The Finance Ministry on Sunday extended the deadline for filing summary sales return GSTR-3B for the month of September 2018 by five days to 25 October.

The extension will allow businesses that want to claim the input tax credit benefit for the July 2017-March 2018 period to do so till 25 October.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, under the Finance Ministry, said trade and industry had expressed apprehension relating to October 20 due date for claiming ITC under GST for July 2017-March 2018.

"It has been brought to notice that there have been apprehensions by trade and industry relating to the last date for availment of ITC for the period July, 2017 to March, 2018. In order to remove doubts, it was clarified that as per the law, the last date for availing ITC in relation to the period from July, 2017 to March, 2018 is the last date for the filing of return in the FORM GSTR-3B for the month of September, 2018," the ministry said in its statement.

The GSTR-3B of a particular month has to be filed by the 20th day of the subsequent month, for example, the deadline for September return filing was 20 October.

The statement further said, "It may also be noted that the Government has extended the last date for furnishing of return in FORM GSTR-3B for the month of September, 2018 for certain taxpayers who have been recently migrated from erstwhile tax regime to GST regime vide notification No. 47/2018- Central Tax dated 10th September, 2018. For such taxpayers, the extended date i.e. 31st December, 2018 or the date of filing of annual return whichever is earlier will be the last date for availing ITC in relation to the said invoices issued by the corresponding suppliers during the period from July, 2017 to March, 2018."