LATEST CHANGES IN GST

[Mr. M. GOVINDARAJAN]

Latest Notifications

The Central Government, on the recommendations of the Central Government, issued the following notifications on 31.03.2023 bringing out various changes in GST arena-

• Notification No. 2/2023-Central Tax, dated 31.03.2023 - to amend Notification No. 73/2017-Central Tax, dated 29.12.2017;
• Notification No. 03/2023-Central Tax, dated 31.03.2023 - Revocation of cancellation of registration where registration has been cancelled on or before the 31st day of December, 2022;
• Notification No.04/2023-Central Tax, dated 31.03.2023 - GST (amendment) Rules, 2023;
• Notification No. 05/2023-Central Tax, dated 31.03.2023 - to amend Notification No. 27/2022-Central Tax, dated the 26th December, 2022;
• Notification No. 06/2023 - Central Tax, dated 31.03.2023 - notifying  the registered persons who failed to furnish a valid return within a period of thirty days from the service of the assessment order issued on or before the 28th day of February, 2023;
• Notification No.07/2023-Central Tax, dated 31.03.2023 - waiver of late fee under section 47 of CGST Act;
• Notification No. 08/2023- Central Tax, dated 31.03.2023 - Waives the amount of late fee referred to in section 47 of the CGST Act for filing of GSTR - 10;
• Notification No. 09/2023-Central Tax, dated 31.03.2023 - Modification of the Notification No. 35/2020-Central Tax, dated the 3rd April, 2020.

Notification No.02/2023

Vide Notification No. 73/2017-Central Tax, dated 29.12.2017 the Central Government waived late fees under section 47 of the CGST Act by any registered person for failure to furnish the return in FORM GSTR-4 by the due date, which is in excess of an amount of twenty five rupees for every day during which such failure continues.  The Notification contains six provisions.

Vide Notification No. 02/2023-Central Tax, the Central inserted one more proviso to the above said Notification.  The newly inserted proviso provides that the amount of late fee payable under section 47 of the said Act shall stand waived which is in excess of Rs.250/- and shall stand fully waived where the total amount of central tax payable in the said return is nil, for the registered persons who fail to furnish the return in FORM GSTR-4 for the quarters from July, 2017 to March 2019 or for the Financial years from 2019-20 to 2021-22 by the due date but furnish the said return between the period from the 01.04.2023  to the 30.06.2023.

Those who did not filed GSTR - 4 for the above said period may filed GSTR - 4 from 01.04.2023  to 30.06.2023 to avail the waiver of late fees.

Notification No. 03/2023

Vide this Notification, the Central Government notified the special procedure for revocation of cancelled registration certificate. 

The Central Government notified that the registered person, whose registration has been cancelled under  section 29 (2)(b) or (c)  of the said Act on or before the 31.12.2022, and who has failed to apply for revocation of cancellation of such registration within the time period specified in section 30 of the said Act as the class of registered persons who shall follow the following special procedure in respect of revocation of cancellation of such registration as detailed below-

• the registered person may apply for revocation of cancellation of such registration up to the 30.06.2023;
• the application for revocation shall be filed only after furnishing the returns due up to the effective date of cancellation of registration and after payment of any amount due as tax, in terms of such returns, along with any amount payable towards interest, penalty and late fee in respect of the such returns;
• no further extension of time period for filing application for revocation of cancellation of registration shall be available in such cases.

The Explanation to this Notification provides that the person who has failed to apply for revocation of cancellation of registration within the time period specified in section 30 of the said Act includes a person whose appeal against the order of cancellation of registration or the order rejecting application for revocation of cancellation of registration under section 107 of the said Act has been rejected on the ground of failure to adhere to the time limit specified under  section 30(1) of the said Act.

Notification No. 04/2023

Vide this Notification the Central Government amended the CGST Rules, 2017.  Rule 8(4A) provides for the authentication of aadhaar card for the purposes of registration.  The said Rule has been substituted by this Notification.

The newly substituted Rule 8(4A) provides that where an applicant, other than a person notified under section 25 (6D), opts for authentication of Aadhaar number, he shall, while submitting the application under sub-rule (4), undergo authentication of Aadhaar number and the date of submission of the application in such cases shall be the date of authentication of the Aadhaar number, or fifteen days from the submission of the application in Part B of FORM GST REG-01 under sub-rule (4), whichever is earlier.

