Waiver of Late Fee for GSTR-3B, GSTR-4 & GSTR-6

Notification No.: 41/2018 – Central Tax
Date of Notification: 4th September 2018
Relevant Sections and Rules:

• Central GST Act, 2017:
  • Section 47: Levy of late fee for delayed return
  • Section 128: Power to waive late fee
• CGST Rules, 2017:
  • Rule 61 (GSTR-3B)
  • Rule 62 (GSTR-4)
  • Rule 65 (GSTR-6 for ISD)
• Integrated GST Act: Not applicable

Summary of Notification

The Central Government, under powers conferred by Section 128 of the CGST Act and on the recommendations of the GST Council, waived late fees under Section 47 for the following classes of taxpayers:

1. For GSTR-3B (October 2017):
   Late fee is waived for registered persons who had submitted but not filed GSTR-3B for October 2017 on the GST portal, despite generation of the application reference number.
2. For GSTR-4 (October–December 2017):
   Waiver applies to taxpayers who filed GSTR-4 for Q3 FY 2017–18 (Oct–Dec) by the due date but were erroneously charged a late fee by the GST portal.
3. For GSTR-6 (ISD returns from 1st to 23rd January 2018):
   Input Service Distributors who paid late fee for filing or submitting GSTR-6 for any tax period between 1st January to 23rd January 2018 are eligible for waiver.

This notification provides retrospective relief to taxpayers who were penalized due to system errors or transitional compliance challenges.

Source: Notification No.: 41/2018 – Central Tax