Late filing of GSTR-9C (reconciliation statement) attracts a late fee of ₹200 per day (₹100 CGST + ₹100 SGST). The maximum penalty is capped at 0.5% of the taxpayer's turnover in the respective state or union territory. While GSTR-9C is filed with the annual return (GSTR-9), it is considered an extension of the annual return's compliance, and delayed submission leads to this penalty under Section 47 of the CGST Act.
The penalty for late filing of GSTR-9C includes a late fee of Rs. 200 per day (Rs. 100 each for CGST and SGST) up to a maximum of 0.5% of the taxpayer's turnover in the relevant state or union territory. Additionally, failure to file may attract further penalties and interest as per GST regulations.
Who is required to file GSTR 9C? Every registered person under GST whose turnover during a financial year exceeds the prescribed limit of Rs. 5 crore must file a self-certified reconciliation statement in Form GSTR-9C. This statement must be filed by every GST-registered taxpayer, i.e. every GSTIN.
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.
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.
For NRIs who have not yet filed their Income Tax Returns for FY 2024–25 (AY 2025–26), the last opportunity to file a belated return is 31 December 2025. Filing after the due date attracts a late fee under section 234F and may result in the loss of certain tax benefits.
Example: If your GST liability is ₹50,000 and payment is delayed by 20 days: Interest = ₹50,000 × 18% × 20 ÷ 365 = ₹493.
1. Login into GST portal: Navigate to > Services > User Services > My Applications. 2. On Navigating to 'My Applications' page, the taxpayer has to select 'Apply for Waiver Scheme under Section 128A' option under 'Application type' dropdown.
The IRS can waive penalties if you demonstrate that your failure to comply with tax requirements was due to reasonable cause. Acceptable reasons include serious illness, natural disasters, or other events beyond your control that prevented timely tax filing or payment.
If you (a regular taxpayer) does not file a return for a continuous period of six months, then the GST Officer may cancel the GST registration of such person. Before cancellation, the officer will issue a Notice seeking your clarification.
Scope of the Scheme: The waiver scheme applies to only those taxpayers who have failed to file GSTR-9 earlier. To avail benefits of this scheme, taxpayers have to file the return before March 31, 2025. Already Paid Late Fees: No refunds will be issued if the taxpayer has already filed the return with late payment fees.
Section 44AD is a presumptive taxation scheme that allows taxpayers to pay tax on a presumed percentage of their annual turnover given that the annual turnover is less than Rs. 2 crores (Rs. 3 crores if 95% of receipts are through online modes).
Finance Act 2021 moved a proposal to eliminate the certification by CA for GSTR-9C. This proposal was accepted in the Union Budget 2021 and was applied from Annual Return of FY 2020-21. As per this change, Taxpayers can now 'Self-certify' the reconciliation statement in the GSTR 9C Form.
Form GSTR-9C is required to be filed by every registered person whose aggregate turnover is above a certain threshold during the financial year, as notified by way of Notifications issued by Government of India from time to time.
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.
95/2020- Central Tax dated 30.12. 2020. In view of the difficulties expressed by the taxpayers in meeting this time limit, Government has decided to further extend the due date for furnishing of GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C for the financial year 2019-20 to 31.03. 2021 with the approval of Election Commission of India.
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%.
Fires, natural disasters or civil disturbances. Inability to get records. Death, serious illness or unavoidable absence of the taxpayer or immediate family. System issues that delayed a timely electronic filing or payment.
To avoid the late fee under Section 234F of the Income Tax Act, ensure you file your income tax return on time for the applicable assessment year. If you miss the deadline, you still have the option to submit a belated return by December 31st of the relevant assessment year.
An offender not paying tax or making short-payments has to pay a penalty of 10% of the tax amount due, subject to a minimum of Rs. 10,000. Therefore, the penalty will be high at 100% of the tax amount when the offender has evaded i.e., where there is a deliberate fraud.
Legal Waivers/Reductions: Sections 73 and 74 of the CGST Act give discretionary powers to the authorities to waive penalty in case the tax payable is paid before assessment, or the default was not intentional and due to real causes.
As per Rule 80 of the CGST Rules, 2017, every registered person liable to file Annual Return for every financial year is required to file the same on or before the 31st December of next financial year. Accordingly, the last date of filing Annual Return for FY 2021-22 is 31st December, 2022.
According to Notification No. 08/2025-Central Tax dated 23.01. 2025, the excess late fee beyond what is applicable up to the submission date of FORM GSTR-9 has been waived—if FORM GSTR-9C is submitted before March 31, 2025.
Ways you can avoid late fees
To calculate the interest due on a late payment, the amount of the debt should be multiplied by the number of days for which the payment is late, multiplied by daily late payment interest rate in operation on the date the payment became overdue.