'Vignaharta', Please take away 'Vighna's" of MVAT Returns

Arjun (Fictional character): Krishna,now the most awaited festival of Ganesha Utsav filled with fun and excitement is arriving ,so all are busy in its preparations. In the same way Maharashtra Sales Tax Department has opened the gateway of the awaited filing of the VAT returns. In relation to this, all the details have been given through the notification issued on 26th August 2016. So now “Vignaharta” (Ganesha) is arriving,so will we get rid of the problems in relation to VAT?

Krishna (Fictional character): Arjuna, Sales Tax Department had introduced automation in filing of VAT Returns on 25th February 2016 and it was decided to bring it in effect from April 2016.Due to various technical issues, VAT Returns are still pending to be filled since April 2016.Now from 29th August onwards the dealer will be able to file the VAT Return.To file the Return the government has issued the respective form. The dealer can file the return by downloading the form with the version 1.0.000 and accordingly fill the purchase and the sales details. We expect that “Vignaharta”, will take away “Vighna’s” of MVAT Returns.

Arjun: Krishna, What are the major aspects of this new return form?

Krishna: Arjuna, The major aspect of this new return form are as follows :

Sales Tax Department has annexed Sales and Purchase Annexure along-with the Return. In this template, every dealer is required to fill Bill wise details of Purchases and Sales for each Transaction according to the Bill number and Date. It has also been provided to mention the type of Return form e.g. Form 231, Form 232 for every transaction.

1. Further Transaction Code for every transaction is to be mentioned e.g. purchases or sales from Registered Dealer, Non-Registered dealer, etc.

2. Earlier, the Dealers had to fill various forms like 231,232, etc. under VAT, CST, J1& J2 Annexures and submit them separately on the website of Department Of Sales Tax. But now all the forms are covered under one utility only.

3. This utility consists of purchase and sales annexures. In this we have to fill details of purchase and sales Billwise, TINwise, Codewise and return wise and after validation the selected form will get automatically filled, which we can check later. Then we will have to manually fill some details in the return of Taxrate, Setoff retention, Payments, etc.

4. The responsibility of submitting correct and proper return will be solely of Dealers.

5. Every Dealer will have to fill the purchase and sales annexure. Only the Dealer under composition scheme will not be required to fill the sales annexure.

6. Many dealers don’t show transactions relating to printing and stationery, repairs, staff welfare, etc. in the return. But now it is expected that all the Dealers will show these transactions in this utility.

7. No negative values can be fed either in the return or in the annexure.

8. Some Dealer like retails traders, restaurants, medical shops, etc. does hundreds of transactions in a single day and does not know the names of the customers, then sales can be mentioned on aggregate basis.

9. Dealer can revise the return submitted but for that he need to revise the sales and purchase annexures.

10. If dealer has excess credit then he should show it in the return. If it is valid then it will be shown in the return sent by the department in the PDF format.

Arjun:Krishna, how dealer should file the return?

Krishna: Arjuna,

1. After entering the details in the return, if there is any tax payable then it should be paid along with the interest. 

2. Government had extended the date to file the VAT Returns and not the payment date of the MVAT, so payment of the tax for the month or for the quarter should be paid on or before 21st of the next month or quarter.

3. Dealer after entering the detail in the excel utility should generate TXT file.

4. Dealer should login on the Sales Tax Department site and upload this TXT file.The dealer will get the acknowledgment of the same. After that dealer should download the receipt of the return filed. Then dealer will get the PDF file of the return filed.

Arjun:Krishna, from and till when dealer can file the return pending from April 2016?

Krishna: Arjuna, the duration for filing the return are monthly or quarterly according to the dealer. Government has given beginning and ending date for filing the return in the notification issued.

For Monthly Returns:

1. Dealer can file the return for the month of April from 29/08/2016 to 26/09/2016.
2. Dealer can file the return for the month of May from 06/09/2016 to 05/10/2016.
3. Dealer can file the return for the month of June from 12/09/2016 to 11/10/2016.
4. Dealer can file the return for the month of July from 16/09/2016 to 15/10/2016.
5. Dealer can file the return for the month of August from 20/09/2016 to 20/10/2016.
6. Dealer can file the return for the month of September from 26/09/2016 to 25/10/2016.

7. For Quarterly Returns:

8. The return for April-June quarter can be filed from 26/10/2016 to 30/11/2016.
9. The return for July-September quarter can be filed from 26/11/2016 to 31/12/2016.

Arjun: Krishna, What should dealers learn from this?

Krishna: Arjuna, dealers should understand and be updated with the new changes introduced and also should remain alert. In case the dealer does not file the return according to the duration mentioned, eventually he will have to pay the late fees. To avoid such problems the dealer while filing and submitting the return should follow the guidelines and FAQ’s displayed on the website .In case any problems or queries the dealer can contact the officer or the helpline centre. The contact details are provided in the help menu. Now the dealer has also responsibility to conduct his tax audit and file the return in the month of September. In addition to above there is also responsibility to file VAT returns through the new system. So for completing such tedious tasks pray God (Ganesha) that all work should be completed with least problems.