What is GSTR 8?

The Goods and Services Tax Return 8 is a monthly return which is to be filed by e-commerce operators who have to collect tax at source (TCS) under the Goods and Services Tax regime.

GSTR 8 contains the details of supplies that take place by means of an e-commerce operator, the amount of TCS collected and the GSTIN of Suppliers.

What is TCS or Tax Collected at Source?

Under GST, Electronic Commerce Operators must collect tax at source. TCS refers to tax which is collected by the electronic commerce operator when a supplier supplies some goods or services through its portal and the payment for that supply is collected by the electronic commerce operator.

Under GST, who is an e-commerce operator?

An e-commerce operator or an Electronic Commerce Operator is any person/s who, directly or indirectly, owns, manages or operates an electronic platform that is involved in the supply of goods or services. However, a person supplying goods/services on his own account would not be considered as an e-commerce operator.

Example 1: Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra etc., are e-commerce Operators because they are facilitating actual suppliers to supply goods through their platform.

Example 2: Amazon and Flipkart will not be treated as e-commerce operators in relation to those supplies which they make on their own account.

Example 3: Lifestyle, Fastrack, Titan, Brand factory etc., supplying goods through its own website would not be considered as an e-commerce operator.

When is TCS levied under GST?

TCS will be levied where the consideration is collected by an e-commerce operator (with respect to supplies made through his platform) from customers and transfer to actual supplier.

What are the pre-requisites for filing GSTR 8?

The following conditions need to be fulfilled before filing GSTR 8:

• The person/entity filing GSTR 8 should be an e-commerce operator.

• The person/entity should get a normal GST registration as well as E-commerce GST registration.

Why is GSTR 8 important?

GSTR 8 is important as it helps the suppliers to maintain a detailed record of the transactions that have taken place on an e-commerce platform. He/she will also be able to see the auto-populated TCS details (which the e-commerce operator has reported in GSTR-8) in GSTR-2A. Thereafter, he will be able to avail input tax credit seamlessly.

What are the details to be provided in GSTR 8?

These details are furnished in GSTR 8:

• GSTIN: The 15-digit state-wise PAN number gets auto-populated at the time of filing.

• The name of the person liable to collect the tax: Gets auto-populated when a taxpayer logs into the common GST portal.

• The details of the supplies made through the e-commerce operator: In this section, it is necessary to mention the gross value of the supplies made to registered persons and unregistered persons and the value of supplies returned by registered and unregistered persons. The net amount liable for TCS is the difference between the supplies made and the supplies returned.

• Amendments to details of supplies in respect of an earlier statement: In this section, the taxpayer can correct any data submitted in the return of previous months.

• Details of interest: This section contains the details of the interest that is levied because of late payment of TCS amount when it is not paid on time.

• Tax payable and paid: Details of the total amount of tax payable under each head- SGST, CGST and IGST and how much tax has been paid till date is included in this section.

• Interest payable and paid: A taxpayer will have to pay interest at 18% for late payment of GST and this interest is calculated on the outstanding tax amount. This section contains these details.

• Refund claimed from electronic cash ledger: A taxpayer can claim a refund from electronic cash ledger only after all the TCS liability for that tax period has been discharged.

• Debit entries in cash ledger for TCS / interest payment (to be populated after payment of tax and submissions of return): The amount of tax collected at source appears in Part C of GSTR 2A after the taxpayer files GSTR-8

What is the last date for filing GSTR 8?

The last date for filing GSTR 8 is the 10th of the following month. GSTR-8 can be filed online through the GST Common Portal. However, the e-commerce operators, in addition to filing GSTR-8 monthly, shall file an Annual Statement of Tax Collected at Source on or before 31st December.

What is the due date for remitting TCS payment under GST?

The e-commerce collector, who has collected an amount of tax as TCS, will deposit the amount by the 10th of the following month. For example, the TCS collected in the month of January will have to be remitted on or before 10th February.

What is the penalty for late filing of GSTR 8?

A penalty of Rs 200 per day (Rs 100 – CGST and Rs 100 – SGST) is levied if there is a delay in filing the return. This penalty is subject to a maximum of Rs 5000.

In addition to the late fees, Interest is also levied in case of delay in filing. Interest at the rate of 18% per annum must be paid from the date when GSTR 8 should have been filed up to the date of filing the return.

Revision

Unfortunately, GSTR 8 cannot be revised after it has been filed. If any mistake has been made, it can be rectified in the next month’s return.

Some other Important points relating to GSTR-8

• Supplier who made supplies through the platform provided by e-commerce operation is not required to file GSTR-8. He is required to follow the normal process of return filing i.e., he is liable to file GSTR-1, GSTR-3B etc.

• TCS paid by e-commerce operator to Government will reflect in GSTR-2A of actual supplier based on GSTR-8 filed by e-commerce operator.

• The details of the supplies, including the value of supplies, submitted by every operator in the GSTR-8 will be matched with the details of supplies submitted by all such suppliers in their GSTR-1.

• If there is any discrepancy in the value of supplies between GSTR-8 of e-commerce operator and GSTR-1 of actual supplier, the same would be communicated to both of them. If such discrepancy in value is not rectified within the given time, then such amount would be added to the output tax liability of such supplier. The supplier will have to pay the differential amount of output tax along with interest.

For more information on GSTR 6 and TCS under GST, refer here: