The 40th GST Council met under the Chairmanship of Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman through video conferencing on12th June 2020. This was the first GST Council meet after the successive lockdowns due to Covid-19 pandemic.
The following recommendations were made related to changes in Law & Procedure:
1. Reduction of Late Fees for Past Returns
As a measure to clean up pendency in return filing, late fees for non-furnishing FORM GSTR-3B for the tax period from July 2017 to January 2020 has been reduced/waived as under:
a)'NIL’ late fee if there is no tax liability.
b)Maximum late fee capped at Rs. 500/- per return if there is any tax liability.
The Reduced Late Fees would apply for all the GSTR-3B returns furnished between 1 July 2017 to 30 September 2020.
2. Further relief for small taxpayers for late filing of returns for February, March & April 2020 Tax periods:
For small taxpayers (aggregate turnover up to Rs.5 Crores), for the supplies effected in the month of February, March and April 2020, the rate of interest for late furnishing of return for the said months beyond specified dates (staggered up to 6th July 2020) is reduced from 18% per annum to 9% per annum till 30th September 2020.
In other words, for these months, small taxpayers will not be charged any interest till the notified dates for relief (staggered up to 6th July 2020) and thereafter 9% interest will be charged till 30.09.2020.
3. Relief for small taxpayers for subsequent tax periods (May, June & July 2020):
In wake of COVID-19 pandemic, for taxpayers having aggregate turnover up to Rs. 5 Crores, further relief is provided by waiver of late fees and interest if the returns in FORM GSTR-3B for the supplies effected in the months of May, June and July 2020 are furnished by September 2020 (staggered dates to be notified).
4. One time extension in period for seeking revocation of cancellation of registration:
To facilitate taxpayers who could not get their cancelled GST registrations restored in time, an opportunity is being provided for filing of the application for revocation of cancellation of registration up to 30th September 2020, in all cases where registrations have been cancelled till 12th June 2020.
Source: Press Information Bureau
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