Budget 2020: From GST return filing to refund, all you need need to know from Nirmala Sitharaman's speech

Major reforms have been proposed in the administration of GST regime by Modi government. The simplified GST return is all set to be implemented from 1st April, 2020. Also, to weed out dummy or non-existent units, Aadhaar-based verification of taxpayers to be introduced. Dynamic QR-code has been proposed for consumer invoices.

While presenting the Union Budget 2020-21 in Parliament on Saturday, the Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman said that this is under pilot run. It will make return filing simple with features like SMS based filing for nil return, return pre-filling, improved input tax credit flow and overall simplification. The Finance Minister said that the refund process has been simplified and has been made fully automated with no human interface.

Sitharaman said that several measures have been taken for improving compliance and Aadhaar based verification of taxpayers is being introduced. This will help in weeding out dummy or non-existent units, she added.  The Union Budget has proposed Dynamic QR-code for consumer invoices. 

The GST parameters will be captured when payment for purchases is made through the QR-code. A system of cash reward is envisaged to incentivise customers to seek invoice, the Finance Minister said.

Invoice and input tax credit matching is being done wherein returns having mismatch of more than 10% or above a threshold are identified and pursued.

Electronic invoice is another innovation wherein critical information shall be captured electronically in a centralized system. It will be implemented in a phased manner starting from this month itself on optional basis. It will facilitate compliance and return filing, the Finance Minister said.