Interest in non-filing of GSTR-8 by pre-approved e-commerce operators is waived by the govt.

GST: Interest on non-filing of GSTR-8 by pre-approved e-commerce operators is waived by the govt.

The interest rate on non-filing of GSTR-8 by certain e-commerce operators has been waived by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) under section 52 of the Central GST Act, 2017.

Section 52 of the CGST Act, 2017 allows e-Commerce operators to collect tax at source on taxable supplies made via them by other suppliers when the consideration for such goods is collected by them.

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Electronic commerce operators with the prescribed Goods and Services Tax Identification Numbers who were unable to file the statement under sub-section (4) of section 52 of the said Act by the due date due to a technical glitch on the portal but had deposited the tax collected under sub-section (1) of section 52 for the said month in the electronic cash ledger will not be charged interest, according to a notification issued on Tuesday.

“In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of section 50 read with section 148 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (12 of 2017), the Government, on the recommendations of the Council, hereby notifies the rate of interest per annum to be ‘Nil’, for the class of registered persons mentioned in column (2) of the Table given below, who were required to furnish the statement in FORM GSTR-8, but failed to furnish the said statement,” according to the notification.

GST receipts fell 16% in May, to Rs 1.41 lakh crore, from record highs a month before.

GST receipts fell 16% in May, to Rs 1.41 lakh crore, from record highs a month before.

This is the 11th month in a row that the overall GST collection has exceeded Rs 1 lakh crore.

According to data issued by the finance ministry on June 1, GST revenues decreased to Rs 1.41 lakh crore in May, down 16 percent from April’s all-time high of Rs 1.68 lakh crore.

 

GST receipts in May were up 44 percent year over year.

 

“The collection in May, which relates to returns for April, the first month of the financial year, has usually been lower than that in April, which relates to returns for March, the last month of the financial year,” the finance ministry said in a statement.

In May, Central GST collected Rs 25,036 crore, State GST collected Rs 32,001 crore, Integrated GST collected Rs 73,345 crore, and compensatory cess collected Rs 10,502 crore.

 

The government paid Rs 27,924 crore to the Central GST and Rs 23,123 crore to the State GST in May as part of the Integrated GST settlement. As a result, the Centre’s total revenue for the month after settlement was Rs 52,960 crore, while State GST revenue was Rs 55,124 crore.

 

This is the 11th month in a row that the overall GST collection has exceeded Rs 1 lakh crore.

GST search operations, No coercion is used and dues are paid at all times.

GST search operations, No coercion is used and dues are paid at all times.

It also instructed chief commissioners to take “severe disciplinary action” against officers who used force or coercion to collect the tax due amount deposited during a search, inspection, or investigation, according to an instruction.

 

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) investigation wing has issued instructions stating that taxpayers can pay tax dues at any stage during the search operation, citing “alleged use of force and coercion by officers for making recovery” during search, inspection, and investigation, as well as subsequent court cases.

 

It also instructed chief commissioners to take “severe disciplinary action” against officers who used force or coercion to collect the tax due amount deposited during a search, inspection, or investigation, according to an instruction.

“It is clarified that there may not be any conditions that require’recovery’ of tax dues during the course of a search, inspection, or investigation.” “However, there is no ban on taxpayers making voluntary contributions based on ascertainment of their responsibility on non-payment/short payment of taxes before or at any stage of such proceedings,” the GST investigation wing stated.

 

It goes on to say that the tax officer shall advise taxpayers about the terms of voluntary tax payments via DRC-03.

There have been several instances where GST has been deposited into effect by summoning senior office bearers such as directors or promoters of the company. This circular tries to prevent this, however given the existence of the DRC-03 method for depositing tax, the officials may still use indirect coercion to get the assessee to pay up. There have also been instances of bank accounts being frozen, which has resulted in unnecessary hardship for the taxpayer.

 

“While the circular will decrease the department’s use of compulsion to obtain the tax deposited during the inquiry process,” EY India tax partner Bipin Sapra said, “considering that the officers have authority to summon and block bank accounts, any direct direction may be of little use.”