FAQs of GSTR-10 Offline Utility

1. Can I file the complete Form GSTR-10 offline using Offline Utility?

  • No. Filing of Form GSTR-10 can take place only online on the GST Portal.

  • Using Offline Utility, you will be able to prepare details of Table 8A, 8B & 8C and Table 8D in the GSTR-10 Return only.

  • Once you have uploaded the prepared details on the GST Portal, you must file the return on the portal with your Login credentials.

2. What are the features of GSTR-10 Offline Utility?

  • The Key Features of GSTR-10 Offline Utility are:

  • The GSTR-10 details of Table 8A, 8B & 8C and Table 8D can be prepared offline with no connection to Internet.

  • Most of the data entry and business validations are inbuilt in the offline utility reducing errors upon upload to GST Portal.

  • Error files can be downloaded, corrected and uploaded on the GST Portal.

  • Uploaded details in Form GSTR-10 can be downloaded and corrected in GSTR-10 Offline utility.

3. From where can I download and use the GSTR-10 Offline Utility in my system?

To download and open the GSTR-10 Offline Utility in your system from the GST Portal, perform following steps:

  1. Access the GST Portal: www.gst.gov.in.

  2. Go to Downloads > Offline Tools > GSTR10 Offline Tool option and click on it.

  3. Unzip the downloaded Zip file which contain GSTR10_Offline_Utility.xls excel sheet.

  4. Open the GSTR10_Offline_Utility.xls excel sheet by double clicking on it.

  5. Read the ‘Read Me’ instructions on excel sheet and then fill the worksheet accordingly.

4. Do I need to login to GST Portal to download the GSTR-10 Offline Utility?

No. You can download the GSTR-10 Offline Utility under ‘Downloads’ section without logging in to the GST Portal.

5. Do I need to login to GST Portal to upload the generated JSON file using GSTR-10 Offline Utility?

Yes. You must login in to the GST Portal to upload the generated JSON file using GSTR-10 Offline Utility.

6. What are the basic system requirements/configurations required to use GSTR-10 Offline Tool?

The offline functions work best on Windows 7 and above and MSEXCEL 2007 and above.

7. Is Offline utility mobile compatible?

As of now, GSTR-10 Offline utility cannot be used on mobile. It can only be used on desktop/laptops.

8. How many worksheet-tabs are there in GSTR-10 Offline Utility

There are 5 worksheet-tabs in GSTR-10 Offline Utility. These are:

  1. Read Me

  2. Home

  3. Invoice_Available

  4. Inv_Not_Avail (with GSTIN)

  5. Inv_Not_Avail (without GSTIN)

9. What is the use of Read Me worksheet-tab?

The Read Me sheet contains Introduction and help instructions for you to read and use them to easily fill data in GSTR-10 Offline Utility.

10. What is the use of ‘Home’ worksheet-tab?

The Home sheet is the main page of the utility. It is used to perform following 5 functions:

  1. Enter mandatory details – GSTIN, Effective Date of Cancellation of Registration, and Non-mandatory details – Reference Number of Cancellation Order and Date of Cancellation Order — without entering these details, you will not be able to validate the data which you entered in table no. Table 8A, 8B & 8C or Table 8D and also you will not be able to import the json file into the offline utility.

  2. Generate JSON file, for upload of GSTR-10 return details prepared offline on GST portal, using Generate JSON File to upload button.

  3. Generate Summary of data entered in various worksheets using the Get Summary button.

  4. Import and open Error json File downloaded from GST portal using Open Downloaded Error JSON Files button.

  5. Import and open json File downloaded from GST portal using Open Downloaded GSTR10 JSON File button.

11. What is the use of ‘Invoice_Available’ worksheet-tab?

The Invoice_Available sheet contains Table 8A, 8B & 8C. It is used to perform following 3 functions:

  1. Enter details of inputs held in stock, semi-finished or finished goods held in stock and capital goods/ plant and machinery on which input tax credit is required to be reversed where invoices of supplier are available.

  2. Validate the entered details using the Validate Sheet button.

  3. Navigate to the Home page by clicking on the Go Home button.

12. What is the use of ‘Inv_Not_Avail (with GSTIN)’ worksheet-tab?

The Inv_Not_Avail (with GSTIN) sheet contains Table 8D. It is used to perform following 3 functions:

I. Enter details of input held in stock or inputs as contained in semi-finished or finished goods held in stock on which input tax credit is required to be reversed where invoices of supplier are not available.

