Not filing GST returns for 6 months (consecutive) can lead to severe penalties, including potential suspension or cancellation of your GSTIN, as reported by Ascentium India. You will face accumulated late fees, interest on tax liabilities (18% p.a.), and blocking of e-way bill generation, as stated in ClearTax. Furthermore, customers may be denied input tax credit, and tax authorities might issue estimated assessments to recover dues, say Ascentium India.
The Indian Government has amended the GST Rules, 2022, to provide that failure to file monthly or quarterly GST reports in form GSTR 3B for a continuous period of 6 months, or for two consecutive tax periods or simply GST not filed for 6 months continuously, would henceforth result in GST registration cancellation.
You face a penalty when you file your GST/HST return late if you owe money. The penalty equals 1% of your unpaid amount plus 0.25% of that amount for each full month your return is late. The maximum penalty period is 12 months. After that, no additional monthly charges apply.
In this case, the tax will be payable because the goods were not returned within 6 months of the GST being implemented, nor were the goods returned within 6 months from the date of sale. However, the goods would have not been taxable had they been returned before the 6-month date limit had not been breached.
Therefore, upon non –filing of GST returns or missing out the GST due dates, the GST law prescribes a general penalty. The maximum penalty that may be imposed is Rs. 5,000. The taxpayer will be required to pay interest on late payment of GST at a rate of 18% annually in addition to the late payment penalty.
Late submission penalty. A late submission penalty of $200 is imposed immediately when the GST return is not filed by the due date. A further penalty of $200 is imposed for every completed month that the GST F5/F8 return remains outstanding. The maximum penalty amount for each outstanding F5/F8 return is $10,000.
Monthly GST Returns
Businesses with a turnover above the prescribed limit must file returns every month. The GST return turnover limit is ₹5 crore in the preceding financial year. If your turnover crosses this mark, you're required to file both GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B monthly.
Section 16(2) and Rule 37
If he made proportionate payment to supplier with GST within 180 days then he has to reverse ITC proportionately . If No payment is made within 180 days, then whole the ITC has to be reversed. When the payment is made to the supplier ITC reversed will be reclaimed .
4-year credit time limit
If you account for GST on a cash basis, the earliest tax period in which you could claim a GST credit for a purchase is the tax period in which you make the payment. If you make the payment over multiple tax periods, the 4-year credit time limit applies separately to each part of the payment.
Applicability of the Three-Year Rule
As per the advisory, no GST return can be filed after three years from its original due date.
If your GST frequency is annual, your GST returns are due within three months after the end of the fiscal year. For GST collected in the financial year ending December 31, your GST payment is due by April 30. However, you can file your GST returns by June 15 of the following year.
If you owe tax and don't file on time (with extensions), there's also a penalty for not filing on time. The failure-to-file penalty is usually five percent of the tax owed for each month, or part of a month, that your return is late, up to a maximum of 25%.
By this update, taxpayers will not be able to file GST returns after three years from the due date of such return. The CBIC notified us of this change effective 1st October 2023, and the GSTN has now brought this validation live on the official GST portal starting from July 2025.
When can the GSTIN get suspended? A taxpayer's GST registration or GSTIN can be suspended when they fail to file their GST returns for six consecutive months as monthly filers and for two consecutive quarters as quarterly filers.
Grace periods typically range from 15 to 30 days. While technically a customer could wait until the exemption date to pay, insurers may still treat the premium as GST-inclusive based on the due date, not the payment date. ...
Penalties and Interest for Late Filing
Under Gst law, late Fees for Delay in filing Gst return 6 is ₹50 per Day for Each registered ISD [(₹25 CGST + ₹25 SGST]) Max limit of late fees of Gst return 6 is 0.25% of turn over.
The GST law requires that every claim for refund is to be filed within 2 years from the relevant date. Further, Section 34 of the WBGST Act, 2017 provides for issuance of credit notes for post supply discounts or if goods are returned back within a stipulated time.
Backdating your GST registration
Backdating a GST registration is limited to 4 years. This means, unless there is fraud or evasion: we can't backdate your GST registration by more than 4 years. you are not required to be registered before that date.
It starts from the day you become entitled to the credit, typically the date of the tax invoice or the date the payment is made, depending on your accounting method. After four years, you can no longer amend or include a claim for that GST credit in your Business Activity Statement (BAS).
The credit can be claimed only before November of the next financial year or the filing of the annual return, whichever is earlier. The time limit for claiming ITC is the earlier of the next financial year's November return due day or filing the annual returns of this year.
If the Goods Are Returned after 6 months
GST will be payable by the person returning the goods (i.e. the buyer) after 6 months if those goods are liable to tax under GST Act The seller must also pay GST on the goods returned after 6 months.
Q- What is the GST amnesty Scheme 2024? India's new Goods and Services Tax (GST) amnesty scheme is set to take effect on November 1, 2024. This initiative provides relief to taxpayers with outstanding GST demands from the period of 2017-18 to 2019-20, waiving interest and penalties for non-fraudulent cases.
If you miss the filing deadline and owe GST, the CRA will charge: Late Filing Penalty: 1% of the amount owing, plus 0.25% of the amount owing for each full month your return is late (up to 12 months).
Levy of late fee:
Therefore, effectively the late fee for delay in filing Annual Return by the due date is R 200/- per day subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at 0.50% of his turnover in the State or Union Territory.
The GST Search Tool and GSTIN Validator enable businesses to verify any GSTIN with a single-click GSTIN search. Most importantly, the tool helps verify GSTIN authenticity and spot fake GSTINs. This feature can be used by anyone free of cost, provided they have the requisite GSTIN on hand.