Only 19.3 lakh out of the 90 lakh taxpayers, who had to file their GST returns (forms 9, 9A and 9C) have done so by the August 3 deadline, reports The Times of India.

This means 80 percent tax filers did not file their GST returns for FY18 despite repeated deadline extensions. The latter has now again been extended till August 31.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs Chairman Pranab K Das in a letter to all top officials across the country is said to have encouraged them to initiate an outreach.

Businesses have repeatedly expressed discomfort with the complicated procedures. "If your business is spread in four states, you have four registrations, while the balance sheet is consolidated. So, you need to split things all over again. You can’t go by your monthly filings," the article quoted a tax lawyer as saying.

Moreover, companies with a turnover of Rs 2 crore need to be audited - a condition they have yet to fulfil. Many also claimed that chartered accounts preoccupied with income tax return filings (August 31 deadline) have impacted completion of their audits, the report added.