Government halves interest rate on late filing of returns for small taxpayers

Web Desk

The Government of India on June 12 announced relief for small taxpayers and also said that there will be no late fee for GSTR 3B return, which has no liability. For the returns with liability, the maximum late fee has been capped to Rs 500.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman  announced major relief for small taxpayers with an aggregate turnover of less than Rs.5 crore. Mrs. Sitharaman cut the interest rate on late submission of returns for February, March, and April from 18 per cent to 9 per cent.
The government also announced that there will be no late fee for filing GSTR 3B returns with no liability and pending from July 2017 to January 2020. However, for those with liabilities, the maximum late fee has been capped to Rs.500. The finance minister stressed that no discussion on GST rate cut took place in the meeting and the decision on issues related to inverted duty structure were also postponed.
However, she said that the council was looking at such issues, especially in textile, footwear, and fertiliser sectors. Amid the revenue crisis, the government also said that GST council is thinking over borrowing to fund compensation.
In another major decision, the government allowed taxpayers, who could not get cancelled GST registrations restored in time, to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration up to September 30, 2020. This was the first meeting of the GST Council after the nationwide lockdown.
The Minister chaired the 40th GST Council meeting through video conferencing, in which, finance ministers of states & UTs, and senior government officers also participated.