Notification No.: 18/2021 – Central Tax
Date of Notification: 1st June 2021.
Relevant Sections and Rules
Central GST Act, 2017:
- Section 50(1) – Interest on delayed payment of tax (power to notify rates).
- Section 148 – Special procedure for certain processes/classes of registered persons.
CGST—Notifications/Rules impacted:
- Amends Notification No. 13/2017 – Central Tax (interest rate notification), incl. its table/wording.
Integrated GST Act, 2017:
- Not applicable.
Summary of Notification
1) Widened trigger for concessional interest—wording change in first proviso to Notif. 13/2017:
In the first proviso of Notification 13/2017, the phrase “required to furnish the returns in FORM GSTR-3B, but fail to furnish the said return along with payment of tax” is replaced with “liable to pay tax but fail to do so.” This broadens the coverage of concessional interest relief beyond the narrow “late GSTR-3B filing” formulation.
2) Table heading aligned to frequency—“Tax period” → “Month/Quarter”:
In the interest-rate table, column-4’s heading now reads “Month/Quarter” (instead of “Tax period”) to expressly cover both monthly and quarterly filers.
3) Concessional interest schedule for March–May 2021 (different slabs by turnover & filing scheme):
- Turnover > ₹5 crore: 9% for the first 15 days from the due date, 18% thereafter for March, April, May 2021.
- Turnover ≤ ₹5 crore – monthly filers (s.39(1)):
- March 2021: Nil (first 15 days), 9% (next 45 days), 18% thereafter.
- April 2021: Nil (first 15), 9% (next 30), 18% thereafter.
- May 2021: Nil (first 15), 9% (next 15), 18% thereafter.
- Turnover ≤ ₹5 crore – QRMP filers (proviso to s.39(1)): Same three-tier Nil/9%/18% pattern for March, April, May 2021 with 15-day Nil window and tapering relief windows of 45/30/15 days respectively.
- Section 39(2) return filers (quarterly): Nil (first 15 days), 9% (next 45 days), 18% thereafter for the quarter ending March 2021.
4) Retrospective enforcement date for these changes:
The notification is deemed to have come into force from 18th May 2021, giving retrospective effect to the interest relief schedule.
