GSTN restores July and August 2017. GST returns data

GST Network said on Sunday that monthly tax return data for July and August 2017, the first months of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax, has been restored on the portal.

The GSTN had said last week that it is implementing its data policy that data for taxpayers will be retained for only seven years. This means that the GST return data is available to taxpayers for no longer than seven years and is archived.

Accordingly, on August 1, 2024, tax returns filed for July 2017 were archived and on September 1, 2024, data for August 2017 were archived.

However, trade and industry had wanted some more time before the implementation of this policy so that they could download their relevant data from the GST portal for future reference.

In a notice to taxpayers, GSTN said on Sunday that the GST returns for 17-18 are available again following feedback from trade and industry.

“…In view of the requests from the trade due to the difficulties encountered, the data has been restored to the portal. We encourage you to download and save the data if necessary as the archiving policy will be re-implemented after providing advance information,” GSTN said.

Under the GST Act, taxpayers are not permitted to file their GST return after a period of three years from the due date of filing such return.

As per the data policy of the GST portal, data for taxpayers is retained for only seven years.