Offences & Penalties (Sec. 122-138)

Chapter
XIX: Offences and penalties

122

122(1): Penalty of higher of Rs.10,000 or amount which is due under below
offences shall be paid by a person who:

►   
Does not issue or issues
incorrect or false invoice

►   
Issues any
invoice or document by using the registration no. of another person

►   
Issues invoice without supply & avails ITC on such invoice

►   
Suppresses turnover or
fraudulently obtains refund of tax

►   
Collects any tax which is not paid to the government within 3 months from due date of payment

►   
Deducts or collects, lesser amount than required u/s 51(1) or 52(1) or fails to pay u/s 51(2) or
52(3)

►   
Takes or
distributes ITC in contravention of
section 20

►   
Falsifies or fails to retain financial records, accounts or documents

►   
Fails to furnish or
furnishes false
information or return or documents

►   
Fails to obtain registration even though liable to do so

►   
Transports any
taxable goods without the cover of documents

►   
Supplies,
transports or stores goods which are liable to confiscation

►   
Tampers or destroys any
material evidence or document or goods that have been detained, seized, or
attached

►   
Obstructs or prevents any officer in discharge of his duties

122(1A): Any person retaining benefit of any
transaction as mentioned below at whose instance such transaction is
conducted shall be liable to the penalty equal to Tax evaded, ITC availed or passed on.

►     
Transaction
without issuing invoice or by issuing incorrect or false invoice

►      Avail credit for
invoice or bill issued without supply of goods or services

►      Utilizes ITC without
actual receipt of goods or services

►      Takes or distributes ITC in contravention of section 20

122(2): Supplier
of any supplies on which any tax has not been paid or
short-paid or wrongly
refunded, or ITC has been wrongly
availed or utilized shall be liable to a penalty equal to:

Involving fraud or willful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax

Higher of Rs.10,000 or the tax due

Other
cases

Higher of Rs.10,000 or 10% of the tax due

122(3): Penalty
up to Rs.25,000 shall be paid if a person:

►   
Aids or abets any of
the offences specified 122(1)

►   
Possesses,
transports, stores, supplies, purchases etc. goods which he knows or believes are liable to confiscation

►   
Receives
or deals with supply of services which he knows or
believes are in contravention
of any provisions

►   
Fails to appear before the officer of central tax when summoned

►   
Fails to issue invoice as per provisions or invoice is not accounted in the
books

Offence

Penalty (Rs.)

Maximum (Rs.)

123

Not filing return u/s 150 within specified period

100
per day

5000

124

Failure to furnish any information or return u/s 151 or furnishing of false information

Up
to 10000 and 100 per day

25000

125

Contravention of any provisions of this Act or any rules for which no
penalty is separately provided

–

25000

126

Penalty is not imposed for minor breaches (tax is less than Rs.5,000) of tax regulations or procedural
requirements & any omission or mistake in documentation which is easily
rectifiable & made without fraudulent intent or gross negligence.

128

►   
For late
filing of GSTR-1, 3B, 4, 5, 6 & 7, the late fee payable u/s 47 has been reduced to Rs. 25/- per day.

►   
For
GSTR-1, 3B, 4 & 5, if the Tax liability is Nil, then fee is Rs. 10/- per day.

►   
For GSTR-9,
9C, from FY 22-23, if aggregate Turnover is up to Rs.5 crore, then fee is
Rs.25 per day. If aggregate Turnover is above Rs.5 crore but upto Rs. 20 crore,
fee is Rs.50 per day.

Note:
SGST Act also prescribes the same amount of late fee. Therefore, total late
fee payable will be twice of the above said amounts.

Notification No. 73/2017, 4/2018, 5/2018, 7/2018, 76/2018

►   
The late
fee payable for late filing GSTR-1,3B,4, 7, 9 & 9C is restricted to below
mentioned limit (applicable from June-2021/quarter Jun-Jul-2021, FY 21-22 for
GSTR-4):

Return

Condition

Max. limit (Rs.)

Notification

GSTR-1 & 3B

►   
GSTR 1 NIL Return

►   
GSTR 3B – if Tax
Payable is ‘NIL’

250

19/2021,

20/2021

Other than above cases:

►     
If Turnover is up to
Rs.1.5 Crore

1000

►     
If Turnover is >
Rs.1.5 crore, up to Rs. 5 Crore

2500

GSTR-4

Nil Return

250

21/2021

Other than NIL Return

1000

GSTR -7

–

1000

22/2021

GSTR-9 / 9C

Turnover is up to Rs.
20 crore (from FY 22-23)

0.02%
of Turnover

 07/2023

The
late fee is waived in following cases:

►   
GSTR-9 for FY 2017-18
to FY 2021-22 is filed between 1.4.2023 to 31.8.2023, then late fee in excess
of Rs.10,000/- is waived off. Notification No. 07/2023 & 25/2023

►   
GSTR-10 is
not filed within due date, but filed between 1.4.2023 to 31.8.2023, then late
fee in excess of Rs.500 is waived off. Notification No. 08/2023 & 26/2023

►   
GSTR-4 for
the quarters July, 2017 to March, 2019 or for FY’s 2019-20 to 2021-22 is not
filed within the due date, but filed between 01-April-23 to 31-Aug-23, then
late fee is fully waived for Nil Returns & late fee in excess of Rs. 250
is waived for other returns. Notification No 02/2023 & 22/2023

►   
GSTR-4 for
FY 2021-22 filed on or before  28-Jul-2022 Notification No.12/2022

►   
GSTR-3B
for the months/quarter of July, 2017 to April, 2021 is not filed within due
dates but filed between 01-Jun-2021 to 30-Nov-2021, then late fee in excess
of Rs.250 is waived off in case of Nil return & late fee in excess of Rs.
500 is waived off in case of other than Nil returns. Notification No. 19/2021 & 33/2021

►   
GSTR-3B
for the months March, April & May 2021 / Quarter Jan-Mar-2021 if filed
before the date mentioned in Notification No. 09/2021 & 19/2021.

