Late fee on GST returns capped to Rs 500 till July: CBIC

The Central Board for Indirect Taxes and Customs has notified that the Centre has capped the late fee for filing monthly Goods and Services Tax returns at ₹500 per return for the period from July 2017 to July 2020. In an earlier notification, the GST council had offered relief on the late fees for the period starting 2017 till January 2020 in addition to the relief earlier given for the February to April period. This period has now been extended and is available for the May-July period as well. However, the condition that this late fee cap is only applicable if the returns are filed before September 30, 2020, still remains. Additionally, in cases where the taxpayer is filing Nil monthly returns, the late fee has been completely waived off.  Making a statement regarding this extension, the CBIC said, "a uniform late fee is simpler in design and easier to implement on the common automated portal. So, the late fee is capped at Rs. 500 per return, if filed before September 30, 2020."