Late Fee- Any need of Amnesty Scheme in prospective Tax Period?
Rationalization of the late fee imposed under section 47 of the CGST Act
(Summary of Notification No. 19/2021, Notification No. 20/2021 Notification No. 21/2021 Notification No. 22/2021 also known as GST late fee waiver notification 2021)
Table of Contents
- Capping of late fee of FORM GSTR-3B and FORM GSTR-1
- Capping of late fee of FORM GSTR-4 (Composite Dealer)
- Capping of late fee of FORM GSTR-7
- Tabular Summarization of Late Fees
To reduce the burden of late fee on smaller taxpayers, the upper cap of late fee is being rationalized to align late fee with tax liability/ turnover of the taxpayers, as follows:
A. The late fee for delay in furnishing of FORM GSTR-3B and FORM GSTR-1 to be capped, per return, for the tax period June 2021 onwards or quarter ending June 2021 onwards, as the case may be, as below (Notification No. 19/2021 for GSTR-3B and Notification No. 20/2021 for GSTR- 1) :
(i) For taxpayers having nil tax liability in GSTR-3B or nil outward supplies in GSTR-1, the late fee to be capped at Rs 500 (Rs 250 CGST + Rs 250 SGST)
(ii) For other taxpayers: The capping of late fees in the furnishing of FORM GSTR-3B and FORM GSTR-1 based on Annual Aggregate Turnover (AATO) in the preceding year:-
a) For taxpayers having Annual Aggregate Turnover (AATO) in the preceding year up to Rs 1.5 crore:-late fee to be capped to a maximum of Rs 2000 (1000 CGST+1000 SGST);
b) For taxpayers having AATO in the preceding year between Rs 1.5 crore to Rs 5 crore:-late fee to be capped to a maximum of Rs 5000 (2500 CGST+2500 SGST);
c) For taxpayers having AATO in the preceding year above Rs 5 crores:-late fee to be capped to a maximum of Rs 10000 (5000 CGST+5000 SGST).
Author Note: 1. Notification No. 19/2021 & Notification No. 20/2021 do not talk about category (c ),i.e., For taxpayers having AATO in the preceding year above Rs 5 crores, because section 47 itself talk about maximum capping of Rs. 10000 (5000 CGST+5000 SGST).
- Late fees are Rs, 20 per GSTR -3B in case of NIL return and Rs. 50 in other cases
B. The late fee for delay in furnishing of FORM GSTR-4 by composition taxpayers to be capped, per return for the financial year 2021-22 onwards, as below (Notification No. 21/2021 for GSTR-4):-
(i) For taxpayer having tax liability nil in the return: The late fee for delay in furnishing of FORM GSTR-4 by composition taxpayers to be capped to Rs 500 (Rs 250 CGST + Rs 250 SGST) per return, if the tax liability is nil in the return,
(ii) For other taxpayers: The late fee for delay in furnishing of FORM GSTR-4 by composition taxpayers to be capped to Rs 2000 (Rs 1000 CGST + Rs 1000 SGST) per return in other cases.
Note: GSTR- 4 is to be filed by Composite Dealer. From FY 2019-20, Composite dealer has to file challan-cum-statement. i.e., CMP-08 on a quarterly basis and GSTR-4 is his annual return.
C. Late fee payable for delayed furnishing of FORM GSTR-7 for the month of June 2021 onwards, (Notification No. 22/2021 for GSTR-7):- Late fee payable for delayed furnishing of FORM GSTR-7 to be reduced to Rs.50/- per day (Rs. 25 CGST + Rs 25 SGST)
AND
to be capped to a maximum of Rs 2000/- (Rs. 1,000 CGST + Rs 1,000 SGST) per return.
Note: The person who is deducting TDS under GST has to file GSTR-7. As per Section 51 of CGST ACT following need to deduct TDS :
- A department or establishment of the Central or State Government, or
- The local authority, or
- Governmental agencies, or
- Persons or category of persons as may be notified
Tabular Summarization of Late Fees of GSTR
S.No. | Class of Registered person | GST Return | Notification No. | Maximum Capping of Late Fees per return |
1. | Registered persons whose total amount of GST tax payable in the said return is nil | GSTR-3B & GSTR-1 | NN 19/2021 & NN 20/2021 | Rs500 (Rs.250 CGST+ Rs.250 SGST) |
2. | Registered persons having an aggregate turnover of up to rupees 1.5 crores in the preceding financial year, other than those covered under S. No. 1 | GSTR-3B & GSTR-1 | NN 19/2021 & NN 20/2021 | Rs.1,000 (Rs.500 CGST+ Rs.500 SGST) |
3. | Registered persons having an aggregate turnover of more than rupees 1.5 crores and up to rupees 5 crores in the preceding financial year, other than those covered under S. No. 1 | GSTR-3B & GSTR-1 | NN 19/2021 & NN 20/2021 | Rs.2,000 (Rs.1,000 CGST+ Rs.1,000 SGST) |
4. | Composition taxpayers if the tax liability is nil | GSTR-4 | NN 21/2021 | Rs500 (Rs.250 CGST+ Rs.250 SGST) |
5. | Composition taxpayers are other than those covered under S. No. 4 | GSTR-4 | NN 21/2021 | Rs.2,000 (Rs.1,000 CGST+ Rs.1,000 SGST) |
6. | TDS return under Sec 51 of CGST Act | GSTR-7 | NN 22/2021 | Rs.50/- per day (Rs. 25 CGST + Rs 25 SGST) AND a maximum of Rs 2000/- (Rs. 1,000 CGST + Rs 1,000 SGST) |