Rs. 20 per day for the taxpayer if he or she is filing a nil return. The maximum amount that can be charged as late fees is Rs. 5,000.

Conclusion

For Non Residents in India, there is a provision of filing their GST return as GSTR 5. This return is for showing all the business transactions done in India for a period of time. All the Non-Residents taxpayers who are registered under GST have to file this return. The form GSTR-5 includes the details of all income and expenses that are related to the business of the one who is residing out of India.