Amid COVID-19 outbreak, where entire world has been experiencing critical issues and every business operation has been disrupted, halted and kept on a break, our Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has come up with some relief from the standpoint of delay in compliances over the major 5 areas i.e. Income Tax, GST, Customs and FTP, MCA and IBC. Gist of changes introduced by Hon’ble Finance Minister on 24.03.2020 through Press Conference in respect of Direct and Indirect Taxes are highlighted below;
Date related extensions;
| S. No. | Particulars | Due Date | Extended Due Date |
| Direct Taxes | |||
| 1 | Income Tax Return filing for FY 2018-19 (i.e. AY 2019-20) | 31.03.2020 | 30.06.2020 |
| 2 | Filing of declaration under Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme.No 10% additional charge will be levied for all applications made till this date. | 31.03.2020 | 30.06.2020 |
| 3 | Investment benefits under Income Tax Act, capital gains reinvestments, Chapter VI-A deposit benefits declarations. | 31.03.2020 | 30.06.2020 |
| 4 | Aadhar PAN linking | 31.03.2020 | 30.06.2020 |
| Indirect Taxes | |||
| 1 | GST Returns (3B and R1) for month of March, April and May 2020 | 11th and 20th of April, May and June respectively | 30.06.2020(In staggered manner for different states) |
| 2 | Opting Composition Scheme | 31.03.2020 | 30.06.2020 |
| 3 | Filing of GST annual returns (GSTR 9 & 9C) for FY 18-19 | 31.03.2020 | 30.06.2020 |
| 4 | Payment due date under Sabka Vishwas Scheme (SVLDRS) | 31.03.2020 | 30.06.2020 |
| General | |||
| 1 | Issue of Notice, Intimation, Filing of Appeal, Furnish Returns, Sanctions, Applications and other compliances by Tax Payers under GST and Income Tax Laws | 31.03.2020 | 30.06.2020 |
Interest Rate related relaxations;
| S. No. | Particulars | Existing Interest Rate | Revised Interest Rate |
| Direct Taxes | |||
| 1 | Delay in tax payment for the FY 2018-19 (i.e. AY 2019-20) including delayed payment of advance tax, self-assessment tax, regular tax, TDS, TCS, equalization levy, STT, CTT. | 12% p.a. | 9% p.a. |
| 2 | Delay in deposit of tax deducted at source (TDS) for the month of March, 2020. | 18% p.a. (1.5% p.m) | 9% p.a.(0.75% p.m) |
| Indirect Taxes | |||
| 3 | Late Fee, Interest and Penalty for Business having turnover less than Rs. 5 crores. | Applicable | Not Applicable |
| 4 | Late Fee, Interest and Penalty for Business having turnover more than Rs. 5 crores. | 18% p.a. | 9% p.a. |
