Late Fee On GST Waived, Interest Stays

The government has waived Rs 200 a day penalty on late payment of the Goods and Services Tax in a partial relief as taxpayers will still have to pay the interest.

“Late fee for all taxpayers who could not file GSTR-3B (form) for July 2017 has been waived, but not the interest on late payment of dues,” the Central Board of Excise and Customs said in a press release. Taxpayers who have submitted their GSTR-3B returns but haven't paid the tax shall be liable to pay interest at 18 percent after August 26, the CBEC said.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, while revealing GST collections for July, had said that a daily late fee of Rs 100 each will be charged for Central and State GST if the tax is not paid till August 25.

The CBEC notification also says changes and corrections to the GSTR-3B return can be made through GSTR-1 and GSTR-2. If a taxpayer has made any error in outward supplies in GSTR-3B, it can be corrected in GSTR-1. Corrections in inward supplies or input credit can be made through GSTR-2.

Also Read: Over Rs 92,000 Crore Received As GST For July

In case of a shortfall in tax payment, the unpaid amount will have to be paid with interest from August 26. If a taxpayer claims excess transitional input credit, it would be added to the output tax liability and will have to be paid along with interest.

Unused input tax credit will be transferred to the taxpayers' account, and can be set off against the additional output tax liability.

The decision to waive the late fee is a relief as many taxpayers are yet to adapt to the new system, said Abhishek Jain, partner-indirect taxes at EY India. Clarity on making corrections will also help as many taxpayers were concerned about errors in GSTR-3B returns, he said.

Also Read: More Than 36 Lakh Businesses File GST Returns So Far