India’s new Goods and Services Tax (GST) amnesty scheme will come into effect on November 1, 2024. This will offer relief to taxpayers with outstanding GST demands from 2017-18 to 2019-20.

The scheme waives interest and penalties on non-fraudulent cases.

However, taxpayers still need to settle their outstanding tax dues, with the deadline for payments set as March 31, 2025.

Key details of the amnesty scheme

The Ministry of Finance officially notified the scheme, following the announcement in Budget 2024. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) confirmed that taxpayers eligible under Section 128A can apply for waivers on interest and penalties relating to specific GST demands raised under Section 73 of the GST Act.

Importantly, the scheme applies only to non-fraudulent GST liabilities.

Eligibility and application process

The waiver applies to outstanding GST demands for tax periods between July 1, 2017, and March 31, 2020. To qualify, businesses must pay the tax due and submit their waiver applications through the GST portal.

Applications for the waiver must be submitted by June 30, 2025.

While this scheme waives interest and penalty, it does not exempt taxpayers from paying the actual GST dues.

Tax experts and industry leaders have emphasised that this scheme will provide relief to taxpayers with pending GST dues.

This initiative is particularly beneficial for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) struggling with accumulated penalties.