Supreme Court rejects plea on extending GST Amnesty Scheme
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The Supreme Court declined to issue directives on extending the goods and services tax (GST) amnesty scheme, saying this is “a policy decision exclusively within the domain of the government".
An SC bench of justices D.Y. Chadrachud and M.R. Shah dismissed a petition by a trader from Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur who urged the court to direct the central government and the GST Council to extend the amnesty scheme, giving more time to small businesses and MSMEs for filing their returns.
The petition by Satyakam Arya assailed the notification issued by the GST Council on 24 June 2020 which gave time till 30 September 2020 for filing of returns between July 2017 and July 2020, capping the late fee at Rs.500. For any subsequent delay, a late fee of ₹50 per day was prescribed as penalty.
Arya asked for an extension of the scheme by two months, besides reimbursement of the late fee already collected.
The bench refused. In its order, it said: “In our view, these reliefs, as sought in the petition, pertain in the realm of policy decisions. It would be inappropriate for this court to entertain a petition of this nature, such as extension of the amnesty scheme; a cap on the late fee to be collected; exemption of late fee paid for a period between March 25, 2020 and June 30, 2020 and refund of the amount already collected towards late fee."
The court emphasized that the amnesty scheme was itself a “policy intervention" by the government and that “the terms on which the amnesty scheme was executed is in the realm of a policy decision."
An SC bench of justices D.Y. Chadrachud and M.R. Shah dismissed a petition by a trader from Chhattisgarh’s Bilaspur who urged the court to direct the central government and the GST Council to extend the amnesty scheme, giving more time to small businesses and MSMEs for filing their returns.
The petition by Satyakam Arya assailed the notification issued by the GST Council on 24 June 2020 which gave time till 30 September 2020 for filing of returns between July 2017 and July 2020, capping the late fee at Rs.500. For any subsequent delay, a late fee of ₹50 per day was prescribed as penalty.
Arya asked for an extension of the scheme by two months, besides reimbursement of the late fee already collected.
The bench refused. In its order, it said: “In our view, these reliefs, as sought in the petition, pertain in the realm of policy decisions. It would be inappropriate for this court to entertain a petition of this nature, such as extension of the amnesty scheme; a cap on the late fee to be collected; exemption of late fee paid for a period between March 25, 2020 and June 30, 2020 and refund of the amount already collected towards late fee."
The court emphasized that the amnesty scheme was itself a “policy intervention" by the government and that “the terms on which the amnesty scheme was executed is in the realm of a policy decision."
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