All about QRMP Scheme applicable under GST

To benefit small taxpayers whose turnover is less than Rs.5 lakh, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) introduced the Quarterly Return Filing and Monthly Payment of Taxes (QRMP) scheme under the Goods and Services Tax (GST). The QRMP scheme requires taxpayers, every quarter, to file GSTR-3B and pay tax every month.

It is explained that, in the common portal, the gross annual turnover for the preceding financial year shall be determined considering the information given in the taxpayer’s returns for the tax periods of the prior fiscal year.

From 1 January 2021, the quarterly GSTR-3B filing option will be eligible. It is stated that this system is optional and can be used based on GSTIN.

How to exercise Option for QRMP Scheme?

A registered person who intends to file his GSTR-3B quarterly should indicate the same on GST portal, from the 1st of the second month of the preceding quarter until the last day of the first month of the quarter option is being exercised.

For example: If A wishes to file quarterly returns for the quarter of Jan-Mar 2021, he should opt for quarterly filing on the common GST portal between 1st November 2020 and 31st January 2021.

Once the registered person has opted for quarterly filing, he will have to continue to furnish his return every quarter for all future tax periods, except in the following situations:

1. If the taxpayer is ineligible for a quarterly return (for example, if the aggregate turnover crosses Rs.5 crore during a quarter, then from the next quarter he will not be able to file quarterly returns).

If the taxpayer wishes, every month, to have GSTR-3B.

2. If the last return due on the date of exercise of such an option has not been furnished, a registered individual would not be entitled to opt to provide quarterly returns.

For instance, if the individual opts for the quarterly filing of GSTR-3B on 1 December 2020, he would have to furnish his October 2020 GSTR-3B return, which would have been the last return due on the date of exercise of the quarterly filing option.

Deemed monthly/quarterly filing of GSTR-3B

To opt for the quarterly GSTR-3B, the taxpayer has to follow the above process. However, in the case of GSTN registered persons falling within the categories listed in the table below who have filed their GSTR-3B return for October 2020 by 30 November 2020, they shall be deemed to have opted, as detailed below, for a monthly or quarterly filing.

S No.	Class of Registered Persons	Deemed Option
1	Registered individuals with an aggregate turnover of up to Rs.1.5 crore, who have furnished Form GSTR-1 quarterly in the current financial year	Quarterly GSTR-3B
2	Registered persons with an aggregate turnover of up to Rs.1.5 crore, who have furnished Form GSTR-1 monthly in the current financial year	Monthly GSTR-3B
3	Registered persons having an aggregate turnover exceeding Rs.1.5 crore and up to Rs.5 crore in the preceding financial year	Quarterly GSTR-3B

The taxpayers mentioned in Sl. In the table above, No. 2 can configure option and apply for GSTR-3B quarterly filings between 5 December 2020 and 31 January 2021.

How to submit details of outward supplies?

The Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF) may be used by taxpayers who have opted for the QRMP scheme to enable quarterly GSTR-1 filers to submit their invoices every month. Before using the IFF, one should consider the following tips in mind:

• Only for the first two months of a quarter may the IFF be used.
• Invoices relating to the last month of a quarter shall only be uploaded to the GSTR-1 return.
• There is no need to submit GSTR-1 invoices if the same invoices have been submitted to the IFF.
• The taxpayer must supply the B2B invoice information of sales transactions (both inter-state and intra-state) along with the B2B invoice debit and credit notes provided throughout the month.
• The cumulative net amount of invoices (to be uploaded) is limited to Rs.50 lakh per month.
• As the case may be, the information given in the IFF will be reflected in the recipients’ GSTR-2A, GSTR-2B, GSTR-4A or GSTR-6A.
• From 01.01.2021 the Invoice Furnishing Facility will come into force.

How to make monthly tax payments under the QRMP scheme?

By the 25th of the coming season, for the first and second months of the year, the taxpayer must pay tax using Form GST PMT-06. In either the Fixed Sum Method (FSM) or the Self Assessment Method, taxpayers may pay their monthly tax liability (SAM).

Fixed Sum (FSM) method

The taxpayer shall pay the amount of tax referred to in the pre-filled form GST PMT-06 for an equivalent amount to 35% of the tax paid in cash.

S No	Type of Taxpayer	Tax to be paid
1	Who furnished GSTR-3B quarterly for the last quarter	35% of tax paid in cash in the preceding quarter
2	Who furnished GSTR-3B monthly during the last quarter	100% of tax paid in cash in the last month of the immediately preceding quarter

Self-Assessment Method (SAM)

This is the new approach that a taxpayer will pay the tax liability by considering the inward and outward supply tax liability and the available input tax credit. The taxpayer has to pay the tax obligation manually for the month and must pay the same in GST PMT-06. The taxpayer will use Form GSTR-2B to ascertain the amount of ITC available for the month.

There are some instances in which no deposit can be needed, for example –

1. In the first month of the quarter – where the electronic cash/credit ledger balance is appropriate for that month’s tax liability OR, the tax liability is zero.

2. For the second month of a quarter — where the balance is available for the accumulated tax liability of the first and second months of the quarter OR in the electronic cash/credit ledger where the tax liability is zero.

It must be remembered that a registered person is not entitled to do so unless he has filed the return for the entire tax period previous to that month. The maximum tax period is a tax period in which the person is registered from the first day to the tax period’s last day.