How much is GST late fee and interest?
Late fee under section 47 of the CGST Act runs at ₹100 a day with a ₹5,000 cap for a periodic return, and a turnover-linked cap for the annual return. Interest under section 50 is a separate charge on unpaid tax, with a ceiling of 18 per cent and 24 per cent for wrongly availed credit.
In this guide
Late fee and interest are two different charges. Section 47 of the CGST Act levies ₹100 for every day a return is late, capped at ₹5,000 for a periodic return, and capped at a quarter per cent of State turnover for the annual return. Section 50 separately charges interest on tax that stays unpaid, at a notified rate not exceeding 18 per cent, and not exceeding 24 per cent on input tax credit wrongly availed and utilised.
How do GST late fee and interest differ?
A delayed GST filing usually produces two numbers, and people treat them as one. They are not. Late fee is the price of a late return. Interest is the price of unpaid tax. They sit in different sections, they are computed differently, and one does not absorb the other.
| Facts | Late fee | Interest |
|---|---|---|
| Return filed on time, tax short-paid | No | Yes |
| Tax paid on time, return filed late | Yes | No |
| Return late and tax unpaid | Yes | Yes |
What late fee does section 47 levy?
Section 47(1) applies where a registered person fails to furnish details of outward supplies required under section 37, or returns required under section 39 or section 45, or the statement under section 52, by the due date. The fee is ₹100 for every day during which the failure continues, subject to a maximum of ₹5,000.
Section 47(2) treats the annual return differently. For a failure to furnish the return required under section 44, the fee is again ₹100 a day, but the cap is a quarter per cent of turnover in the State or Union territory. On a large turnover the annual-return exposure is far higher than the ₹5,000 line people quote for monthly returns.
Two operational points follow. The fee runs per day of continued failure, so it accrues while a return sits unfiled rather than landing as a fixed penalty. And the figures in section 47 are the central leg only; the corresponding State or Union territory law carries its own matching levy.
Is late fee charged on a nil GSTR-3B?
Late fee under section 47(1) applies to a nil return as well, because the section attaches to the failure to furnish the return by the due date rather than to any tax payable in it. The ₹100 a day central leg and the ₹5,000 cap therefore run on a nil GSTR-3B unless a Central Tax notification reduces the amount for that class of return.
How high can the annual return late fee go?
Late fee on the annual return under section 47(2) runs at ₹100 a day with a cap of a quarter per cent of turnover in the State or Union territory. On ₹40 crore of State turnover that cap is ₹10 lakh on the central leg alone, against ₹5,000 for a periodic return under section 47(1).
What interest does section 50 charge?
Section 50(1) requires a person liable to pay tax who fails to pay it within the prescribed period to pay interest, on their own, for the period the tax remains unpaid, at such rate not exceeding 18 per cent as may be notified on the Council's recommendation.
Read the phrase "not exceeding" carefully. The section sets a ceiling and leaves the operative rate to notification. The same design runs through section 50(3), which deals with input tax credit wrongly availed and utilised and sets a separate ceiling of 24 per cent.
| Situation | Provision | Ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| Tax not paid within the prescribed period | Section 50(1) | 18 per cent |
| Input tax credit wrongly availed and utilised | Section 50(3) | 24 per cent |
The words in section 50(3) are "availed and utilised". Credit taken and then reversed without being used is not the same fact pattern as credit taken and set off against output tax. That distinction decides which ceiling is even in play. See blocked credits for how a wrong claim arises in the first place.
Section 50(2) fixes the start of the clock: interest is computed in the prescribed manner from the day succeeding the day on which the tax was due to be paid.
Is GST interest charged on cash only?
The proviso to section 50(1) is the part worth knowing. Where tax on supplies made during a tax period is declared in the return for that period furnished after the due date, interest is levied on that portion of the tax paid by debiting the electronic cash ledger.
In plain terms, a late but self-declared return has its interest computed on the cash-paid portion rather than on the gross liability that credit already covered. The proviso then carries an exception: it does not apply where the return is furnished after proceedings under the sections dealing with determination of tax have commenced for that period.
So the relief depends on filing before the department opens a proceeding. Once a notice is in hand, the ordinary computation returns. That is a strong reason to file a late GSTR-3B voluntarily rather than wait.
Where is the GST interest rate notified?
- Read section 47 on CBIC for the daily amount and the two different caps.
- Read section 50 on CBIC, including the proviso to sub-section (1) and the separate ceiling in sub-section (3).
- For the rate actually in force, and for any relief on the late-fee cap, read the current notification. The section text gives you the ceiling, not the rate.
The portal computes a figure when you file. Treat that as the system's arithmetic on the data you entered, and check it against the section before you accept it.
Where are GST late fee waivers notified?
The ceilings are in the Act. The rate, and any capped relief on late fee, arrive by notification and change. CBIC and GST updates on Complied AI keep those documents beside section 50, so a computation is made against the notification in force rather than a remembered percentage.
Practical checks
Common questions
How much is the late fee for filing GSTR-3B late?
Section 47(1) levies ₹100 for every day the failure continues, subject to a maximum of ₹5,000. That is the central leg; the State or Union territory law carries its own matching levy. The section itself sets those figures, and any relief is a matter of a separate notification.
Is the annual return late fee also capped at ₹5,000?
No. Section 47(2) applies to the annual return under section 44 and caps the fee at a quarter per cent of turnover in the State or Union territory. On a large turnover that cap is much higher than the periodic-return cap.
Can I be charged both late fee and interest?
Yes. Late fee attaches to the delay in furnishing the return. Interest attaches to the tax that remained unpaid. Filing on time with short payment attracts interest without late fee; filing late after paying attracts late fee. Both can run together.
I filed a nil GSTR-3B two months late. Any late fee?
Yes. Late fee under section 47(1) of the CGST Act attaches to the failure to furnish the return by the due date, not to tax payable, so a nil GSTR-3B still attracts ₹100 a day on the central leg with a ₹5,000 cap, plus the matching State levy. Check whether a Central Tax notification has reduced the daily amount for nil returns in that period.
My GSTR-9 is six months late. How bad is the fee?
Late fee on the annual return runs under section 47(2) at ₹100 a day capped at a quarter per cent of turnover in the State or Union territory, so six months is roughly ₹18,000 on the central leg before the cap bites. On ₹40 crore of State turnover the cap is ₹10 lakh, far above the ₹5,000 periodic-return cap.
Do I pay interest if credit covered my whole liability?
Interest under section 50 falls away on the credit-covered portion where the proviso to section 50(1) applies, because it levies interest only on the tax paid by debiting the electronic cash ledger in a belated self-declared return. That relief stops if the return is furnished after determination proceedings for that period have started.
Is GST interest 18 per cent?
Section 50(1) states a ceiling, not a fixed rate: interest at such rate not exceeding 18 per cent as may be notified. Section 50(3) sets a separate ceiling of 24 per cent for input tax credit wrongly availed and utilised. Read the notified rate rather than assuming the ceiling is the rate.
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How this guide was prepared
This guide is published by the Complied AI research desk. Its source list and stated position were checked against the official records shown below on 20 August 2026.
Automation, including AI, may assist research, drafting and structure. It does not replace the official record or amount to an independent professional review. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy.
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