The government has once again formulated a GST Amnesty
scheme to provide relief to taxpayers who have been deprived of GSTR-3B
submission for the previous tax period. In this article, get the full details
of the benefits of this plan with the latest updates. Also, find out about late
fee relief, issues that have not yet been resolved and possible solutions.
What is the meaning of the GST Amnesty scheme?
The GST Amnesty scheme was first announced to cover the
period from July 2017 to September 2018. Taxpayers can file these pending
returns by March 31, 2019, or earlier. In early 2020, many tax professionals
and industrialists urged the government to open a GST apology plan for several
months due to the COVID epidemic. Eventually the government accepted their
request.
For the second time, the CBIC implemented the GST Amnesty
scheme through a notification dated 1 June 2021. This applies to all pending
GSTR-3B returns from previous tax periods between July 2017 and April 2021.
GST Amnesty’s plan for 2021:
According to the Central Tax Notice No. 33/2021 issued on 29
August 2021, the budget for the GST Amnesty scheme has been increased from the
previous date of 31 August 2021 to 30 November 2021. This means that taxpayers
who are pending GSTR-3B can file such returns with a minimum delay fee between
July 2017 and April 2021, or 30 November 2021 or earlier.
Earlier, the GST Amnesty Prayer Scheme was implemented from
June 1, 2021, to August 31, 2021, according to CBIC's latest Central Tax Notice
No. 19/2021, issued on June 1, 2021. The periods from July 2017 to April 2021
can be filed in the GST portal within that time frame.
Benefits of GST Amnesty Scheme 2021:
Taxpayers cannot file a GSTR-3B of a certain tax period
without submitting the previous ones. In addition, suppose the taxpayer has not
submitted a GSTR-3B for six consecutive tax periods or three consecutive quarters
per three months.
In that case, they may be subject to cancellation of GST
registration This could affect their business as a customer, or GST-registered
customers may refuse to do business with you, or cancel the GSTR-3B’s full
compliance agreement to ensure the smooth running of the company.
Taxpayers will benefit from this relief as they will not pay
a late fee, which will discourage them from filing any pending GSTR-3B returns.
In addition, the lockdown and severe financial conditions caused by the
epidemic have severely affected the situation, helping taxpayers to rebuild
their businesses.
What is the reduction in the delay fee under the GST Amnesty r scheme?
Under the GST Amnesty scheme, ticket holders will get a
discount on late fees. The maximum delay fee for GSTR-3B is limited to Rs 1,000
per return (i.e. 500 under CGST and 500 under SGST), which is liable for any
tax other than the submission of Neil GSTR-3B.
On the other hand, the maximum delay fee to be paid for a
Neil GSTR-3B is set at Rs 500 (i.e. Rs 250 each under CGST and SGST). In other
words, the delay in payment for such a return will be less than the lower two
amounts Calculate according to the law for each day delay. For example, suppose XYZ & Co did not submit GSTR-3B by
January 2021 to February 20, 2021, but now wants to file on August 2, 2021.
According to the law, the delay fee would have been Rs. 8,150 for 163 days
delay for GSTR-3B with tax liability.
However, the maximum delay under the scheme is limited to Rs
1,000 for GSTR-3B refunds for January 2021. Therefore, XYZ & Co will have
to pay a delay of Rs 1,000 for such returns, tax liability, and filing.
Interest applicable under the Act.
Challenges and issues under the GST Amnesty Scheme:
Although the plan aims to provide relief to non-filters who
want to continue their business by properly announcing GST data, it is not
immune to interruptions. There were some challenges and issues with the GST
Amnesty scheme.
There is no
relaxation on interest payments:
Those who are responsible for taxes. And those who have not
filed GSTR-3B are not exempted from interest However, only the maximum delay
fee for filing it before 31 August 2021 is comfortable.
The input tax credit
is not acceptable:
Some tax professionals are questioning the acceptability of
Input Tax Credit (ITC) under the GST Amnesty scheme. The adoption of the ITC
under the scheme is a real concern raised by tax experts. Although the amnesty
scheme allows pending tax payments for the previous period, it remains silent
on the ITC claim at the same return of the previous financial year.
The CGST Act sets a deadline for ITC claims Tax invoices or
debit notes issued in the financial year may be claimed two days in advance by
the ITC. These are the target dates for submitting GSTR-3B for September of the
year after the financial year and the annual return. For example, estimate the target date for filing GSTR-3B for
September 2020 is October 20, 2020. The annual return of form GSTR-9 is
scheduled for December 31, 2020. Then, the maximum time to claim ITC for
2019-20 FY was 20th In GSTR-3B of September 2020.
The government reduced the delay fee for submitting GSTR-3B
of previous tax periods and extended the deadline. Of course, this did not go
beyond the ITC claim deadline for the same period. So it forbids taxpayers to
report ITC when submitting the last tax time GSTR-3B. The ITC cannot make such
claims under the Acceptance Apology Scheme.
Under the
scheme, there is no relief in submitting GSTR-1 delays:
GSTR-1 returns are not covered by this plan .So there is no
late waiver or relief to file a pending GSTR-1 for the same tax period as the
GSTR-3B that the taxpayer wants to file.
- Cancelled GST registration.
- Note that ticket issuers cannot
process GSTR-3B returns without an active GSTIN.
- Recently, the CBIC issued a press
release and also issued the Central Tax Notice No. 34/2021 on August 29, 2021.
Accordingly, the deadline to apply for cancellation of the GST registration
stand has been extended to September 30, 2021, if GST is available. GSTR-3B
[CGST Act Section 29 (2) was canceled between 1 March 2020 and 31 August 2021
due to non-submission of sections (b) and (c).
Until August 29, no clear explanation was given about the
previously canceled GSTN due to non-submission of past GSTR-3B returns, where
and how to withdraw or reinstate where the aggrieved taxpayer preferred an
application.
Solve problems:
Taking into account these aspects, the taxpayers need to be
given the full benefits of the scheme. The government should include the scope
of the scheme in GSTR-1, GSTR-9, and GSTR-10 and allow the ITC of the past
where the deadline has expired. Mainly, the options for revising the returns
should be made available to such ITC recipients. So the government must take
care of this dissatisfaction and rectify the legal gap soon.
Now that you know everything about the GST Amnesty scheme,
it is time to submit a 100% accurate GST return on Clear GST software by August
31, 2021, as it is already done for you automatically. If this is a file
return, you need 30 seconds with Clear GST software.
