GSTN Issues Caution to Taxpayers on the Impact of GST Returns Data Archival on GST Portal Access

Introduction

The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) updated some policies relating to the Goods and Services Tax (GST ), as well as data archiving of GST returns data on the GST Portal as communicated through the latest notification on September 24th, 2024. 

The latest update mentions that the data related to the taxpayer view would be maintained only for seven years.

As a result, after seven years, the data shall not be available for taxpayers to view. The same data policy is, therefore, now being rolled out on the GST portal. Thus, data relating to returns shall only be available for up to 7 years for the taxpayers.

What does the update contain?

On 1 August 2024, much-needed updates were released by GSTN, which directly impacted the taxpayers. 

It is at this moment notified that Section 39(11) of the CGST Act, 2017, implemented from October 1, 2023, provides for a three-year time frame from the date on which the respective GST return was furnished. After this time frame, it cannot be submitted further. 

In addition, the portal is adopting a draconian data retention policy in which it archives returned data more than seven years old.

The archiving process began on August 1, 2024. From now on, any data return filed in July 2017 will no longer be accessible for viewing on the portal. For August 2017, the next set of data will be archived on September 1, 2024, and it continues month after month.

What It Means for Taxpayers

This means that taxpayers can only retrieve returns up to seven years going forward. Data will begin archiving each month, and it is encouraged that taxpayers download and save relevant returns before they are lost in the portal.

Why This Matters

Archiving ensures the portal remains streamlined but places an additional responsibility on taxpayers to manage and preserve their historical data.

NOW is the time to act so your pertinent data can be noticed in the future and not lost in the way !! Act now! Download your previously filed returns today before they disappear from the portal.

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