The roots for announcing the Amnesty Scheme 2023 were planted in the 49th GST Council Meeting which was held under the Chairpersonship of Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 18th February 2023.
Taking quick action to the same, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs came up with various notifications announcing different amnesties under GST. The same is briefly taken up and explained in the current article.GST Amnesty scheme as recommended via 49th GST Council Meeting
Before going into the briefs of different notifications announcing amnesties under GST, let us go through the relevant recommendations of the 49th GST Council Meeting which are the basis of the amnesties
- To provide an amnesty in the past cases, where-
- GST registration has been cancelled due to non-filing of the GST returns; and
- Application for revocation of cancellation of GST registration couldn’t be filed within the time limit prescribed under section 30 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017;
- To provide an amnesty in case of conditional deemed withdrawal of assessment order in the past cases, where –
- Required concerned return couldn’t be filed within a period of 30 days of the assessment order; and
- The same is filed along with due interest and late fee up to the specified date.
- To provide an amnesty scheme relating to pending returns in Form GSTR-4; GSTR-9 and GSTR-10 either by way of conditional waiver or by way of reduction of late fee.
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Five notification issued by CBIC
Acting upon the recommendations of the 49th GST Council Meeting, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) issued the following five notifications
- Notification no. 02/2023-Central Tax dated 31st March 2023 – Amnesty to GSTR-4 [i.e. Composition Scheme dealer] non-filers;
- Notification no. 03/2023-Central Tax dated 31st March 2023 – Amnesty for revocation of cancellation of registration;
- Notification no. 06/2023-Central Tax dated 31st March 2023 – Amnesty for deemed withdrawal of assessment order being issued under section 62;
- Notification no. 07/2023-Central Tax dated 31st March 2023 – Amnesty to GSTR-9 [i.e. Annual Return] non-filers; and
- Notification no. 08/2023-Central Tax dated 31st March 2023 – Amnesty to GSTR-10 [i.e. Final Return] non-filers.
GST Amnesty scheme towards revocation of cancellation of registration
Vide notification no. 03/2023-Central Tax dated 31st March 2023, amnesty scheme with regard to revocation of cancellation of registration is announced. The same is explained hereunder –
Eligibility for availing GST Amnesty Scheme
The person satisfying the following conditions is eligible to avail the benefit of the GST Amnesty Scheme –
Condition 1 – The registration of the person has been cancelled under
- Section 29(2)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 i.e. registration is cancelled as composition scheme dealer failed to furnish a return for the Financial Year beyond 3 months from the due date; or
- Section 29(2)(c) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 i.e. registration of a person other than the composition scheme dealer is cancelled as a person has failed to furnish a return for the continuous prescribed tax period.
Condition 2 – The registration is cancelled on or before 31st December 2022.
Condition 3 – Such a person has failed to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration within the time limit specified under section 30 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
Amnesty available
As per the Amnesty available, an eligible person can apply for revocation of cancellation of registration by satisfying the below specified conditions.
Conditions to be satisfied
Condition 1 - Application for revocation of cancellation of registration is to be filed on or before 30th June 2023;
Condition 2 – Application for revocation should be filed only after furnishing all the due returns up to the effective date of cancellation of registration; and
Condition 3 – Application for revocation should be filed only after payment of a due amount of tax along with interest, penalty and late fee.
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GST Amnesty scheme towards deemed withdrawal of assessment
Vide notification no. 06/2023-Central Tax dated 31st March 2023, GST amnesty scheme with regard to deemed withdrawal of assessment order being issued u/s 62. The same is explained hereunder
Eligibility for availing Amnesty
The person satisfying the following conditions is eligible to avail the benefit of the Amnesty Scheme –
Condition 1 – The registered person has failed to furnish a valid return within 30 days from the date of service of the assessment order issued under section 62(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017; and
Condition 2 – The assessment order is issued on or before 28th February 2023.
Amnesty available
The assessment order issued under section 62(1) will be deemed to have been withdrawn if the conditions specified herein below are satisfied.
Conditions to be satisfied
Condition 1 – The registered person has furnished the valid return on or before 30th June 2023; and
Condition 2 – Applicable interest under section 50(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and late fee under section 47 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is duly paid along with the return.
Amnesties available to non-filers of GST returns
The Amnesty scheme in case of non-filers of GST returns is available only in the case of Form GSTR-4; Form GSTR-9 and Form GSTR-10. The same is simplified in the table below
Particulars | Amnesty Scheme for GSTR-4 | Amnesty Scheme for GSTR-9 | Amnesty Scheme for GSTR-10 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Relevant Notification | 02/2023-Central Tax | 07/2023-Central Tax | 08/2023-Central Tax | |
Period covered | Quarters from July 2017 to March 2019; and | Financial Year 2017-2018, 2018-2019, 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 | Entire period | |
Amnesty Available | Amnesty is available in the form of reduction in the late fees. Accordingly, late fees payable will be – | Amnesty is available in the form of reduction in the late fees. Accordingly, late fees payable will be Rs. 20,000 (i.e. Rs. 10,000 CGST + Rs. 10,000 SGST). | Amnesty is available in the form of reduction in the late fees. Accordingly, late fees payable will be Rs. 1,000 (i.e. Rs. 500 CGST + Rs. 500 SGST). | |
Particulars | Amount of late fees payable | |||
Amount of central tax payable is ZERO (NIL) | NIL | |||
Any other case | Rs. 500 (i.e. Rs. 250 CGST + Rs. 250 SGST) | |||
Condition to be satisfied | The pending returns need to be furnished within the period 1st April 2023 to 30th June 2023 | The pending returns need to be furnished within the period 1st April 2023 to 30th June 2023 | The pending returns need to be furnished within the period 1st April 2023 to 30th June 2023 | |
Synopsis of GST Amnesty Scheme 2023
The GST Amnesty Scheme 2023 is summarized hereunder
Particulars | GST Amnesty Scheme 2023 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Revocation of cancellation of registration | Deemed withdrawal of assessment order u/s. 62 | Non-filing of GSTR-4 | Non-filing of GSTR-9 | Non-filing of GSTR-10 | |
Eligibility | Registration is cancelled under section 29(2)(b) or 29(2)(c) on or before 31st December 2022 and revocation application is not filed within the time limit. | Valid return within a period of 30 days from the date of assessment order u/s. 62 is not furnished and such an assessment order is issued on or before 28th February 2023. | Any of the return/ returns for quarters July, 2017 to March, 2019 or Financial Year 2019-2020 to 2021-2022 are not furnished. | Any of the return/ returns for the Financial Year 2017-2018 till 2021-2022 is not furnished. | Return is not furnished |
Amnesty | Application of revocation of cancellation of registration can be filed up to 30th June 2023. | Assessment order will be deemed to have been withdrawn. | Reduction in late fees. | Reduction in late fees. | Reduction in late fees. |
Conditions to be satisfied | All the pending returns along with pending dues are cleared. | Valid return is furnished on or before 30th June 2023 and application interest and late fees. | Pending returns to be furnished by 30th June 2023. | Pending returns to be furnished by 30th June 2023. | Pending returns to be furnished by 30th June 2023. |