GST Due Dates Extension 3.0 due to COVID-19

Introduction:

1. Since the lockdown has begun in India due to the Covid – 2019, there have been many relaxations given by the Government in all fronts for compliance. This is the third time that the Government has announced relaxation for making compliance under GST. The present note explains in detail various notifications issued on 24.06.2020 based on the 40^th GST Council meeting held on 12.06.2020.

2. Impementation of Finance Act, 2020:

The Government has notified¹ the following sections which shall come into effect from 30 June 2020:

2.1. Section 2(114) of the CGST Act, 2017, had been amended by the Finance Act, 2020, to insert the following states within the definition of Union Territories:

a. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

b. Ladakh

2.2. Section 109 of the CGST Act, 2017, provides power to the Government for constitution of Appellate Tribunal and Benches. As per section 109(6), the Government shall by notify for each state or union territory a bench for Appellate Tribunal. Prior to the Finance Act, 2020, the Government had kept the provisions for state of Jammu and Kashmir Appellate Tribunal separate so that it can be constituted under the Jammu and Kashmir Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. Now, after re-organistaion of Jammu and Kashmir, the said provision is amended.

2.3. Section 168(2) gives exclusive power to Commissioners to execute the following powers:

a. Section 66(5): Expenses for examination and Audit of records, including remuneration of Chartered Accountant and Cost Accountant.

b. Second Proviso to Section 143(1): Extention of time limit for receipt of goods from Job Work

Whilst other powers under the said Section can be exercised by Joint Secretary or Comissioners both, the said amendment has withdrawn the above powers from the Joint Secretary.

2.4. Section 172 of the CGST Act, 2017 gives powers to the Government to issue general or special orders for removal of difficulties based on recommendation of the Council. There time limit has been enhanced from three year to five years from the commencement of the CGST Act, 2017. Similar amendment has also been inserted in IGST Act, 2017².

Composition Dealer Rate:

3. The Government has amended³ Rule 7 of the CGST Rules, 2017. The amended table for rate of tax for the composition dealers is given below:

Sr No	Category of registered persons	Rate of Tax
1	Manufacturers, other than manufacturers of such  goods  as  may  be  notified  by  the  Government	1% of the turnover in the State or Union territory
2	Supply of goods, being food or any other article for human consumption or non alcoholic drink	5% of the turnover in the State or Union territory
3	Any other supplier eligible for composition levy under subsections (1) and (2) of section 10	1%  of  the  turnover  of taxable supplies of goods and services in the State or Union territory
4	Registered  persons  not  eligible  under  the composition levy under sub-sections (1) and (2), but eligible to opt to pay tax under sub-section (2A), of section 10	6%  of  the  turnover  of  taxable supplies of goods and services in the State or Union territory

Extension of due dates on the filing of GSTR-3B & Waiver of Interest, Late Fees:

4. The Government has not extended due dates for filing returns except for few cases. There is no relataion for the tax payers with turnover above Rs 5 Crores after May 2020. However, the Government has prescribed⁴ waiver of interest and late fees in different cases whereas encapsulated here as under:

Summary of due dates of filing of GSTR-3B, late fees & interest for the period from February 2020 to August 2020

