Every person registered under GST would be required to file the details of his outward supply in form GSTR-1 subject to some exceptions as mentioned below. Those registered persons who are not providing any outward supplies are also required to file GSTR-1 as nil Return. Nil Return under GSTR-1 is a simple and easy process that shall be discussed in this article.
GSTR 1 is an electronic form that is used to file the details of all outward supplies made during the period. All registered persons are required to file GSTR 1 on monthly basis, however, to make ease the Compliances for small taxpayers, such small taxpayers having the turnover up to Rs.1.5 Crores can file GSTR-1 on a quarterly basis.
Due date
For monthly return- Normally, GSTR 1 for the month is filed on or before the 10th day of the month immediately succeeding month. However, by way of notification such due date has been extended for each of the months for October 2019 to March 2020 to 11th day of the immediately succeeding of such month.
For Quarterly Return- the due date for Quarterly return is as follows
| Quarter | Due date |
| October 2019 to December 2019 | 31st January 2020 |
| January 2020 to March 2020 | 30th April 2020 |
Mandatory of filing Nil Return
It is mandatory to file the return under section 39 for every month even if no supply has been made during such a period. So therefore GSTR-1 nil return is should be filed mandatorily even if no supply has been made.
Procedure for filing NIL GSTR-1 Return
The following are the steps required to be followed to file a nil return under GSTR-1.
- Step-1: Visit the Official website of GST (https://services.gst.gov.in) and login to the GST Portal by using valid Login Credentials.
- Step-2: After successful login, go to the Services tab and click Return Dashboard from the drop-down list.
- Step-3: Select the respective month and year from the drop-down for which the Return is to be filed
- Step-4: Select the option of prepared Online provided under GSTR-1 head.
- Step-5: On clicking prepare online tab, the GSTR-1 summary shall be displayed on the screen. Verify and make sure that all the sections provided in the summary are nil and zero.
- Step-6: After verifying the details, acknowledge that the details provided in the summary are correct by clicking on the checkbox provided.
- Step-7: After acknowledging, click the submit button to submit the details. A confirmation window shall be displayed, click the proceed button for final submission. After clicking the proceed button, no details in the Return can be changed. So, ensure and verify the same before submitting it.
- Step-8: After successfully submitting the GSTR-1 Return, the taxpayer needs to confirm the Return either by using a digital signature certificate (DSC) or by Electronic Verification Code (EVC) to complete the NIL GSTR-1 Return filing.
Persons not required to file GSTR-1 Return
All registered persons including casual taxable persons except the below-prescribed persons are required to file GSTR-1 Return.
Below are the persons not required to file GSTR-1 Return.
- Input Service Distributor (ISD)
- Non-Resident Taxable Persons (NRTP)
- Persons opted Composition Scheme
- Persons deducting tax at source
- Persons Collecting tax at source such as-commerce operator (ECO) not being an agent.
- Supplier of Online Information and Database Access or Retrieval Services (OIDAR)