Traders who have GST registrations but had no business transactions in a given year would soon get SMS for filing zero returns.

Union finance secretary Hasmukh Adhia shared the information during an interactive session with representatives of trade and industries here on Friday in which deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi, who heads the state commercial taxes department, participated.

Adhia was in the city to take stock of the GST implementation in Bihar and also discuss factors which were coming in the way of its compliance in the state. He had a long meeting with state commercial taxes department officials before taking part in the interactive session.

After listening to the suggestions and grievances of the traders and industrialists, Adhia said: “At present those filing zero returns need to visit the GST website and click on just one icon to file their zero returns. Soon a simpler option would be there and a phone number would be provided which would allow filing of zero returns through SMS.”

On low percentage of GST return filing in Bihar, he informed the participants that while 92 per cent of the returns were being filed by those who were registered in the old system also, only 8 per cent of traders who registered as new ones after GST was introduced, were filing returns and suggested that those who had opted for GST registration but were not doing any business should get their registrations cancelled.

Prior to the GST system, there were 1.66 lakh registered traders in Bihar under VAT, whereas 1.98 lakh new traders got themselves registered once GST was introduced.

On “poor functioning” of GST network, which was raised during the session, the Union finance secretary said the system was robust and had accepted 22 lakh returns in a day. “The system gets slower when there is huge rush of returns on the last day of filing it. Instead of waiting for the last date, a habit should be developed to file returns earlier to avoid such rush.”

Deputy chief minister Sushil Kumar Modi said the finance secretary was touring Bihar, Punjab and Himachal Pradesh because the GST collection was not up to the mark and even the percentage of return filing was lesser than normal average.