Summary of due dates of filing of GSTR-3B, late fees & interest for the period from  February 2020 to August 2020
Category	Tax Period	Original Due Date	Revised Due Dates	Revised Late fee	Revised rate of Interest	Ref.
T/o > Rs 5 crores	Feb-20	20.03.20	20.03.20	NIL	Till 04.04.20 – Nil 04.04.20 to 24.06.20 – 9%	Note i
	Mar-20	20.04.20	20.04.20	NIL	Till  04.05.20 – Nil 04.05.20 to 24.06.20 – 9%
	Apr-20	20.05.20	20.05.20	NIL	Till  04.06.20 – Nil 04.06.20 to 24.06.20 – 9%
	May-20	20.06.20	27.06.20	50	18%
Specified States where T/o < Rs 5 crores	Feb-20	20.03.20	20.03.20	NIL till 30.06.20	Till 30.06.20 – Nil 30.06.20 to 30.09.20– 9%	Note ii
	Mar-20	20.04.20	20.04.20	NIL till 03.07.20	Till 03.07.20 – Nil 03.07.20 to 30.09.20– 9%
	Apr-20	20.05.20	20.05.20	Nil till 06.07.20	Till 06.07.20 – Nil 06.07.20 to 30.09.20– 9%
	May-20	20.06.20	20.06.20	Nil till 12.09.20	Till 12.09.20 – Nil 12.09.20 to 30.09.20– 9%
	Jun-20	20.07.20	20.07.20	NIL till 23.09.20	Till 23.09.20 – Nil 23.09.20 to 30.09.20– 9%
	Jul-20	20.08.20	20.08.20	Nil till 27.09.20	Till 27.09.20 – Nil 27.09.20 to 30.09.20 – 9%
	Aug-20	20.09.20	01.10.20	50	18%
Specified States where T/o < Rs 5 crores	Feb-20	20.03.20	20.03.20	NIL till 30.06.20	Till 30.06.20 – Nil 30.06.20 to 30.09.20 – 9%	Note iii
	Mar-20	20.04.20	20.04.20	NIL till 05.07.20	Till 05.07.20 – Nil  05.07.20 to 30.09.20 – 9%
	Apr-20	20.05.20	20.05.20	Nil till 09.07.20	Till 09.07.20 – Nil  06.07.20 to 30.09.20 – 9%
	May-20	20.06.20	20.06.20	Nil till 15.09.20	Till 15.09.20 – Nil 15.09.20 to 30.09.20 – 9%
	Jun-20	20.07.20	20.07.20	NIL till 25.09.20	Till 25.09.20 – Nil 25.09.20 to 30.09.20– 9%
	Jul-20	20.08.20	20.08.20	Nil till  29.09.20	Till 29.09.20 – Nil 29.09.20 to 30.09.20– 9%
	Aug-20	20.09.20	03.10.20	50	18%

Notes:

i. In case of Taxpayer having turnover of more than Rs. 5 Crore, the reduced rate of interest, late fees and moratorium of 15 days shall be only applicable if the taxpayer files the returns for the said period by 24.06.20. However, in case the taxpayer fails to file the same within the said date then he shall be liable to pay interest @ 18% p.a.

ii. 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 and Lakshadweep. The reduced rate of interest is applicable subject to the payment being made prior to 30.09.20.

iii.  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 and Delhi The reduced rate of interest is applicable subject to the payment being made prior to 30.09.20.

5. The late fees for delayed filing of Form GSTR 3B has also been reduced⁵ as per the table below for the returns filed from July 2017 to January 2020 :

Liability	Late Fees	Conditions
Tax payable	Not exceeding Rs 500/-	Form GSTR 3B to be filed
Nil	Nil	from 01.07.20 to 30.09.20

Waiver of Late Fees on GSTR-1:

6. Late fee is payable for delayed filing of GSTR-1 which has been completely waived⁶ as per the table below:

Sr. No.	Month / Quarter	Filed upto
1	March, 2020	10.07.20
2	April, 2020	24.07.20
3	May, 2020	28.07.20
4	June, 2020	05.08.20
5	Janaury to March, 2020	17.07.20
6	April to June, 2020	03.08.20

7. In case of any clarification/queries, please feel free to contact the undersign:

CA. Kevin Shah	Adv. Deep Shah	CA. Rovin Kothari
M: +91-96642 94346	M: +91-99204 10008	M: +91-98203 37515
E:  kevin.shah @ksaa.co.in	E: deep.shah@ksaa.co.in	E: rovin.kothari@ksaa.co.in

Notes:

1 Notification 49/2020 dated 24-06-2020

2 Notification No 04/2020-IT dated 24.06.2020

3 Notification No. 50/2020-CT dated 24.06.2020

4 Notification No. 51/2020-CT dated 24.06.2020, Notification 52/2020-CT dated 24.06.2020, Notification 54/2020-CT dated 24.06.2020, Notification 02/2020-UT dated 24.06.2020, Notification 05/2020-IT dated 2020

5 Notification 52/2020-CT dated 24.06.2020

6 Notification 53/2020-CT dated 24.06.2020

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