Amazon Seller GSTR-1 Filing: MTR Report to Filed Return in 5 Steps

To file GSTR-1 as an Amazon seller, download the two Merchant Tax Report (MTR) files for the period, B2B and B2C, from Seller Central. Put business invoices in Table 4, consumer sales net of returns in Table 7, then add the HSN summary, document count and the Amazon total in Tables 12, 13 and 14. File by the 11th.

What is the MTR and why are there two files?

GSTR-1 is the monthly or quarterly statement of everything you sold. Amazon does not file it for you. What Amazon gives you is the raw material: the Merchant Tax Report, a line-by-line list of every invoice, refund and cancellation raised under your GSTIN.

It comes in two files because GST treats the two kinds of buyer differently. A registered buyer wants to claim input tax credit, so the government needs each invoice with the buyer's GSTIN. A consumer claims nothing, so a state-wise total is enough.

The click path is in our guide on downloading the Amazon GST report.

The 5 steps from MTR to filed return

1. Download both MTR files for the period. One month if you file monthly, all three months if you file quarterly. Do not edit the files.
2. Separate shipments, refunds and cancellations. Each MTR row carries a transaction type. Shipments are sales. Refunds are returns. A cancelled order was never supplied, so it adds nothing to your taxable value, though a cancelled invoice number still counts in Table 13.
3. Build the five tables. B2B invoices go to Table 4 one by one. B2C sales, less refunds, go to Table 7 as totals for each state and tax rate. Then add the HSN-wise summary (Table 12), the invoice and credit note series (Table 13) and the net sales under Amazon's GSTIN (Table 14).
4. Cross-check three totals. Table 12 should agree with Tables 4, 7 and 9B. Table 14 should agree with your total Amazon sales. The tax in the return should agree with the tax columns of the MTR.
5. Upload and file on the GST portal. Enter the figures online or upload a JSON file, generate the summary, then file with an OTP (EVC) or a digital signature. The portal clicks are in our portal filing guide.

Which sale lands in which table?

HSN is the product classification code. If your turnover is up to Rs 5 crore you give at least 4 digits, above that 6. The portal will not generate the summary without the B2B tab when you have B2B sales, or without Table 13. The B2C tab only draws a warning if left empty.

How are returns treated?

Does a return cancel the original sale? No. The sale stays in the month it was shipped. The refund reduces the month in which Amazon processed it. So a December order returned in January lowers January's figures, not December's.

For consumers, you simply report sales minus refunds in Table 7. For registered buyers, the refund is a credit note in Table 9B, linked to that buyer's GSTIN, so that their input tax credit comes down too. Tables 12 and 14 also carry the net figure.

A worked example

Say you sell from Gujarat, file monthly, and your December MTR files show this, all at 18% GST:

Your GSTR-1, due 11 January, would show:

• Table 4: two invoices, Rs 50,000 taxable, Rs 9,000 tax.
• Table 9B: one credit note, Rs 10,000 taxable, Rs 1,800 tax.
• Table 7: Rs 2,60,000 taxable and Rs 46,800 tax, split by state.
• Table 12: Rs 40,000 in the B2B tab and Rs 2,60,000 in the B2C tab.
• Table 14: Rs 3,00,000 net sales and Rs 54,000 tax against Amazon's GSTIN.

Net tax for the month is Rs 54,000. Amazon will also have collected tax at source (TCS) of 0.5% on the Rs 3,00,000 net value, which is Rs 1,500. That sits in your cash ledger once you accept it on the portal. See what TCS is for how to claim it.

The mistake Amazon sellers usually make

The common one is filing from the B2C file alone. The return looks complete, because most of your orders are consumer orders. But the B2B invoices never reach Table 4, your business buyers do not see the credit in their GSTR-2B, and they come back to you asking for it.

Two more to watch:

• Counting refunds as zero. If you report shipments only, you pay GST on goods that came back. In the example above that is Rs 7,200 of extra tax.
• The wrong Amazon GSTIN in Table 14. Amazon has a different GSTIN in each state. Use the one that appears on your TCS statement, or the department's matching will show a gap.

What does a slip cost? A late return costs Rs 50 a day, up to Rs 2,000 for a seller under Rs 1.5 crore turnover. A wrong return costs more in time, because you cannot revise it. You can correct it once through GSTR-1A before filing GSTR-3B, or in a later month's amendment tables.

Should you do this yourself?

If you have a few hundred orders, one GSTIN and mostly consumer sales, you can do this yourself in under an hour once you have done it twice. Consider paying someone if you store stock in Amazon warehouses in other states under separate registrations, because stock transfers between your own GSTINs add another layer, or if you have had a mismatch notice before.

Frequently asked questions

Read next