Interest & penalties
GST is a self-assessment tax wherein the tax payer is expected to know the law and comply with it. Ignorance of law is generally no excuse.
Interest under GST
Interest is levied under tax laws for delay in payment of tax. The levy of interest invariably discourages entrepreneurs from knowingly delaying payment of taxes. Notification 13/2017- Central Tax prescribes rates of interests in cases of delay in payment of taxes.
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recipient will be required to pay interest on the credit taken incorrectly. The interest will be calculated till the time such incorrect credit is not reversed |
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Late Fees
The law prescribes late fees for delayed filing for GST returns. These are:
- Rs. 100 per day subject to a limit of Rs.5,000 for delayed filing of monthly returns
- Rs.100 per day subject to a limit of 1/4th percent of the turnover in the State for delayed filing of annual return
Penalty under GST
Various penal provisions are provided in the GST law - some of which are mandatory in nature and some are discretionary at the will of the proper officer.
Penalty for 21 types of offences
GST law provides for various kinds of willful offences for which the penalty prescribed is Rs. 10,000 or the tax amount involved, whichever is higher. These penalties are mandatory in nature if the default is proven against the assesse. Examples of such offences are:
- supplying goods or services without issuance of invoice or issuing false invoice
- does remit tax within 3 months of collecting the tax amount
- fails to deduct TDS or collect TCS
- avails credit without actually receiving goods / services
- fraudulently obtains refund
- falsifies books or tampers with records
- is liable to take registration but does not take
Non-payment of tax or irregular availment of input tax credit
Similar to provisions under Central Excise and Service tax laws, penalty on non-payment of tax or irregular availment of credit has been divided in two cases:
- cases not involving fraud, willful misstatement, etc – higher of Rs.10,000 or 10% of the tax due
- cases involving fraud, willful misstatement, etc – higher of Rs.10,000 or 10% of the tax due
General penalty
The law provides for a general penalty of Rs. 25,000 in case of a offences for which no specific penalty has been prescribed.
Detention of Goods in transit
Where goods are transported in contravention of the GST provisions, they can detained by the GST authorities. Such cases may require payment of heavy penalties before the goods are released by the road side authorities. Provisions provide for provisional release of goods and conveyance upon furnishing of security for the tax and penalty amount payable.
Confiscation of goods
In certain extreme cases, the GST authorities have the power to confiscate goods. Where the confiscation is held legal, the owner of the goods may have to pay redemption fine for have the goods released. This is in addition to the tax, interest and penalty payable.