Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday announced the extension of the deadline for filing the Goods and Service Tax (GST) returns for March, April and May 2020 till June 30.
The minister made the statement while addressing the media via video conference. She was accompanied by the Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs.
She further said that companies which have a turnover of less than five crore, no interest, no late fee, or no penalty will be charged.
Companies with turnover of above Rs 5 crore will not have to pay any late fee or penalty but will have to file a 9 per cent interest rate for late filing of GST.
“I want to underline is the date for opting for composition scheme is also extended to 30th June 2020.” The minister said.
At the beginning of her speech the minister also announced the extension of the deadline for filing income tax returns for the financial year 2018-19 till June 30, 2020.
Sitharaman also said that the government has reduced the interest rate on delayed TDS deposit to 9 per cent from the previous 18 per cent.
The relief comes amidst the whole of the country coming to a standstill due to the rising number of coronavirus cases and lockdown across states.