GST relaxations during lockdown



Quick Summary
The Ministry of Finance, through the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, has introduced several notifications providing relief on GST compliance due to the lockdown. These include extensions for filing returns like GSTR-4 and CMP-08, as well as relaxations on interest and late fees for delayed GSTR-3B filings, depending on turnover. Specific deadlines have been adjusted, and general extensions are available for various procedural compliances, though some exceptions apply.

Under GST Act

Ministry of Finance through Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs have notified, certain notifications vide number 30/2020 to 36/2020 dated 03rd April,2020 giving relaxation in lieu of upcoming GST Compliances. Same are summarized below for ease of reference:

Notification 30/2020-CT: Relaxation to Composition Taxpayers & ITC u/r 36(4)
Notification 34/2020-CT: Relaxation to Composition Taxpayers in filing compliances

Extension in Due Dates related to Composition Taxpayers

    

Matter

Applicable Form

New Due Date

Opting for composition scheme for Financial Year 2020-2021

CMP-02

30th June,2020

Payment of Input Tax Credit on value of closing stock because of opting in composition

ITC-03

31st July,2020

Applicability of Rule 36(4) of CGST Rules,2017

The application of Rule 36(4) in lieu of calculation of eligible & claimable Input Tax Credit shall be done cumulatively for the months of February,2020 to September,2020 and accordingly necessary effect shall be given while filing GSTR-3B of September,2019.

Extension in Due Dates related to filing of compliances

    

Matter

Applicable Form

New Due Date

Filing of Composition Annual Return for FY 2019-2020

GSTR-4

15th July,2020

Payment of Composition Tax for quarter ending 31st March,2020

CMP-08

07th July,2020

Notification 31/2020-CT:Relaxation in Interest payable on delayed payment of GST
Notification 32/2020-CT:Relaxation in late fees payable on delayed filing of GSTR-3B

About above 2 notifications, at the outset we need to mention that original due dates of filing of GSTR-3B has not been extended for the months of February,20 to April,20. It is only conditional relaxation in Interest and late fees which shall be allowed by government, only if, GSTR-3B for the months of February,20 to April,20 are filed by the dates given in the notification. In case GSTR-3B is not filed by given dates Interest @ 18% shall be calculated from the original due date and late fees shall also be calculated from the original due date. Same is summarized in the succeeding pages:

    

Category

Applicable on

Relaxation

Conditions

  1. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover more than ` 5 Cr in previous F.Y.

GSTR-3B for:

  • February,20
  • March,20
  • April,20
  • Interest shall be NIL, if GSTR-3B filed within 15 days from original due date
  • after 15 days interest will be charged @9% p.a.
  • Total Late fees shall be waived

GSTR-3B shall be filed as per prescribed schedule below:

Month

Date

February,2020

24.06.2020

March,2020

April, 2020

  1. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover more than ` 1.5 Cr and upto ` 5 Cr in previous F.Y.

GSTR-3B for:

  • February,20
  • March,20
  • April,20
  • Interest shall be NIL, if GSTR-3B is filed within prescribed schedule
  • Total Late fees shall be waived

GSTR-3B shall be filed as per prescribed schedule below:

Month

Date

February,2020

29.06.2020

March,2020

April, 2020

30.06.2020

  1. Taxpayers having aggregate upto ` 1.5 Cr in previous F.Y.

GSTR-3B for:

  • February,20
  • March,20
  • April,20
  • Interest shall be NIL, if GSTR-3B is filed within prescribed schedule.
  • Total Late fees shall be waive

GSTR-3B shall be filed as per prescribed schedule below:

Month

Date

February,2020

30.06.2020

March,2020

03.07.2020

April, 2020

06.07.2020

Furthermore, an illustration for category 1 taxpayers’ is given below which has been exactly picked up from Circular No. 136/06/2020-GST dated 03.04.2020. In illustration, GSTR-3B for March,2020 is considered, wherein due date will be 20.04.2020

Date of filing GSTR-3B

No. of days of delay

Relief Eligible?

Interest

02.05.2020

11

Yes

Zero interest

20.05.2020

30

Yes

Zero interest for 15 days + interest rate @9% p.a. for 15 days

20.06.2020

61

Yes

Zero interest for 15 days + interest rate @9% p.a. for 46 days

24.06.2020

65

Yes

Zero interest for 15 days + interest rate @9% p.a. for 50 days

30.06.2020

71

No

Interest rate @18% p.a. for 71 days (i.e. no benefit of Reduced interest)

GST Relaxations: Compliance Deadlines Extended

Notification 33/2020-CT: Relaxation in late fees payable on delayed filing of GSTR-1

    

Category

Applicable on

Relaxation

Conditions

  1. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover more than ` 1.50 Cr in previous F.Y.