The proviso to this Rule provides that every application made under sub-rule (4) by a person, other than a person notified under section 25 (6D), who has opted for authentication of Aadhaar number and is identified on the common portal, based on data analysis and risk parameters, shall be followed by biometric-based Aadhaar authentication and taking photograph of the applicant where the applicant is an individual or of such individuals in relation to the applicant as notified under section 25 (6C) where the applicant is not an individual, along with the verification of the original copy of the documents uploaded with the application in FORM GST REG-01 at one of the Facilitation Centres notified by the Commissioner for the purpose of this sub-rule and the application shall be deemed to be complete only after completion of the process laid down under this proviso.

Notification No.05/2023

Notification No. 27/2022-Central Tax, dated 26.12.2022 the Central Government, on the recommendations of the Council, specified that the provisions of  Rule 8(4A) of the said rules shall not apply in all the States and Union territories except the State of Gujarat.

Notification No.05/2023  substituted the words ‘proviso to’ for the words ‘provisions of’.  The said amendment shall be deemed to come effect from 26.12.2022.

Notification No.06/2023

Vide this Notification the Central Government notified that the registered persons who failed to furnish a valid return within a period of thirty days from the service of the assessment order issued on or before the 28th day of February, 2023 under  section 62 (1) [assessment of non filers of returns] of the said Act, as the classes of registered persons, in respect of whom said assessment order shall be deemed to have been withdrawn, if such registered persons follow the special procedures as specified below-

• the registered persons shall furnish the said return on or before the 30th day of June 2023;
• the return shall be accompanied by payment of interest due under  section 50 (1) of the said Act and the late fee payable under section 47 of the said Act,

irrespective of whether or not an appeal had been filed against such assessment order under section 107 of the said Act or whether or not the appeal, if any, filed against the said assessment order has been decided.

Notification No. 07/2023

Vide this Notification the Central Government waived the amount of late fee referred to in section 47 of the said Act in respect of the return to be furnished under section 44 of the said Act for the financial year 2022-23 onwards, which is in excess of amount as specified in Column (3) of the Table below, for the classes of registered persons mentioned in the corresponding entry in Column (2) of the Table below, who fails to furnish the return by the due date,

Table

Sl. No.	Class of registered persons	Amount
1	Registered persons having an aggregate turnover of up to Rs.5 crores  in the relevant financial year.	Rs.25/- per day, subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at 0.02% of turnover in the State or Union territory.
2	Registered persons having an aggregate turnover of more than Rs.5 crores  and up to Rs.20 crores in the relevant financial year.	Rs.50/- per day, subject to a maximum of an amount calculated at 0.02% of turnover in the State or Union territory.

Provided that for the registered persons who fail to furnish the return under section 44 of the said Act by the due date for any of the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 or 2021-22, but furnish the said return between the period from the 01.04.2023 to the 30.06.2023, the total amount of late fee under section 47 of the said Act payable in respect of the said return, shall stand waived which is in excess of Rs.10,000/-.

Notification No.08/2023

Vide this Notification, the Central Government waived the amount of late fee referred to in section 47 of the Act, which is in excess of Rs.5,000/-  for the registered persons who fail to furnish the final return in Form GSTR-10 by the due date but furnish the said return between the period from the 01.04.2023 to 30.06.2023.

Notification No. 09/2023

Vide Notification No. 14/2021-Central Tax, dated 01.05.2021 the Central Government extended specified compliances falling between 15.04.2021 to 30.05.2021 till 31.05.2021 in exercise of powers under section 168A [Power of Government to extend time limit in special circumstances] of the CGST Act.

Notification No. 09/2023 modified the Notification No.14/2021 to some extent.  The Central Government extended the time limit specified under  section 73 (10) for issuance of order under section 73 (9)  of the said Ac t, for recovery of tax not paid or short paid or of input tax credit wrongly availed or utilized, relating to the period as specified below-

• for the financial year 2017-18, up to the 31st day of December, 2023;
• for the financial year 2018-19, up to the 31st day of March, 2024;
• for the financial year 2019-20, up to the 30th day of June, 2024.