GST Council extends deadline to recover FY19, FY20 tax dues
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council has decided to give tax officials more time to demand and recover tax dues from businesses for the financial years 2019 (FY19) and 2020 (FY20). This move is designed to help central and state tax authorities tackle backlogs in tax recovery. Tax officials now have until April 2024 to collect FY19 dues, while the deadline for FY20 dues has been pushed to August next year.
For FY19, the initial deadline was March 2024
Saurabh Agarwal, a tax partner at EY, explained that the extension aims to provide enough time for taxpayers to submit necessary information, allowing for a more comprehensive assessment process. "For FY19, the initial deadline of 31 March 2024 has now been extended to 30 April 2024," Agarwal said. For FY20, the original deadline of 30 June 2024 has been extended to 31 August 2024, giving the department extra time to issue show-cause notices.
The extensions could help tackle cases of tax discrepancies
According to the law, there's a three-year window to recover outstanding dues, commencing from the date of filing annual GST returns. This extension is particularly helpful for tax officials, allowing them to take appropriate action in cases of tax discrepancies, such as underpayment of taxes, misuse of credits, or incorrect refunds issued by authorities. However, it's important to note that this time limit does not apply to cases involving fraud, wilful misstatement, or suppression of facts.