►   
GSTR-4 for
FY 2019-20 is filed between 01-Nov-2020 to 31-Dec-2020 if principal place of
business is in Ladakh. Notification No. 93/2020

►   
GSTR-10 is
not filed within due date, but filed between 22-Sep-20 to 31-Dec-20, then
late fee in excess of Rs. 250 is waived. Notification No. 68/2020

►   
GSTR-4 nil
return for the quarters from July, 2017 to March, 2019 is filed between 22-Sep-20
to 31-Oct-20, then late fee in excess of Rs. 250 is waived. Notification No 67/2020, Corrigendum

►   
GSTR-1 for
the months from March to June 2020 / Quarter ending in March-2020 &
June-2020, is filed on or before the date mentioned in Notification No.53/2020.

►   
GSTR-3B
for the month of February to July-2020 is filed before the date mentioned in Notification
No.52/2020. If the return could not be filed within mentioned date, but
filed on or before 30-Sep-2020, the late fee is fully waived off in case of
Nil return & late fee in excess of Rs. 250 is waived off in case of other
than Nil returns. Notification No.57/2020

►   
GSTR-3B
for the month of July, 2017 to January, 2020 is filed between 01-Jul-2020 to
30-Sep-2020, then late fee is fully waived off in case of Nil return &
late fee in excess of Rs. 250 is waived off in case of other than Nil returns. Notification No.52/2020

►   
GSTR 1 for
the months/quarters from July,2017 to November,2019 is not filed by the due
date, but furnishes the said returns between the 19-Dec-2019 to 17-Jan-2020 Notification No. 74/2019 , 04/2020

►   
If
taxpayers of Jammu and Kashmir files the return for the month July &
August 2019 in GSTR-1 by 11-Oct-2019, GSTR-7 by 11-Oct-2019 & GSTR-3B by
20-Oct-2019  Notification No.41/2019 ,
48/2019

►   
If GSTR-6
return for the month July-2019 is filed on or before 20-Sep-2019 by taxpayers
of Jammu and Kashmir Notification No.41/2019

►   
If GSTR-6
and GSTR-1 monthly return for the month July-2019 is filed on or before
20-Sep-2019 by taxpayers of notified districts of Bihar, Gujarat, Karnataka,
Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttarakhand Notification No.41/2019

►   
GSTR-1/ GSTR-3B/ GSTR-4 for the months/quarters from July, 2017 to September, 2018 is
not filed by the due date, but furnishes the said returns between the
22-Dec-18 to 31-Mar-19.[Notification No. 75/2018] & [Notification No. 76/2018] & [Notification No. 77/2018]

►   
GSTR-3B
for the month October-2017 if submitted, but not filed.

►   
GSTR-6
filed in between 1-Jan-2018 to 23-Jan-2018 Notification No. 41/2018

129

If
any person transports or stores goods in transit in contravention of the provisions of this Act or rules, such goods &
conveyance used for transport & documents relating to such goods &
conveyance shall be liable to detention or seizure & shall be released,
on payment of penalty given below or Rs.25,000, whichever is less, and
providing security equal to penalty & tax payable.

Person who pays such tax & penalty

Type of goods

% of Penalty

Owner

Taxable
goods

Exempted
goods

100%
of tax payable

2%
of value of goods

Transporter

Taxable
goods

Exempted
goods

50%
of tax payable

5%
of value of goods

If
the transporter or owner fails to pay such amount within 14 days of such
detention or seizure, further proceedings shall be initiated u/s 130.

Note: Total Penalty is the sum of the penalties
leviable under other GST Acts.

130

If
a person commits any of the following offences, then such goods or
conveyances is liable to confiscation & penalty u/s 122 shall be paid:

►   
Supplies
or receives any goods
in contravention of provisions

►   
Does not account for goods on
which he is liable to pay tax

►   
Supplies any goods liable to
tax without having applied for registration

►   
Contravenes any provisions
with intent to evade tax

►   
Uses any
conveyance for transportation of goods in contravention of
provisions (Unless the owner of the conveyance proves that it was so used
without his knowledge)

132

Person
commits or
attempts to commit or abets any of the following offences:

►   
Does not issue invoice

►   
Issues invoice without supply & avails ITC on such invoice

►   
Collects any tax which is not paid to the government
within 3 months from due date of payment

►   
Evades tax or fraudulently avails ITC or refund

►   
Possesses,
transports, stores, supplies , purchases etc. goods which he knows or believes are liable to confiscation

►   
Receives
or deals with supply of services which he knows or
believes are in contravention of any provisions

►   
Fails to
supply information or furnishes false information without intention to avoid tax

Tax evaded or ITC wrongly availed or refund wrongly taken
exceeds

Fine &/or imprisonment up to

500
lakh

5
years

200
lakh

3
years

100
lakh

1
year

Person
who commits or abets commission of following offences shall be punishable
with imprisonment up to 6 months or with fine or both:

►   
Falsifies financial records,
accounts or documents or furnishes false information

►   
Obstructs or prevents any officer in the discharge of his duties

►   
Tampers with or destroys any
material evidence or documents

137

Persons deemed to be guilty of offence:

►     
Persons in charge of & responsible for the conduct of a body corporate, at the time of offence

►     
Any
director, manager or officer of a company if offence has been committed with the consent or connivance
of, or due to negligence of such person