New Delhi, Business Desk. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman gave important information in a press conference after the 40th meeting of the GST Council. He said that the GST Council, the apex body which has decided on the Goods and Services Tax, discussed the effects of Kovid-19. He further said that the inverted duty structure affecting GST collection was also discussed in the meeting.
Sitharaman said that the interest on filing late GST returns for small companies has been reduced to half. Such companies will have to pay interest at the rate of nine percent on filing late GST. Small companies will not have to pay any late fee while filing GST returns from May to July. The GST Council will discuss the compensation cess in July. Apart from this, it will be applicable for those filing returns from July 1, 2020 to September 31, 2020.
Sitharaman said that in the GST Council meeting, the late fee for GSTR-3B from July 2017 to January 2020 has been reduced. There is no need to pay any late fees to those who have no tax liability. A limit of Rs 500 has been fixed for the maximum fee for late filing of GSTR-3B.
Giving important information on Friday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that many return filings from July 2017 to January 2020 are pending. In such a situation, those who have no tax liability but who have not filed their returns, will not be charged any late fee.
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The Finance Minister said that the Council has at present deferred any decision regarding the inverted duty structure. Sitharaman said that there was no discussion about the reduction in GST rate in Friday’s meeting. He said that in the last two months, 45 per cent GST was collected compared to other months.
Remarkably, with the reduced collection and extended deadline for filing returns, the government has not released monthly GST revenue collection figures for the months of April and May. Currently, under the GST structure, 5, 12, 18 and 28 percent slabs are taxed. Above the highest tax slab, a cess is levied on luxury, and demerit goods and the proceeds from the same are used to compensate states for any revenue loss.
