Posted on by Nikita Bhatia

COVID-19 Relief Measures in GST

The Government has taken a pro-active approach in announcing COVID-19 Relief Measures in GST and easing out the compliance burden, which is a much-needed relief in the middle of the crisis that the world is facing currently.

The government has notified various relief measures undertaken with respect to GST Compliances. The details are elaborated here:

Extension of Due date – Return in Form GSTR-3B for the period February to April 2020:
Class of Taxpayers Period Relaxations Announced
    Due Dates of filing GSTR-3B Interest Late Fee
Taxpayer having aggregate turnover up to INR 1.5 crore in the previous Financial Year (FY) February 2020 30th June 2020 NIL No late fee for compliance done on or before the due dates of filing GSTR-3B.
  March 2020 3rd July 2020 NIL No late fee for compliance done on or before the due dates of filing GSTR-3B.
  April 2020 6th July 2020 NIL No late fee for compliance done on or before the due dates of filing GSTR-3B.
Taxpayer having aggregate turnover exceeding INR 1.5 crore and up to INR 5 Crore in the previous FY February to March 2020 29th June 2020 NIL No late fee for compliance done on or before the due dates of filing GSTR-3B.
  April 2020 30th June 2020 NIL No late fee for compliance done on or before the due dates of filing GSTR-3B.
Taxpayer having aggregate turnover exceeding INR 5 crore in the previous FY February to April 2020 24th June 2020 Nil for first 15 days from the due date, and 9% per annum thereafter No late fee for compliance done on or before the due dates of filing GSTR-3B.
Extension of Due date – Return in Form GSTR-3B for the May 2020:
Class of Taxpayers States Covered Due Dates
Aggregate Turnover exceeding INR 5 crore in the previous FY All States 27th June 2020
Aggregate Turnover exceeding INR 1.5 crore and up to INR Rs. 5 crore in the previous FY 14 States / Union Territories: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, the Union territories of Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep 12th July 2020
Aggregate Turnover exceeding INR 1.5 crore and up to INR Rs. 5 crore in the previous FY 22 States / Union Territories: Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Assam, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Odisha, the Union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Chandigarh, Delhi 14th July 2020
Extension of Due date – Return in Form GSTR-1:
Particulars Period Relaxations Announced
    Extended Due Date Late Fee
Taxable persons having aggregate turnover  exceeding  INR 1.5 crore (monthly return) March to May 2020 30th June 2020 No late fee for compliance on or before 30th June 2020
Taxable persons having aggregate turnover  up to  INR 1.5 crore (quarterly return) January to March 2020 30th June 2020 No late fee for compliance on or before 30th June 2020
Relaxation for Composition Dealers:
Particulars Current Due Date Extended Due Date
Due date of opting for composition scheme 31st March 2020 30th June 2020
Payment of tax via Form CMP-08 for the quarter Jan to Mar 2020 18th April 2020 7th July 2020
Filing of return in Form GSTR-4 for FY 2019-2020 30th April 2020 15th July 2020
Other Relief Measures:
  • Due date for issue of notice, notification, approval order, sanction order, filing of appeal, furnishing of return, statements, applications, reports, any other documents etc. under the GST laws, Customs Act and other Allied Laws where the time limit for any compliance under the GST laws where the time limit is expiring between 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020 shall be extended to 30th June 2020. 
  • Date for filing GST Annual Returns of FY 2018-19, which was due on 31st March, 2020 is extended till the last week of June 2020.
  • Rule 36(4) restricts the claim of Input Tax Credit (ITC) up to 10% above the ITC as per GSTR-2A. The Government has relaxed such restricting provisions and full ITC can be claimed without considering the ITC as per GSTR-2A for returns filed during the period February to August 2020. However, the ITC claimed has to be matched in a cumulative manner with GSTR 2A before filing GSTR 3B of September 2020, after following Rule 36(4).
  • Where an e-way bill has been generated and its validity expires during the period 20th March 2020 to 15th April 2020, the validity period of such e-way bill shall be extended to 30th April 2020.
  • The due date for amount payable under Sabka Vishwas Scheme (SVS) has been extended from 31st March to 30th June 2020. No interest shall be payable if amount paid with the said extended date.
  • Where the last date for filing of appeal etc., relating to Service Tax is falling within 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020, the same has been extended to 30th June 2020
  • Where the last date for filing of appeal, refund applications etc., under the Central Excise Act, Customs Act, and rules made thereunder is falling within 20th March 2020 to 29th June 2020, the same has been extended to 30th June 2020.

The Government has taken a pro-active approach in dealing with the situation by coming up with these relief measures and easing out the compliance burden, which is a much needed relief in the middle of the crisis that the world is facing currently.

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