Total GST revenue for September stood at Rs 92,150 crore as on Monday: Finance Ministry

The government on Tuesday waived penalty on the delayed filing of initial GST returns for the months of August and September. (Reuters)

In a big respite to traders and businessmen, the government on Tuesday waived penalty on the delayed filing of initial GST returns for the months of August and September. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley made the announcement on micro-blogging site Twitter, saying that the decision was taken to facilitate the taxpayers. The Finance Ministry also announced GST collections for the month of September up to October 23.

According to the ministry, the total revenue of GST paid under different heads stood at Rs 92,150 crore. The total CGST revenue of the government is Rs 14,042 crore, SGST revenue is Rs 21,172 crore and IGST revenue is Rs 48,948 crore, the Finance Ministry tweeted. The IGST revenue, which consists of Rs 23,951 crore of IGST from imports in September 2017, is Rs 48,948.  The compensation cess of the government stood at Rs 7,988 crore, of which Rs 722 crore is from imports in September 2017, the Finance Ministry said.

“To facilitate taxpayers, late fee on filing of GSTR-3B for August and September has been waived,” Finance Minister Arun Jaitley tweeted. The government had earlier waived late fee for the delayed filing of the maiden returns for the month of July under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime.

Businesses have been demanding that the government waives the penalty for delayed filing of 3B returns. As per the data, 55.87 lakh GSTR-3B returns were filed for July, 51.37 lakh for August and over 42 lakh for September. Preliminary returns GSTR-3B for a month is filed on the 20th day of the next month after paying due taxes.

To facilitate taxpayers, late fee on filing of GSTR-3B for Aug&Sept has been waived. Late fee paid will be credited back to taxpayer ledger.

— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) October 24, 2017

As per the data with the GST Network (GSTN), a huge chunk of businesses file their returns after the expiry of the due date. While only 33.98 lakh July returns were filed till the due date, the number has now gone up to 55.87 lakh. Similarly for August 28.46 lakh returns were filed till the last date, but the figure went up to 51.37 lakh later.

Also for September while 39.4 lakh returns were filed by the due date, the number is rising and was over 42 lakh till yesterday. The GST law provides for a nominal fee of Rs 100 per day on Central GST and an equivalent amount on State GST in case of late filing of returns and payment of taxes.