The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has notified the waiver of the late fee for GSTR 9C from 2017-18 to 2022-23 subject to the condition that no refund of late fee already paid in respect of delayed furnishing of FORM GSTR-9C for the financial years shall be available.
It means that If you break the law u will be benefited but if u obey the law and pay the penalty earlier/before time, no refund will be granted and you are indirectly punished, says CBIC, Finance Ministry notification.
A recent notification has clarified the implications of late fees for those required to file the Annual Return in Form GSTR-9 along with the Reconciliation Statement in Form GSTR-9C, as mandated under Section 44 of the CGST Act, 2017.
The notification targets taxpayers who failed to submit the Reconciliation Statement (GSTR-9C) alongside the Annual Return (GSTR-9) for the financial years 2017-18 to 2022-23. Such delays typically attract late fees as per Section 47 of the CGST Act.
However, under the new directive, taxpayers who file the Reconciliation Statement for the specified years on or before March 31, 2025, will benefit from limited late fee liability. The levy will be restricted to the late fees applicable up until the date of furnishing the Annual Return (GSTR-9) for those years.
In practical terms, this means that if a taxpayer has already filed the GSTR-9 by the stipulated deadline, any subsequent filing of the GSTR-9C by March 31, 2025, will not incur additional late fees under Section 47. Moreover, for taxpayers who delayed both filings, the late fees for the Reconciliation Statement will not exceed those applicable up to the date of filing the Annual Return.
Notification Details
Notification No. 08/2025 – CENTRAL TAX
Date: 23/01/2025
