What is the GST amnesty scheme under section 128A?

What is a GST amnesty scheme?

A GST amnesty scheme is a time-bound relief notified by CBIC that lets a taxpayer regularise a past default while the interest, penalty or late fee that would normally apply is waived or capped. It is always created by a numbered notification or a statutory section, never by practice, and it always closes on a stated date. The recurring hook in the law is section 128A of the CGST Act, 2017, inserted with effect from 1 November 2024.

Two things repeat every time a scheme is announced. The relief covers a defined default and a defined period, and it comes with a condition, most often that the underlying tax is paid in full first. Reading the notification number and its PDF is the only way to know the exact scope of a given scheme.

What does section 128A waive?

Section 128A of the CGST Act, 2017 waives the interest and penalty, or both, on a demand raised under section 73 for the financial years 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20. Section 73 is the demand provision for cases without fraud, wilful misstatement or suppression of facts. The tax component of the demand stays payable in full; only the interest and penalty fall away once the conditions are met.

The scheme does not reach demands under section 74, which deals with fraud cases, and it does not extend past FY 2019-20. Erroneous refund demands are also outside it. Circular No. 238/32/2024-GST dated 15 October 2024 sets out the CBIC clarifications on this scope.

Who can apply under section 128A?

Any registered person carrying a section 73 demand for FY 2017-18, 2018-19 or 2019-20 can apply under section 128A, whether the case is still a notice, a statement, or a passed order. The eligibility turns on the section under which the demand was raised and the period it relates to, not on the taxpayer's turnover or category.

What stages of a demand are covered?

Section 128A(1) covers three stages of a section 73 case: a notice or statement where no order has been passed, an order passed by the proper officer, and an order passed by the appellate authority where no further order has followed. The stage decides which application form is used, not whether the relief is available.

What are the section 128A conditions?

The core condition is payment of the full tax demanded before the waiver takes effect, shown through Form GST DRC-03 or the electronic liability register as the rule requires. Two further conditions shape the outcome.

• No refund of amounts already paid. A proviso to section 128A(1) states that where the interest and penalty has already been paid, no refund of it is available once the waiver applies. The scheme closes the remaining liability, it does not return past payments.
• The tax must be paid by the notified date. The payment cut-off for the section 128A window was fixed by notification 21/2024-Central Tax at 31 March 2025, with the waiver application to follow within three months of that date, and within six months in the narrow redetermination cases the notification names.
• Withdrawal of appeals. Where an appeal or writ is pending on the same demand, it must be withdrawn for the section 128A application to conclude the proceedings.

SPL-01 or SPL-02: which form applies?

The application form under section 128A depends on the stage of the case, and both are governed by rule 164 of the CGST Rules, 2017, inserted by notification 20/2024-Central Tax dated 8 October 2024. Rule 164(1) uses Form GST SPL-01 for the notice or statement stage; rule 164(2) uses Form GST SPL-02 for the order stage. Both are filed on the common portal.

How do late-fee amnesty schemes work?

A late-fee amnesty is a separate pattern from section 128A, and CBIC issues one from time to time to clear a backlog of unfiled returns. It works by a Central Tax notification that caps or waives the late fee payable under section 47 for a named return, such as GSTR-4, GSTR-9 or GSTR-10, if the pending return is filed within the notified window.

The mechanism repeats each time. A notification names the return, the periods covered and the reduced or nil late fee, and it sets a filing deadline. There is no separate application form for a late-fee amnesty: filing the pending return inside the window is itself the claim, and the portal computes the capped fee. The waiver is of the late fee, not of the tax or the interest.

How do I verify a live GST amnesty?

1. Open the CBIC notifications page and find the notification that names the scheme. An amnesty always carries a notification number, such as notification 21/2024-Central Tax for the section 128A payment date.
2. Read the linked PDF for the exact scope: the section or return covered, the financial years, the condition, and the cut-off date. Do not rely on a summary of it.
3. For section 128A, cross-check against Circular No. 238/32/2024-GST, which explains eligibility and the SPL-01 or SPL-02 route.
4. Confirm the statutory hook by reading section 128A and rule 164 before treating the relief as available.

Why do amnesty applications get rejected?

• Applying under section 128A for a section 74 fraud demand, which the scheme does not cover.
• Leaving part of the tax unpaid and expecting the interest and penalty to still be waived. The full tax must be cleared first.
• Filing after the notified cut-off date and treating a lapsed window as still open.
• Claiming a refund of interest or penalty already paid, which section 128A(2) rules out.
• Using Form GST SPL-01 when an order has already been passed, where Form GST SPL-02 under rule 164(2) is the correct form.

Where are GST amnesty schemes notified?

Every GST amnesty starts life as a CBIC Central Tax notification, and the scope only becomes certain once you read the notification and the circular behind it. Complied AI keeps CBIC / GST updates in one feed so you can open the source notification behind a scheme as it issues. When the waiver itself is the question, read section 128A next to that update.