Recent Relief Measures for Taxpayers

QRMP

Sir, the scheme appears quite good in view of its following features:

• Tax liability in cash for the 1^st and 2^nd month of the Quarter to be determined taking into account the ITC (input tax credit) available.
• Tax liability ibid (1^st and 2^nd month) can be paid by deposit in Electronic Cash Ledger (ECL) of an amount equal to 35% of total debits from ECL during preceding quarter, by 25^th of next month.
• One can deposit more if desires – i.e. when liability in cash, for the month, is more than the 35% ibid.
• The ITC available shall be provided by the system, in GSTR-2B.
• Where total balance in the electronic cash ledger and electronic credit ledger is adequate for the tax due for the 1^st month or 2^nd month, or where there is nil tax liability in the said month, one needs not deposit any amount.
• One shall submit the GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B quarterly, instead of monthly.
• Where one feels the recipient shall need the invoice details to avail ITC, he can submit details of Invoices issued during the 1^st/ 2^nd month subject to maximum value of Rs.50 Lakhs in each month, using Invoice Furnishing Facility (IFF). This detail shall be provided to a non-QRMP recipient in GSTR-2A. For those working under QRMP it shall be available in GSTR-2B ibid.
• IFF (Invoice Furnishing Facility) is optional. One may furnish details of all the Invoices issued in the quarter in the GSTR-1 (quarterly for QRMP).
• Details of only remaining Invoices, than furnished in IFF, need submission in GSTR-1.
• Details of Invoices using IFF to be submitted between 1^st to 13^th day of next month.
• Continuous upload of invoices has been provided for the registered persons wherein they can save the invoices in IFF.
• Provided that every registered person furnishing return under the proviso to subsection (1) shall pay to the Government, the tax due taking into account inward and outward supplies of goods or services or both, input tax credit availed, tax payable and such other particulars during a month, in such form and manner, and within such time, as may be prescribed:

CONDITIONS for availing the Scheme are as under:

• Aggregate turnover (includes value of all Taxable, Exempt, NIL-rated, Zero-Rated and Non-Taxable supplies, but excludes GST & Cess) of a person (/PAN) during preceding FY, has to be up to Rs.5 Crores. (This turnover-detail is available from GSTR-3Bs).
• Option has to be exercised to operate under the Scheme
• A registered person can opt in for any quarter in the first month of the quarter. In fact option can be exercised from first day of second month of preceding quarter to the last day of the first month of the quarter.
• Option can be exercised only if last Return due has been furnished
• As a facilitation measure for initiation into the scheme, those having submitted the return for October 2020 by 30.11.2020 and had aggregate turnover in 2019-20 were auto opted into the scheme.
• They could however withdraw the (auto) option between 5/12/2020 to 31/01/2010.
• The auto-opted in were those who had up to 1.5 Crores of aggregate turnover and were operating under the then Quarterly GSTR-1 option. Those operating under monthly GSTR-1 were not auto-opted. Those having aggregate turnover between 1.5 Crores to 5 Crores were also auto-opted into the Scheme.
• Being available to the class of ‘Registered Persons’ notified under Section 39(1)/ 39(7), the option is GSTIN-wise. Thus a PAN can opt for the scheme for some GSTINs and not in other GSTINs.
• For Deposit of tax in Electronic Cash Ledger for 1^st and 2^nd month of the Quarter @35%/ 100% of debits from Electronic Cash Ledger during preceding Quarterly/ monthly Tax-Period, that period has to be a complete tax period.
• The debits from the Electronic Cash Ledger has to be only at the time of submission of GSTR-3B i.e. on quarterly basis.
• No interest payable: in case while furnishing quarterly return (GSTR-3B) it is found that in any or both of the first two months of the quarter, the tax liability net of available credit on the supplies made /received was higher than the amount paid in Challan, then, no interest would be charged provided one had deposited system calculated amount (viz. 35%/ 100% of total debits in preceding quarter/ month) for each of the first two months, by the due dates, and also discharges entire liability for the quarter in the GSTR-3B of the quarter by the due date.
• Interest shall be however, payable if self assessed tax is found deposited at lesser than due or after deposited after the due date or debited after the date due for quarterly return.

There is no Late Fee for late deposit of the tax due for the first 2 months.

Relief Measures – older than 1.01.2021

10.11.2020 – The Quarterly Return for Composition Taxpayers has been made yearly [Section 39(2)] and only a statement of Tax payable has to be submitted quarterly. This statement (Form CMP-08) is merely a summary of taxpayer’s tax liability for the quarter and the tax actually paid, including under reverse charge. Whereas yearly return is a statement providing account for each kind of transaction viz. reverse or forward charge or TDS/ TCS paid or received, and tax payable etc.

[Section 39 was substituted vide F. (No.2) Act-2019, Section 97 of the FA was made effective from 10.11.2020 vide notfn.81/2020 dated 10.11.2020].