(Monthly Filers)

GSTR-1 for:

  • March,20
  • April,20
  • May,20
  • Total Late fees shall be waived

GSTR-1 shall be filed on or before 30th June,2020

  1. Taxpayers having aggregate upto ` 1.5 Cr in previous F.Y.

(Quarterly Filers)

GSTR-1 for quarter ending March,2020

  • Total Late fees shall be waived

GSTR-1 shall be filed on or before 30th June,2020

Notification 35/2020-CT: General Relaxation with some exceptions

The notification states that wherever any time limit or due date for any sort of compliances like, submission of reply, passing of order, issuance of notice, completion of any proceedings, filing of appeal etc. is falling due between 20th March,2020 to 29th June,2020, then all such dates shall be extended upto 30th June,2020. But the extension shall not apply to following: -

    

Exceptions

 

Chapter-IV of the Act compliances

Time and Value of supply

Section 10(3)

Date on which turnover exceeds the limit prescribed under composition

Section-25

Time limit for applying registration under the Act.

Section-27

Registration time limit allowed to casual traders

Section-31

Time limit for issuance of Tax invoice

Section-37

Filing details outward supplies (because this has been separately dealt)

Section-47

Levy of late fees (because this has been separately dealt)

Section-50

Charging of Interest (because this has been separately dealt)

Section-69

Power to Arrest

Section-90

Liability of Partners of firm to pay taxes

Section-122

Levy pf Penalties

Section-129

Detention of Goods and Vehicles carrying the goods in transit

Section-39

Filing of Returns, however this shall not apply to:

  • GSTR-7 (Return of TDS/TCS)
  • GSTR-6 (Return by Input Service Distributor)
  • GSTR-5 (Return by registered Non-resident taxable person)

Section-68

Inspection of Goods in movement

Rules made under all the above sections

 

Extension of E-way bill validity

Further, in the same notification, it has been stated that all the E-way bills that are expiring between 20.03.2020 to 15.04.2020 shall be valid upto 30.04.2020.

 

Notification 36/2020-CT: Extension of Due date for GSTR-3B of May,2020

    

Category

Applicable on

New Due Date

  1. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover more than ` 5 Cr in previous F.Y.

All States

27th June,2020

  1. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover upto ` 5 Cr in previous F.Y.

14 States / UT:

Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, the UT of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep

12th July ,2020

  1. Taxpayers having aggregate turnover upto ` 5 Cr in previous F.Y.

22 States / UT:

Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, the UT of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Delhi

14th July, 2020

Disclaimer: The entire above stated article is squarely based on our opinion, derived from the interpretation of the respective sections, rules and circulars as amended and other notifications. The observations are the personal view and the authors do not take responsibility of the same and this cannot be quoted before any authority

FAQ :

The relaxations include extended due dates for filing returns such as GSTR-4 and CMP-08, and conditional waivers or reductions in interest and late fees for delayed GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 filings. General extensions for procedural compliances are also provided.

Yes, composition taxpayers have an extended due date of 30th June 2020 for opting into the composition scheme for FY 2020-2021, and 31st July 2020 for filing ITC-03 related to closing stock. The due date for filing the annual return (GSTR-4) for FY 2019-2020 is extended to 15th July 2020, and for paying composition tax (CMP-08) for the quarter ending 31st March 2020, it's extended to 7th July 2020.

The relaxation on interest and late fees for GSTR-3B depends on the taxpayer's aggregate turnover in the previous financial year and the filing date. For taxpayers with turnover over ₹5 Cr, interest is nil if filed within 15 days of the original due date, and waived late fees if filed by specific extended dates. Similar, tiered relaxations apply to taxpayers with turnover between ₹1.5 Cr and ₹5 Cr, and those with turnover up to ₹1.5 Cr.

No, the general extension of due dates to 30th June 2020 does not apply to certain exceptions, including compliances related to time and value of supply, registration, issuance of tax invoices, filing of outward supplies details, interest and late fees, arrest, penalties, and detention of goods.

The due date for GSTR-3B for May 2020 is 27th June 2020 for taxpayers with aggregate turnover over ₹5 Cr. For taxpayers with turnover up to ₹5 Cr, the due date is 12th July 2020 for 14 states/UTs and 14th July 2020 for the remaining 22 states/UTs.


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Chartered Accountant by profession. Interested in writing about GST.

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