Covid Relief Measures Introduced for GST Taxpayers

Sakshi Jain, CA LLB at March 28, 2024

Know About Covid Relief Measures for GST Taxpayers

The finance ministry hit an impressive gross GST revenue collection for the month of April 2021, setting a record high at Rs. 141,384 crores. However, the covid wave has hit a rough patch and there are no signs of any improvement and hence, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has decided to grant relief to taxpayers in meeting statutory and compliance requirements. Let’s take a walk through the changes that have been introduced in light of the pandemic: Relief in Interest Rates:

S.No.	Description	Relief in interest rates	Tax Period
1	For registered persons having an aggregate turnover of upto Rs. 5 crore	Nil rate of interest rate for the first 15 days from the due date, 9% for the next 15 days, 18% thereafter	Mar-April '21 for normal tax payers; Jan-Mar '21 for taxpayers under QRMP scheme
2	For registered persons having an aggregate turnover of > Rs. 5 crore	Interest rate at 9% for the first 15 days from the due date, 18% thereafter	Mar-April '21
3	For taxpayers who have opted for composition scheme	Nil rate of interest rate for the first 15 days from the due date, 9% for the next 15 days, 18% thereafter	Mar-April '21

Waiver of late fee:

S.No	Description	Waiver of Late Fee	Tax Period
1	For registered persons having an aggregate turnover of upto Rs. 5 crore	Late fee waived for 30 days in respect of FORM GSTR-3B furnished beyond the due date	Mar-April '21 for normal tax payers; Jan-Mar '21 for taxpayers under QRMP scheme
2	For registered persons having an aggregate turnover of > Rs. 5 crore	Late fee waived for 15 days in respect of FORM GSTR-3B furnished beyond the due date	Mar-April '21

Revision in return filing due dates:

S.No	GSTR Form	Tax Period	Revised Due date
1	GSTR -1	April '21	26-May-21
2	Invoice Furnishing Facility	April '21	28-May-21
3	GSTR-4	FY 20-21	31-May-21
4	Form ITC-04	Jan- Mar '21	31-May-21

Other amendments:

The time limit for completion of actions by any authority under the GST Act, due dates of which fall within the period of 15th April, 2021 to 30th May, 2021, has been shifted to 31st May, 2021.
Filing of GSTR-3B, GSTR-1, IFF by companies using electronic verification code has been enabled for the period from 27.04.2021 to 31.05.2021.
105% cap on availment of ITC in FORM GSTR-3B which is applicable for the period of April and May ’21 has been extended to May 2021.

About the Author

Sakshi Jain, CA LLB

Content Manager

I am a content and marketing manager at Masters India. I am also a tax and finance content writer. I also write academic books on accounts and tax. I have an experience of 7+ years in Income Tax Read more...

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