Kerala GST Dept issues Circular on Amnesty Scheme 2024 for Resolving Pending Pre-GST Tax Arrears [Read Circular]

The amnesty scheme for resolving pending Pre-GST tax arrears was announced by the Government of Kerala in the Budget 2024 will come into force on 1st August 2024. The GST ( Goods and Services Tax ) department issued a trade circular on the scheme today.

According to the Amnesty scheme, the trade sector can utilise this scheme for resolving the pending tax arrears prior to the GST period. The tax arrears included in this amnesty scheme starts from 1960-61 to 2017-18 under different tax statutes.

This amnesty scheme covers the following acts:

1. Kerala Value Added Act, 2003
2. Kerala General Sales Tax  Act, 1963
3. Kerala Surcharge on Tax Act, 1957
4. Kerala Agricultural Income Tax Act, 1956
5. Kerala Luxuries Tax Act, 1976
6. Central Sales Tax Act, 1991

However, the tax, turnover tax and compounding tax related to liquor sales under the General Sales Tax will not be covered. This was clearly clarified in the circular. The tax dues were divided into different slabs under the Amnesty scheme. The slabs are as follows:

	Tax arrears Slab ( In rupees)	Concessions
1	Up to Rs. 50,000	Written off Completely
2	Above Rs. 50,000 and up to Rs. 10 lakhs	Defaulters need to pay only 30%
3	Above Rs. 10 lakhs and up to Rs. 1 crore (under appeal proceedings/ Disputed tax)	Defaulters need to pay only 40%
3	Above Rs. 10 lakhs and up to Rs. 1 crore (not under appeal proceedings)	Defaulters need to pay only 50%
4	Above Rs. 1 core (under appeal proceedings/Disputed tax)	Defaulters need to pay only 70%
4	Above Rs. 1 core (not under appeal proceedings)	Defaulters need to pay only 80%

If a taxpayer receives a demand of Rs. 8 lakhs, with an additional Rs. 3 lakhs in interest and Rs. 2 lakhs in penalties, the total demand amounts to Rs. 13 lakhs. However, for the purpose of determining the applicable slab, only the principal amount of Rs. 8 lakhs is considered. The interest and penalty are not included in the slab calculation. Therefore, the taxpayer falls under the slab of above Rs. 50,000 and up to Rs. 10 lakhs.

The deadline to join the amnesty scheme is December 31, 2024. However, the State GST Department has stated that the maximum concessions will be available to applications submitted within 60 days of the scheme's launch. Applications submitted after this 60-day period but before the December 31 deadline will qualify for reduced concessions, details of which will be announced by the government at a later date.

You can submit your applications in the portal opened by the department - www.kitis.keralataxes.gov.in. However the payment shall be made through the treasury portal - www.etreasury.kerala.gov.in.

After paying the tax dues, the payer will receive a settlement certificate, which can be downloaded directly from the portal. If the amnesty certificate is not received, it indicates that the tax dues have not been settled.

To Read the full text of the Circular CLICK HERE

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