Extension of GST Compliance due to 2nd Wave of COVID-19

CA Kevin Shah 05 May 2021 10,014 Views 0 comment Print Goods and Services Tax | Articles

Introduction:

1. COVID–19 situation has been absolutely alarming and the Central & State Governments alongwith local authorities are trying their level best to combat the current situation. To ease the burden, there are certain relaxations announced by the CBIC like the relaxations announced in 2020. The present note explains the relaxations announced vide various notifications issued on 01.05.2021.

Relaxation provided by CBIC:

2. The Government has prescribed[1] waiver of interest and late fees in different cases whereas encapsulated here as under:

2.1 Waiver of Late Fees & Interest:

Summary of due dates late fees & interest related to filing of FORM GSTR-3B for the month March 2021 & April 2021
Category	Period	Due Date for Payment	Late fee for GSTR 3B	Revised rate of Interest	Ref.
T/o > Rs 5 crores	Mar-21	20.04.21	Waived for 15 days from Original Due Date	Upto 20.04.21- Nil 21.04.21-05.05.21 – 9% 06.05.21– 18%
T/o > Rs 5 crores	Apr-21	20.05.21	Waived for 15 days from Original Due Date	Upto 20.05.21 – Nil 21.05.21-04.06.21 – 9% 05.06.21 Onwards – 18%
T/o < Rs 5 crores (Monthly return Filer)	Mar-21	20.04.21	Waived for 30 days from Original Due Date	Upto 05.05.21- Nil 06.05.21-20.05.21 – 9% 21.05.21 Onwards – 18%
T/o < Rs 5 crores (Monthly return Filer)	Apr-21	20.05.21	Waived for 30 days from Original Due Date	Upto 04.06.21- Nil 05.06.21-19.06.21 – 9% 20.06.21 Onwards – 18%
T/o < Rs 5 crores (QRMP Scheme)	Mar-21	22.04.21	Waived for 30 days from Original Due Date for period Jan-Mar 2021	Upto 07.05.21- Nil 08.05.21-22.05.21 – 9% 23.05.21 Onwards – 18%	Note i
T/o < Rs 5 crores (QRMP Scheme)	Apr-21	25.05.21		Upto 09.06.21- Nil 10.06.21-24.06.21 – 9% 25.06.21 Onwards – 18%	Note i
T/o < Rs 5 crores (QRMP Scheme)	Mar-21	24.04.21		Upto 09.05.21- Nil 10.05.21-24.05.21 – 9% 25.05.21 Onwards – 18%	Note ii
T/o < Rs 5 crores (QRMP Scheme)	Apr-21	25.05.21		Upto 09.06.21- Nil 10.06.21-24.06.21 – 9% 25.06.21 Onwards – 18%	Note ii
Composition Dealers (GSTR 4)	Quarter ending Mar-21	18.04.21	Waived upto 31.05.21	Upto 03.05.21- Nil 04.05.21-18.05.21 – 9% 19.05.21 Onwards – 18%

i. These provisions are applicable for tax payers where principal place of business is in States of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana or Andhra Pradesh or the Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands or Lakshadweep.

ii. These provisions are applicable for tax payers where principal place of business is in 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 or the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh or Delhi.

2.2 Extension of Due Dates:

Particulars	Original Due Date	Revised Due Date
GSTR 1 – April 2021[2]	11.05.21	26.05.21
ITC -04 (Job Work) [3]	25.04.21	31.05.21
*IFF – April 2021[4]	01.05.21 to 13.05.21	01.05.21 to 28.05.21

[*IFF = Information Furnishing Facility]

Availment of ITC as per GSTR 2A/2B:

3. Relaxation[5] has been provided to such taxpayers availing ITC for the month of April 2021 by way of introduction of a proviso so as to provide that the said restriction of availment up to 5% of matched ITC shall not apply to ITC availed in FORM GSTR-3B for the month April, 2021. However, the cumulative effect of the same would be provided in FORM GSTR-3B for the tax period of May, 2021.

The moratorium for Legal, Procedural compliances by taxpayers / Government[6]:

4. The Government has prescribed that in the following cases, the time limit shall be extended upto 31.05.21 where the time limit was falling between 15.04.21 to 30.05.21:

(a) completion of any proceeding or passing of any order or issuance of any notice, intimation, notification, sanction or approval or such other action, by whatever name called, by any authority, commission or tribunal, by whatever name called, under the provisions of the Acts stated above; or

(b) filing of any appeal, reply or application or furnishing of any report, document, return (ISD return, TDS returns, TCS returns and Non-Resident Taxable person), statement or such other record, by whatever name called, under the provisions of the Acts stated above;

5. The above extension of time-limit shall not be applicable for filing of returns, principles of issue of invoice, provisions relating to time of supply, search & seizure, arrest provisions, E-way bills under GST.

6. In cases where the time limit for verification of documents for registration was falling within 01.05.21 to 31.05.21, the time limit has been extended upto 15.06.21 for completion for such action.

7. In cases where notice has been issued for part/full rejection of refund and order issuance time limit falls within 15.04.21 to 30.05.21, the time limit to issue order shall be extended upto 31.05.21 or 15 days of receipt of reply from tax payer, whichever is later.