II. Validate the entered details using the Validate Sheet button.

III. Navigate to the Home page using the Go Home button.

13. What is the use of ‘Inv_Not_Avail (without GSTIN)’ worksheet-tab?

The Inv_Not_Avail (without GSTIN) sheet contains Table 8D. It is used to perform following 3 functions:

  1. Enter details of input held in stock or inputs as contained in semi-finished or finished goods held in stock on which input tax credit is required to be reversed where invoices and GSTNIN/CX/VAT details of supplier are not available.

  2. Validate the entered details using the Validate Sheet button.

  3. Navigate to the Home page using the Go Home button.

14. Can the offline utility populate name of the taxpayer based on GSTIN?

No, the offline utility cannot populate name of the taxpayer based on GSTIN, as database will not be there to fetch the details of the taxpayer in Excel/offline utility.

15. How many rows can be entered in one sheet in the offline utility?

You can enter maximum 10000 rows per sheet in the offline utility.

16. I have mistakenly entered rows with details. Should I use the “Delete”

option from the dropdown of “Action” column to delete these rows? No, delete the incorrect data in the utility manually using the “Delete” button of your keyboard. Add and Delete options of the “Action” column are meant for adding or deleting data in the GST portal.

17. Can I enter negative or decimal amounts in the offline utility?

No, you cannot enter any negative value in the utility. But, you will be able to enter decimal values. All decimal values would be rounded off to two decimal places.

18. Can the offline utility validate all details entered in it?

No, the offline utility will not be able to validate all the details as it would have no connection with GST portal at the time of data entry. Only limited validations would be available in the offline utility tool, namely: GSTIN structure format, goods type, UQC, type of tax etc.

19. After clicking “Validate Sheet” button, I can see cells highlighted in red and “Sheet Validation” column only shows “Error in row”. Where is the error description?

Point your mouse-cursor on each of the red-highlighted cells to read the error description of each cell. A yellow description box will appear. Correct the errors as mentioned in the description box. Alternatively, click Review > Show All Comments link in the ribbon-tab of the excel to view all the comments together.

20. When will I be able to validate all details entered in the offline utility?

The validations that have dependency of online connectivity would be done at the time of upload of JSON File created using offline tool.

21. Does the downloaded Error JSON File contain all the entries I have uploaded on the GST Portal?

No, the downloaded Error JSON File contains only the erroneous entries that failed validation during upload on the GST portal.

22. I’ve uploaded GSTR-10 JSON File and it was processed without error. Do I need to download the generated file?

No, it is not necessary for you to download the GSTR-10 JSON File processed without error. You need to download it only if you want to update, add or delete the details added previously.

23. What is the relevance of “Add” button under Action column?

If you select “Add” under Action column, GST Portal will treat invoice from that row as new data and will add in database. In case, the invoice is already present, then it will replace the existing invoice with the latest added details.

24. What is the relevance of “Delete” button under Action column?

If you select “Delete” under Action column, invoice from that row will be deleted from database after upload on the GST Portal. In case, the invoice is not present, there will be no action and no invoices will get deleted on the GST Portal.

25. I am uploading GSTR-10 JSON File again, after making changes. What will happen to details of the previous upload?

If some details exist from previous upload, it will be updated with latest uploaded details. All new entries will be added as new entries.

26. Is there a list of key Dos and Don’ts we need to keep in mind while making entries in the utility?

Yes. Please refer to the following list of Dos and Don’ts for your easy reference.

Before Generating JSON File…
Do’s Don’ts
Enter a valid GSTIN very carefully. Verify GSTIN from the GST portal: Home > Search Taxpayer > Search by GSTIN/UIN, and make sure the GSTIN registration is active on the date of issue of invoice/note Don’t type the alphabet ‘O’ in place of the number ‘0’.
Enter Alphanumeric characters, with allowed special characters of slash(/) , dash(-) and whitespace ( ) and restricted to maximum length 50 only in the description column. Don’t enter any special character like *, (.
Amount of ITC claimed should be less than or equal to Value —-
CGST and SGST amount should be same —-
You can use the Copy/Paste (Ctrl+C/Ctrl+V) keyboard functions while entering data in the utility. Don’t use the Cut (Ctrl+X) keyboard function while entering data in the utility.
Use Add option in sheets for first-time upload. Don’t use Delete option in sheets for firsttime upload.
—- Don’t forget to click Validate Sheet button after making changes in any of the sheets
Enter date of invoice/bill of entry in DD-MMYYYY. E.g. 24-07-2017. System date should be in DD-MM-YYYY format. Don’t use any other format like dd/mm/yyyy or mm/dd/yyyy.
You may change the file name and location of the generated JSON file. Don’t change the extension (.json) of the generated JSON file.

For more FAQs related to Online filing of GSTR-10 on the GST Portal, refer to https://tutorial.gst.gov.in/userguide/returns/index.htm#t=FAQs_GSTR-10.htm