GST Amnesty scheme section 128A

The GST Amnesty scheme, under section 128A, provides a waiver of interest and penalty for certain cases.

 In your situation, where the order passed under section 73 has no tax demand, but only penalty and late fees for delay in filing GSTR 9 & 9C, the waiver may apply.

However, the waiver is only applicable if the penalty and late fees are related to a tax demand.

Since there is no tax demand in your case, the waiver might not be directly applicable.

To clarify: -

Section 128A waives interest and penalty for cases where tax is paid and the penalty is related to the tax demand. - Your case has no tax demand, only penalty and late fees for delay in filing.

You may want to: 

1. Review the GST Amnesty scheme's provisions and guidance issued by the tax authorities. 

2. Reach out to the tax department or seek clarification through a formal application. Remember, the interpretation of tax laws and amnesty schemes can be 

Section 128A amnesty is one of the most significant GST reliefs available right now, but the filing process has several steps that are easy to get wrong.

KEY STEPS IN ORDER:
1. Pay the full tax amount using Form GST DRC-03 BEFORE filing SPL-01 or SPL-02
2. File SPL-01 for notices/statements under Section 128A(1)(a), demand orders issued after an SCN
3. File SPL-02 for orders in appeal or revision proceedings
4. The system generates an acknowledgement and routes to the jurisdictional officer for verification

CRITICAL: The waiver applies only to interest and penalty, the principal GST amount must be paid in full. Partial payments do not qualify. If your DRC-03 covers only a portion, the entire application may be rejected.

ALSO CRITICAL: If you have a pending appeal, you must withdraw it BEFORE filing under 128A. CBIC clarified via circular that maintaining a parallel appeal disqualifies the waiver benefit.

The original deadline was March 31, 2025 for tax payment. This has been extended, verify the current cut-off at the GST portal before filing. Some jurisdictions are still processing older applications.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of SPL-01/SPL-02 with screenshots of the portal flow, see: taxgarden.in/blog/gst-section-128a-interest-penalty-waiver-scheme-india-2026, a practising CA