Taxpayers Urged to Avail Benefits of the Abhay Scheme

Staff Reporter
Mumbai: As the GST law is relatively new, businesses and taxpayers have inadvertently made errors while complying with the GST regulations and making tax payments in the initial phase. To ensure that taxpayers are not burdened with financial penalties in the form of interest and fines, and to facilitate the easy resolution of GST disputes, the Central and State Governments have introduced the GST Abhay Scheme. Eligible taxpayers are urged to avail of this scheme by March 31, 2025, as per the appeal made by the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Department.

Under this scheme, demand orders issued under Section 73 of the CGST Act for the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2019-20 are eligible for benefits. Additionally, cases where demand orders were initially issued under Section 74 but were later converted to Section 73 based on directives from appellate authorities, tribunals, or courts will also be eligible under this Abhay scheme. As per the terms and conditions of the scheme, if only the principal tax amount is paid, the associated interest and penalty will be waived. This scheme provides taxpayers with an opportunity to settle pending cases with the benefit of interest and penalty waiver.

The last date for payment of the required tax under this Abhay scheme is March 31, 2025. Therefore, eligible taxpayers should promptly pay the necessary tax to avail of the waiver of interest and penalties and free themselves from outstanding GST dues. For any clarifications or assistance, taxpayers are advised to contact their respective nodal or regional GST officers, as per the appeal made by the GST Department.