Coronavirus Outbreak: Finance Minister Eases GST Deadlines, Waives Penalties For Small Firms
The finance minister has eased GST filing deadlines, waived penalties for small firms amid Covid-19 disruption.
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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman waived penalties, interest and late payment fees and extended compliance deadlines under the Goods and Services Tax Act to help small and medium enterprises tide over disruption caused by the new coronavirus outbreak. Here are the key announcements:
Form GSTR-3B
Registered businesses with an aggregate turnover of up to Rs 5 crore can now file summary GSTR-3B returns for March, April and May up to the last week of June without any interest, late fee or interest. GSTR-3B is a monthly self-declaration form businesses have to file for every registered location.
This is of significance for small businesses impacted by the Covid-19 crisis and the suffocating lockdown, Nand Kishore, partner at law firm DSK Legal, told BloombergQuint.
Deloitte India’s Mahesh Jaising said “this can be the first in the several steps for supporting the industry at this critical stage”.
Registered businesses having a turnover exceeding Rs 5 crore will not be subjected to late fees or penalty for delay or failure to file GSTR 3B returns before June 30. They must, however, pay interest at a reduced rate of 9 percent compared with the existing rate of 18 percent.
Tax experts expressed dismay over lack of a complete waiver of interest for large businesses.
Considering that the government expects the industry and businesses to support the labour and staff during the lockdown period by not resorting to layoffs, it would have been prudent on the part of the government to not levy interest even for large businesses.Nand Kishore, Partner, DSK Legal
Jaising said a waiver of interest for businesses having a turnover above Rs 5 crore could have helped in supporting liquidity, specifically for strained industries in the automobile, aviation and hospitality sectors.
Deadline To Opt For Composition Scheme Extended
Sitharaman extended the deadline for businesses to opt for the composition scheme till the end of June. The last date for paying tax for the quarter ending March and filing the annual return for 2019-20 by dealers under the composition scheme has been extended till the last week of June, 2020.
The composition scheme allows small businesses to pay GST at a fixed rate to ease compliance.
“The extension of GST return filing timelines together with the deferment of e-invoicing and new returns announced earlier would allow businesses to focus on resumption of business processes once normalcy resumes,” MS Mani, partner at Deloitte India, told BloombergQuint.
Extension For Filing Returns
The finance minister extended the due date for filing annual returns under the GST regime from existing March 31 till the end of June.
Businesses will also get a breather from compliances whose deadline falls between March 20 and June 29. This includes issuance of notices, approval orders, filing of appeals and certain other returns. The due date has been extended till June 30.
Other Announcements
The finance minister also extended the payment deadline under the Sabka Vishwas scheme to June 30. Additional interest will not be levied for the period between March and June if payments are made before the deadline, Sitharaman said.
The government will make necessary amendments in the law for these changes.