Requirement of Audit under GST in India

Audit under GST  is basically the inspection of returns, records and other documents that are held by the taxpayer. Goods and Service tax or GST is one Tax that involves all the other taxes. It brought in the “One nation one tax” system. So to maintain a check and to see whether the correct GST is being paid and the refund is claimed, certain taxable persons will be subject to audit under the Goods and Service Tax.

Audit under GST confirms whether the taxes are paid, ITC refund claimed and ITC availed mentioned in their annual report are true and fair or not. Moreover, a GST audit also helps in assessing if the taxpayer is compliant with all the GST provisions.

Who all are eligible for audit under Goods and Service Tax?

This audit applies to any registered taxable person whose annual aggregate turnover (Value of all taxable supplies whether it is inter-state or intra-state + exempt supplies + supplies made outside India) exceeds 2 Crore INR during a financial year. The eligible taxpayer can get their account and all other records audited either by a Chartered Accountant(CA) or a Cost and Work Accountant (CWA).

Audit under GST for every state is carried out separately. This is why a separate GST audit is done for every unique registration under the same Permanent Account Number (PAN).

Types of Audit under GST

There are 3 types of Audits that are done under Goods and Service Tax. They are as follows:

Suggested Read: Types of GST Returns in India

List of accounts that needed to be audited by the GST Auditor

• Register of Sales
• Expenses ledgers
• Input tax credit (ITC) claimed and utilized
• Register of purchase
• GST payable and paid
• Register of Stock
• All the e-Way bills generated
• Any other document or record as may be necessary for that relevant period.

In case if the auditor finds any mismatch or problem in these accounts or records, the GST auditor shall add a comment in the audit report. Moreover, the taxpayer can rectify such a mismatch reported by the auditor in the C-03 Form.

Submission of GST Audit report

After GSTR-9C gets audited and certified by the CA or CWA, the following things shall be reported by him or her:

• Whether all the records of transactions maintained are proper or not.
• Whether all the Financial Statements are prepared as per the books of accounts.
• Certify the authenticity of the information in the GSTR-9C.
• To mention any other observation or to add any comment thereof

Penalty for not submitting the GST Audit Report?

Till now under GST, there is no such specific penalty that has been decided for not submitting the GST Audit Report. Hence, the general provisions of the penalty will be applicable for not filing the audit and that may amount up to Rs. 25,000.