On 8th June, 2020 the Central Board of Indirect Taxes launched the facility for filing “Nil” Form GSTR-3B through simple SMS. The status of the returns so filed can be tracked by logging through GSTIN on the GST Common Portal and navigating to Services> Returns> Track Return Status.
There are three broad steps for filing:
A) Step 1 - Initiate Filing
First the Taxpayer initiates filing request through his registered mobile number (Registered with the Common Portal) in the following way:
Send SMS to 14409 in the following format:
NIL<space>3B<space>GSTIN<space>TaxPeriod
Tax Period to be in the format of MMYYYY
For eg: NIL 3B 27AAAAA1234P1ZK 052020
B) Step 2 - Receipt of SMS by the Taxpayer with the CODE
The taxpayer receives the CODE for confirmation of filing in the following format:
123456 is the CODE for Nil filing of GSTR 3B for 27AAAAA1234P1ZK for the period 052020. Code Validity 30 Minutes.
C) Step 3 - Confirmation of Filing
The taxpayer needs to send the code received in Step 2 to 14409 in the following format:
CNF<space>3B<space>CODE
For eg: CNF 3B 123456
After completion of Step 3 the taxpayer will receive the following SMS specifying the ARN (Application Reference Number) for the return filed:
Your 27AAAAA1234P1ZK GSTR 3B for the tax period 052020 is filed successfully and ARN is AA070519888385F. Please use this ARN to track the status of your return.