In view of the COVID-19 outbreak and the nation-wide lockdown, the Government has issued notifications in line with the Taxation and other Laws (Relaxation of certain provisions) Ordinance, 2020, amending the Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 (“CGST Rules”) and providing relaxations for compliances to the taxpayer.
Key relaxations under such notifications are summarised below.
1. NIL/reduced rate of interest payable on late payment of tax – Notification No. 31/2020-Central Tax dated April 3, 2020
Prescribes NIL or reduced rate of interest for delayed filing of form GSTR-3B for the months of February 2020, March 2020 and April 2020, subject to the condition that form GSTR-3B for the said months are filed within the prescribed due dates. Please refer the below table for the due dates and applicable rates of interest.
| Class of registered person | Rate of interest | Tax period | Due dates |
| Taxpayers having an aggregate turnover of more than INR 5 crores in the preceding financial year | Nil for the first 15 days from the due date and 9% thereafter | February 2020, March 2020 and April 2020 | June 24, 2020 |
| Taxpayers having an aggregate turnover of more than INR 1.5 crores and up to INR 5 crores in the preceding financial year | Nil | February 2020 and March 2020 | June 29, 2020 |
| April 2020 | June 30, 2020 | ||
| Taxpayers having an aggregate turnover of up to INR 1.5 crores in the preceding financial year | Nil | February 2020 | June 30, 2020 |
| March 2020 | July 03, 2020 | ||
| April 2020 | July 06, 2020 |
2. Late fees waived on delayed filing of Form GSTR 3B – Notification No. 32/2020-Central Tax dated April 3, 2020
Waives the amount of late fee payable on account of delayed filing of form GSTR-3B for the months of February 2020, March 2020 and April 2020, subject to condition that form GSTR-3B for the said months are filed within the prescribed due dates (as mentioned in the above table).
3. Late fees waived on delayed filing of Form GSTR 1 – Notification No. 33/2020-Central Tax dated April 3, 2020
Waives late fee payable on account of delayed filing of form GSTR-1 for the months of February 2020, March 2020 and April 2020 subject to the condition that form GSTR-1 for the said months are filed by June 30, 2020.
4. Due date for filing Form GSTR 3B for the month of May 2020 – Notification No. 36/2020-Central Tax dated April 3, 2020
Prescribes staggered due dates for filing form GSTR-3B for the month of May 2020. The due dates are tabulated below for ease of reference.
| Class of registered person | Due date | |
| Aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year of more than INR 5 crores | June 27, 2020 | |
| Aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year upto INR 5 crores, in the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, the Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands or Lakshadweep | July 12, 2020 | |
| Aggregate turnover in the preceding financial year upto INR 5 crores in the States of Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand or Odisha, the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh or Delhi | July 14, 2020 |
5. Time limits pertaining to various proceedings extended – Notification No. 35/2020-Central Tax dated April 3, 2020
Provides relaxation of completion or compliance of any action required to be undertaken by a registered person and/ or a tax authority (such as issuance of notices, orders, etc. and filing replies, appeals, etc.) during the period March 20, 2020 to June 29, 2020, under the provisions of Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (‘CGST Act’) and CGST Rules, by extending such time limit to June 30, 2020.
However, the said extension will not be available for undertaking compliances pertaining to obtaining registration, issuance of tax paying documents, filing of returns, payment of interest and late fees, power to arrest, liability of partners under Section 90 of CGST Act, levy of penalties for various offences, detention and seizure of goods and generation of e-way bills.
Further, the said notification provides relaxation in relation to e-way bills, by extending the validity of e-way bills expiring during the period March 20, 2020 to April 15, 2020, till April 30, 2020.
6. Relaxation in compliance with Rule 36(4) of CGST Rules – Notification No. 30/2020-Central Tax April 3, 2020 and Circular No. 136/06/2020-GST dated April 3, 2020
Provides that restriction prescribed for availing input tax credit as per the provisions of Rule 36(4) of CGST Rules, will not apply to input tax credit availed by the registered persons in form GSTR-3B for the months of February, March, April, May, June, July and August, 2020, however, the same will apply cumulatively for the said period and form GSTR-3B for the month of September, 2020 will be furnished with a cumulative adjustment of input tax credit for the said months in accordance with Rule 36(4) of CGST Rules.
7. Relaxation for dealers opting for composition scheme – Notification No. 30/2020-Central Tax dated April 3, 2020
Provides for a relaxed time period for filing intimation under form GST CMP-02 and statement in for GST ITC-03 required for intimating the authorities for opting for composition scheme, for the financial year 2020-21 till June 30, 2020 and July 31, 2020, respectively.
Further, Notification No. 34/2020-Central Tax dated April 3, 2020 prescribes due date for filing statement for payment of self-assessed tax in form GST CMP-08 for quarter ending March 31, 2020 to be July 7, 2020 and due date for filing form GSTR-4 for FY 2019-20 to be July 15, 2020.
Manish has more than 23 years of experience in Indirect taxation across Industry, Consulting and law firms.