GST Amnesty Scheme: A Chance To Clear Your GST Dues Without Interest Payment

When GST was introduced in 2017, many businesses, including small and medium-sized businesses, made mistakes or missed filing returns. They didn’t do it deliberately or wanted to cheat, but because the rules were new and took time to cope up with. From those mistakes, penalties and fines accrued, ultimately, businesses could not sort things out. For such businesses, the GST Amnesty Scheme was introduced.

Under this special scheme, businesses can request a waiver of their accrued penalties or interest payments and get one more chance to start their business journey afresh. This way, businesses can focus on growing and not worry about those old GST troubles.

In this blog, we will discuss what the GST Amnesty Scheme is, the eligibility criteria and the various types of forms and their uses. 

What is the GST Amnesty Scheme?

GST Amnesty Scheme is a government scheme aimed to assist businesses in paying their pending GST liabilities with lesser penalty, interest and other financial provisions. This scheme was initially introduced to motivate the businesses to comply and reduce the tax dues that they have failed to pay over time, particularly where businesses have not filed their returns. 

The GST Amnesty scheme provides businesses with a chance of settling their old tax payments on favourable terms, which could save them from penalties and other legal actions. Through this scheme, businesses will be able to get on track without incurring financial losses that they would have incurred if they had chosen conventional ways of expediting things. 

Eligibility Criteria for the GST Amnesty Scheme

Now, you might be wondering, “Am I eligible for this scheme?” Isn’t it? Apparently, the GST Amnesty Scheme was introduced with the intent to relieve the burden of penalties from as many businesses as possible; however, there are some eligibility criteria, which are as follows: 

Non-Fraudulent Cases Only: The scheme allows only those businesses that have pending tax demands issued under Section 73 of the CGST Act, which covers non-fraudulent errors like missed filings or incorrect input tax credit claims.

Specific Years: The scheme covers the tax disputes from July 1, 2017, to March 31, 2020. In other words, it is applicable in tax dispute cases of the first three years of GST, when businesses were still figuring things out. 

Payment in One Go: You must be ready to pay the full tax amount in one go, without any instalments. 

No Pending Appeals: If you have already filed an appeal in the court against the tax demand, before applying to the GST Amnesty Scheme, you need to withdraw it. 

Demanding Interest Payment: If you have already paid the tax but the department is still demanding interest payment, you are eligible to get a waiver under the GST Amnesty Scheme. 

Additional Read: GST Composition Scheme

Types of Forms Related to the GST Amnesty Scheme

There are a number of forms introduced by the GST Portal to cater to various cases of tax demand under the GST Amnesty Scheme, which are as follows: 

GST SPL-01: This form is used for applying for a waiver under the GST Amnesty Scheme. 

GST SPL-02: In case a demand order or appellate order has already been passed, you need to provide payment details and relevant order information in this form. 

GST SPL-03: This form is used by a GST officer to issue a show cause notice in response to your application. 

GST SPL-04: This form is used to reply to the show cause notice issued via form GST SPL-03. 

GST SPL-05: Used by a GST officer to conclude proceedings if your case is approved. 

GST SPL-06: The order will be issued in this form if the appeal is made against SPL-07, which gets approved in favour of the taxpayer. 

GST SPL-07: This is a rejection form used by the GST officer if the appeal of the taxpayer via SPL-04 gets rejected. 

GST SPL-08: It is used as an undertaking to confirm no further appeal will be filed in cases where the appellate authority has rejected the waiver application under Section 128A.

Latest Update in GST Amnesty Scheme 

The last date to apply for the scheme was June 30, 2025. Currently, it is no longer in effect, and whether it gets introduced again depends on the government/GST Council. 

Conclusion

The GST Amnesty Scheme is a great chance to clear the GST dues without any penalties. Knowing the eligibility, filling the correct forms, and paying the lower dues can help you clear your GST liabilities and concentrate on business growth.

Next time, if you want to prevent any mistakes in GST return filing and stay up to date with compliance obligations, register your business with Munim GST Return Filing software today. It keeps your return filing on track so that you never miss any return filing deadline.