GSTR-6 is a Goods and Services Tax return submitted by Input Service Distributors (ISDs) to report the specifics of Input Tax Credit (ITC) received and subsequently distributed. This return is filed monthly by ISDs, providing a comprehensive record of services obtained and the associated taxes paid. Its primary purpose is to enable businesses, particularly those operating across multiple states, to accurately allocate input credit to the relevant recipients. This filing is mandatory even if there is no input tax credit to distribute.

This article outlines the complete process for filing GSTR-6 using the government's offline utility tool.

Latest Regulatory Updates

Notification No. 16/2024-Central Tax, dated August 6th, 2024: Prior to this notification, the ISD mechanism was optional. However, through this amendment to Sections 2(61) and 20 of the CGST Act, 2017, the government has made ISD provisions compulsory, effective from April 1st, 2025.

Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax, dated July 10th, 2024: The CBIC amended Rule 39 of the CGST Rules, 2017, to specify the methodology for ITC allocation by an ISD; however, this amendment is yet to be officially notified.

Steps to Download and Access the GSTR-6 Offline Utility Tool

Step 1: Visit the official GST portal.

Step 2: Navigate to the 'Downloads' section, then select 'Offline Tools', and click on the 'GSTR-6 offline tool with amendments' link.

Step 3: The GSTR-6 offline tool will download. Before extracting the folder, verify that the file is not corrupted by matching its values with those listed under the GSTR-6 downloads section. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Open Windows PowerShell, which can be found via your Windows PC's search bar.
2. Input the command: Get-FileHash <File_Path> -Algorithm SHA256. For example: Get-FileHash C:\Users\YourUsername\Downloads\GSTR_6_Offline_Utility.zip -Algorithm SHA256.
3. Compare the resulting hash value with the one provided on the offline utility downloads page.
4. If the hash values match, extract the downloaded folder to find the GSTR6_WithoutAmendments_20180509_v1file.

Step 4: Open the extracted Excel file and click 'Enable Editing'. Subsequently, click 'Enable Content' within the Excel sheet.

How to Input Table-Wise Information in the Worksheet

1. When you launch the GSTR-6 offline utility, a prompt will ask if you wish to open a previously saved version. Selecting 'Yes' will load data from your last session, while 'No' will open a blank utility.
2. The GSTR-6 offline utility comprises eight distinct worksheets:
   • Read Me: Provides an introduction and guidelines for completing the utility.
   • Home: Used for entering fundamental details such as GSTIN, financial year, and tax period. It also contains buttons for 'Generate JSON file to upload', 'Get summary', 'Open downloaded error JSON file', and 'Open downloaded GSTR-6 JSON file'.
   • 3 – B2B: Captures details of inward supplies received from registered suppliers. Note that 'Status of GSTR ⅕' and 'Invoice Status' cannot be modified.
   • 6B – CDN: Records details of debit/credit notes issued by suppliers. 'Status of GSTR ⅕' and 'Debit/Credit Note Status' are uneditable.
   • 6A – ITC received (B2BA): Allows for amendments to inward supply details received from registered suppliers. These details are amendable by the taxpayer.
   • 6C – CDNA: Facilitates amendments to debit/credit note details. These details are also amendable by the taxpayer.
   • 5,8 – Distribution of ITC: Contains information regarding the distribution of ITC through invoices and credit notes.
   • 9 – Amendment of distribution of ITC: Used for amending details related to ITC distribution via invoices and credit notes, which can be modified by the taxpayer.

In the 'Action' column, choose either 'add' or 'delete'. If 'add' is selected, the GST portal will treat the invoices in that row as new data, adding them to the database. If previous details exist, they will be updated with the latest uploaded information. Choosing 'Delete' will remove the invoice from that row from the database upon upload. After inputting all necessary details, validate each sheet individually.

• Successful Validation: A message stating 'No errors found' will appear. The taxpayer can click 'OK' to proceed with JSON file generation.

• Unsuccessful Validation: An error message will pop up. Click 'OK'. Cells with errors will be highlighted in red, and the 'Sheet Validation Errors' column will display the error message. Correct these errors based on the yellow description box.

After correcting all errors, click 'Validate Sheet' again. If no errors remain, a 'No errors found' pop-up will appear. Click 'OK' to return to the home screen, where a 'Summary is successfully generated' message will be displayed. Click 'OK' to generate the summary.

How to Create the JSON File for Upload

Once validation is successfully completed, return to the home screen and click 'Generate JSON file to upload'.

Select a location to save the JSON file, ensuring that the .json extension remains unchanged. A confirmation message will appear; click 'OK'.

How to Upload the Generated GSTR-6 JSON File

1. Visit the GST portal.
2. Navigate to 'Services' > 'Returns' > 'Returns dashboard'.
3. On the 'File Returns' page, select the financial year and the relevant return filing period. Then, click 'Search'.
4. Under the GSTR-6 tile, click the 'Prepare Offline' button.
5. Click 'Choose File' and select the prepared JSON file for upload.
6. The uploaded JSON file will undergo validation. Only upon successful validation will the details be updated in the respective tables.

If errors occur during validation, they will be reported on the GST portal. The error report can be downloaded from the portal as described below.

How to Download and Rectify an Error JSON File (If Applicable)

1. The upload status will indicate 'Processed with Error'.
2. Click the 'Generate error report' link to initiate the report generation.
3. Once the report is generated, click 'Download error report' to save the file.
4. Extract the downloaded folder to access the JSON file.
5. Open the GSTR-6 tool, go to the 'Home' tab, and click 'Open downloaded error JSON files'.
6. A file dialog box will open. Navigate to the extracted folder and click 'Open'.
7. A success message will be displayed; click 'OK'.
8. Correct the errors as indicated in the 'GST portal validation errors' column across all applicable sheets.
9. After making corrections, click 'Validate Sheet'. Upon successful validation, click 'Get Summary'. A summary page will then be shown.
10. Finally, click 'Generate JSON file to upload' to create the corrected JSON file.