COVID-19 Relief under GST Law

Because of the challenges faced by taxpayers in meeting the statutory and regulatory compliances under GST law due to the outbreak of the second wave of COVID-19, The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), vide various notification published on 1st May 2021, notified multiple reliefs under GST laws. The Government has announced various reliefs for taxpayers in the form of extension of the due date of GSTR-1, GSTR-4 & ITC-04, waiver of late fees for GSTR-3B, relaxation in the interest rate on delay in filing GSTR-3B, extension in a time limit of various actions under GST. The current article briefs the COVID-19 Relief under GST Law

Synopsis of Notifications

The various relief announcements under the GST Law on account of the second wave of COVID-19 outbreak are as follows:

The Government has extended the due dates of filing details of outward supplies under FORM GSTR-1 and IFF for April by 15 days.
The due date of filing of Annual Return by composition dealers under FORM GSTR-4 for FY 2020-21 has been extended from 30th April 2021 to 31st May 2021.
The due date of filing of a declaration of movement of goods to or from job worker under FORM ITC-04 for Jan-March, 2021 quarter has been extended from 25th April 2021 to 31st May 2021.
The due dates for GSTR-5, GSTR-6, GSTR-7 & GSTR-8, and other GST compliances are also extended.
Concessional rates of interest instead of the normal rate of interest of 18% per annum for delayed tax payments have been prescribed in the following cases
- For registered persons having aggregate turnover above Rs. 5 Crore
- For registered persons having aggregate turnover upto Rs. 5 Crore
- For registered persons who have opted to pay tax under the composition scheme
For registered persons having aggregate turnover above Rs. 5 Crore, a Late fee waived for 15 days in respect of returns in FORM GSTR-3B furnished beyond the due date
For registered persons having aggregate turnover upto Rs. 5 Crore: Late fee waived for 30 days in respect of the returns in FORM GSTR-3B furnished beyond the due date

Extension of due dates for filing GST return in Form GSTR-1

Vide notification no. 12/2021 – Central Tax dated 1^st May, the due date for filing GST returns in Form GSTR-1for the tax period of April 2021 has been notified. The same is tabulated hereunder

Sl.No.	Return Type	To be filed by	Tax period	Due Date	Due Date Extended till
1	Form GSTR-1 (Monthly)	Normal Taxpayer filing Monthly returns	April 2021	11.05.2021	26.05.2021
2	Form IFF	Normal Taxpayers under QRMP Scheme	April 2021	13.05.2021	28.05.2021

Extension of due dates for Filing of Returns by Composition, NRTP, ISD, TDS & TCS Taxpayers

The Government has also extended the due date of furnishing of Returns by Composition, NRTP, ISD, TDS & TCS Taxpayers to 31^st May 2021.

Sl.No.	Return Type	To be filed by	Tax period	Due Date	Due Date Extended till
1	GSTR-4	Composition Taxpayers (Annual Return)	FY 2020-21	30th April 2021	31st May 2021
2	GSTR-5	Non-Resident Taxpayers (NRTP)	March/ April 2021	20th April/ May 2021	31st May 2021
3	GSTR-6	Input Service Distributors (ISD)	April 2021	13th May 2021	31st May 2021
4	GSTR-7	Tax Deductor at Source (TDS deductor)		10th May 2021	31st May 2021
5	GSTR-8	Tax Collectors at Source (TCS collectors)		10th May 2021	31st May 2021

Due Date Extension for Filing of Form ITC-04

The due date for filing Form GST ITC-04 for the Jan-March, 2021 quarter has been extended from 25th April 2021 to 31st May 2021. The Form ITC-04 is to be filed by the Principal/Manufacturer for goods sent/received/supplied from Job Worker. Click here for official notification pertaining to COVID-19 Relief under GST Law

Reduction in Interest Rate and Waiver of Late fees

Filing of Form GSTR-3B

The Government has provided relief by way of reduction in the interest rate and waiver of late fees for delay in filing of GSTR-3B for the period March and April 2021. The relief of reduction of the rate of interest and waiver of late fees is summarized as under:

For registered persons having aggregate turnover above Rs. 5 Crore:

Late fee waived for 15 days in respect of returns in FORM GSTR-3B furnished beyond the due date for tax periods March 2021 and April 2021, due in April 2021 and May 2021 respectively

For registered persons having aggregate turnover Upto Rs. 5 Crore:

Late fee waived for 30 days in respect of the returns in FORM GSTR-3B furnished beyond the due date for tax periods March 2021 and April 2021 (for taxpayers filing monthly returns) due in April 2021 and May 2021 respectively / and for period Jan-March, 2021 (for taxpayers filing quarterly returns under QRMP scheme) due in April 2021

Filing of Form CMP-08

The Government has provided relaxation of interest on late filing of Form CMP-08 for a statement of Quarterly Payment of Tax for the last quarter of FY 2020-21. The relaxation provided is summarized as under:

Particulars	Quarter	Due date	Relaxation in Interest6
Form CMP-08 for a statement of Quarterly Payment of Tax	Jan-Mar-21	18-Apr-21	Till 3-May-21	Nil
			4-May-21 to 18-May-21	9%
			After 18-May21	18%

Relaxation in availing of Input Tax Credit

As per Rule 36(4) of the CGST Rules, 2017, a person can take ITC claim in respect of invoices that are not uploaded by vendors in their Form GSTR 1 or through Invoice Furnishing Facility (‘IFF’) maximum of up to 5% of the invoices furnished by the vendors in their Form GSTR 1/ through IFF Facility i.e. only 105% of only invoices coming in GSTR-2A. Now, this condition has been relaxed for April and relaxation has been given in respect to April's month. The condition of Rule 36(4) would apply cumulatively in May 2021 for both April and May 2021.

Other reliefs provided under GST

The Government has provided several other reliefs:

The filing of GSTR-3B and GSTR-1/ IFF by companies using electronic verification code has been enabled for the period from 27.04.2021 to 31.05.2021. The requirement of filing these returns through Digital Signature (DSC) is waived off.
The Time limit for completion of various actions such as completion of any proceedings, filing of appeal/reply/application, etc. by any authority or by any person, under the GST Law, which falls during the period from 15th April 2021 to 30th May 2021, has been extended up to 31st May 2021.

The Press Release issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs on 2^nd May 2021 is attached here for reference: [pdf-embedder url="https://www.indiafilings.com/learn/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/COVID-relief-under-GST.pdf"]