Govt waives late fee till June for delayed filing of GST returns

New Delhi: The government on Thursday waived late fees for two months till June for delayed filing of GST returns for financial year 2021-22 by small taxpayers registered under the composition scheme.

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) in a notification said that late fee shall be waived from May 1 to June 30, 2022, for delay in filing GSTR-4 for 2021-22 fiscal.

GSTR-4 is filed annually by the taxpayers registered under the composition scheme.

According to GST law, Rs 50 per day is charged as late fee for delay in filing GSTR-4. However, where the total amount of tax payable is nil, a maximum of Rs 500 can be imposed as late fee. For all other cases, the maximum fee that can be charged is Rs 2,000. GST composition scheme can be opted by any traders whose turnover is less than Rs 1.5 crore, while it is Rs 75 lakh for businesses in north-eastern states. Under the scheme, manufacturers and traders are required to pay GST at 1 per cent, while it is 5 per cent for restaurants (which do not serve alcohol) and 6 per cent for other service providers.

AMRG & Associates Senior Partner Rajat Mohan said for the convenience of small taxpayers, the government waived the late fee payable for delay in furnishing form GSTR-4 for the financial year 2021-22 till June 30, 2022. "This is a welcome step and would help numerous composition taxpayers to dodge the non-compliance costs," Mohan added.