Considering the COVID-19 impact and the hassles faced by the trade and industry, the Government announced various relief measures pertaining to GST Law and Compliances. One of the major reliefs was the GST Amnesty Scheme 2021 which facilitates filing of past period GST returns with reduced late fees.
The late fee for non-furnishing of Form GSTR-3B has been reduced/waived off as under:
| Tax Period | Category | Late Fees |
| July 2017 to April 2021 | Taxpayers having nil tax Liability(NIL Return) | INR 500 per return (INR 250 each for CGST & SGST) |
| Taxpayers having tax Liability | INR 1000 per return (INR 500 each for CGST & SGST) |
Note: The benefit of the reduced late fee shall be available only if the Form GSTR-3B returns for the said period are furnished between 1 June 2021 to 31 August 2021.
(Refer Notification No. 19/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021)
B. Rationalization of Late Fee w.e.f. 1 June 2021
I. Rationalization of maximum Late Fee leviable for the delay in furnishing Form GSTR-3B & GSTR-1 for prospective periods from June 2021 onwards:
| Sr. No. | Category | Late Fees |
| 1 | Taxpayer having a nil tax liability | INR 500 per return (INR 250 each for CGST & SGST) |
| 2 | Taxpayer having a tax liability | |
| 2.1 | Taxpayers having aggregate turnover up to INR 1.5 crores in the preceding financial year | INR 2000 per return (INR 1000 each for CGST & SGST) |
| 2.2 | Taxpayers having aggregate turnover between INR 1.5 crores to INR 5 crores in the preceding financial year | INR 5000 per return (INR 2,500 each for CGST & SGST) |
| 2.5 | Taxpayers having aggregate turnover above INR 5 crores in preceding financial year | INR 10,000 per return (INR 5,000 each for CGST & SGST) |
(Refer Notification No. 19/2021 & 20/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021)
II. Rationalization of maximum Late Fee leviable for the delay in furnishing Form GSTR-4 for prospective periods from FY 2021-22 onwards:
| Sr. No. | Category | Late Fees |
| 1 | Taxpayer having a nil tax liability | INR 500 per return (INR 250 each for CGST & SGST) |
| 2 | Taxpayer having a tax liability | INR 2000 per return (INR 1000 each for CGST & SGST) |
(Refer Notification No. 21/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021)
III. Rationalization of maximum Late Fee leviable for the delay in furnishing Form GSTR-7 for prospective periods from June 2021 onwards:
| Sr. No. | Category | Late Fees |
| 1 | Late fee leviable for delayed furnishing of Form GSTR-7 | INR 50 per day (INR 25 each for CGST & SGST) |
| 2 | The maximum amount of late fee capped at | INR 2,000 per return (INR 1,000 each for CGST & SGST) |
(Refer Notification No. 22/2021-Central Tax dated 1 June 2021)
