Key Points:
- New Filing Rules: According to Section 39(11) of the CGST Act, 2017, effective from October 1, 2023, taxpayers will not be allowed to file GST returns older than three years.
- Data Retention Policy: The GST portal will retain data for seven years only. After this period, data will not be accessible.
- For example, returns filed for July 2017 will be archived on August 1, 2024, and returns for August 2017 on September 1, 2024. This will be a monthly archival process.
- Recommendation: Taxpayers are strongly advised to download relevant GST data from the portal for future reference to avoid losing access to important information.
- Important Actions: It is crucial to save copies of all GST returns (GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, etc.) and have hard copies to avoid any complications, especially for ongoing cases.
Conclusion:
Ensure you download and backup all your relevant GST return data to avoid issues in the future as data will gradually become unavailable each month.