Illustration:

In a hypothetical case, Mr A has applied for refund u/r 89(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017

Scenario	A	B	C
Filing of RFD-01	01.03.2021	01.04.2021	01.02.2021
Issuance of RFD-03 (i.e., Deficiency Memo) (within 15 days as per Rule 90(2) of CGST Rules, 2017	N.A.	15.04.2021	N.A.
Revised Time Limit for issuing RFD-03	N.A.	Already issued*	N.A.
Time Limit for filing Fresh Refund Application	N.A.	31.05.2021	N.A.
Issuance of RFD-02 (Rule 90(1) of CGST Rules, 2017)	15.03.2021	15.06.2021	15.02.2021
Issuance of RFD-04 i.e., Provisional Refund (Rule 91(2) of CGST Rules, 2017)	22.03.2021	22.06.2021	22.02.2021
Issuance of RFD-08 (i.e. SCN) (Rule 92(3) of CGST Rules, 2017)	01.04.2021	01.07.2021	01.03.2021
Time limit for reply in RFD-09 (Rule 92(3) of CGST Rules, 2017) (Reply to SCN)	15.04.2021	15.07.2021	15.03.2021
Revised time limit for filing reply in RFD-09	31.05.2021	N.A.	N.A.
Time Limit for issuing order in RFD-06 (Rule 92(3)) i.e., 60 days from the date of RFD-02	15.05.2021	13.08.2021	15.04.2021
Revised time limit for issuing order in RFD-06	15.06.2021	N.A.	31.05.2021
Time limit for filing Appeal in APL-01 Section 107(1) – 3 Months from the date of order	14.09.2021	12.11.2021	30.08.2021

*In this scenario it is considered that, the issuing authority has not taken the benefit of issuing RFD-03 by availing extended benefit of Notification No. 41/2021-CT dated 01.05.2021. In case, if revised time limit as per the said notification is availed, then time limit applicable for filing fresh refund application will have to be determined by litigating the same.

Note: Such a scenario is illustrative in nature and may mutatis mutandis apply to all such compliances/procedures under the GST law except those specifically excluded.

IGST exemption on import of goods for COVID-19:

8. In light of the acute shortage of medicines and other related goods during the ongoing pandemic, India is receiving help from many foreign nations. To balance the same, certain goods attached as Annexure A would be exempt[7] from IGST [i.e. additional custom duty (equivalent to GST) applicable under section 3(7) of the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 read with section 5 of IGST Act, 2017] subject to that the following conditions upto 30.06.2021 and shall also apply to goods which are pending for clearance on the date of issue of this order subject to following conditions[8]:

8.1 Goods imported would be distributed free of cost for the purpose of COVID-19 relief by any entity, relief agency or statutory body appointed by the nodal authority. Further, such nodal authority shall by appointed by the State Government.

8.2 Before clearance of the goods, the importer produces a certificate from a nodal authority, appointed by a State Government, to the Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs, certifying that the imported goods are meant for free distribution for COVID-19 purpose.

8.3 The importer produces before the Deputy /Assistant Commissioner of Customs, as the case may be, at the port of import within a period of six months from the date of importation, or within such extended period not exceeding nine months from the said date as that Deputy/Assistant Commissioner of Customs may allow, a statement containing details of goods distributed free of cost duly certified by the said nodal authority of the State Government.

Annexure A

1. Goods covered under Notification No 27/2021-Costoms dated 20.04.2021

Sr. No.	Chapter or heading or sub–heading or tariff item	Description of goods
1	29	Remdesivir Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients.
2	29	Beta Cyclodextrin (SBEBCD) used in manufacture of Remdesivir, subject to the condition that the importer follows the procedure set out in the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, 2017
3	30	Injection Remdesivir

2. Goods covered under Notification No 28/2021-Costoms dated 24.04.2021

Sr. No.	Chapter or heading or sub–heading or tariff item	Description of goods
1	9019 20, 9804	Oxygen concentrator including flow meter, regulator, connectors and tubings
2	2804 40	Medical Oxygen
3	8421 39	Vacuum Pressure Swing Absorption (VPSA) and Pressure Swing Absorption (PSA) oxygen plants, Cryogenic oxygen Air Separation Units (ASUs) producing liquid/gaseous oxygen
4	7311	Oxygen canister
5	9018	Oxygen filling systems
6	7311	Oxygen storage tanks
7	9018	Oxygen generator
8	7311	ISO containers for Shipping Oxygen
9	7311, 8418 or 8419	Cryogenic road transport tanks for Oxygen
10	7311, 8418 or 8419	Oxygen cylinders including cryogenic cylinders and tanks
11	Any Chapter	Parts of goods at S.No.1 and 3 to 10 above, used in the manufacture of equipment related to the production, transportation, distribution or storage of Oxygen, subject to the condition that the importer follows the procedure set out in the Customs (Import of Goods at Concessional Rate of Duty) Rules, 2017
12	9019	Any other device from which oxygen can be generated
13	9018 or 9019	Ventilators, including ventilator with compressors; all accessories and tubings; humidifiers; viral filters (should be able to function as high flow device and come with nasal canula)
14	9018	High flow nasal canula device with all attachments; nasal canula for use with the device
15	6506 99 00	Helmets for use with non-invasive ventilation
16	9019	Non-invasive ventilation oronasal masks for ICU ventilators
17	9019	Non-invasive ventilation nasal masks for ICU ventilators
18	9019	COVID-19 vaccine