The government has provided more procedural and compliance-related relief to GST taxpayers, but experts said these measures are not a substitute for a stimulus package in the form of tax relief to help struggling businesses, especially MSMEs.
Among the measures announced late on Tuesday, the government extended the e-way bill validity for the second time since the lockdown was imposed. The e-way bill generated on or before March 24 and expiring during the March 20-April 15 period would now be valid till May 31. This is likely to help trucks stuck en route to reach their destinations.
Further, the notification extended by three months the deadline for furnishing the annual return and GST audit for financial year 2018-19 to September 30. Additionally, a taxpayer can now furnish monthly return GSTR-3B showing nil sales through SMS using the registered mobile number. This return would be verified by a registered mobile number based one-time password (OTP) facility, the notification said.
These procedural reliefs will support basic finance functions of the industry, however, what MSMEs need currently is a big stimulus package, without which millions of jobs could be threatened,” Rajat Mohan, senior partner at AMRG & Associates, said.
Pritam Mahure, a chartered accountant, said the Covid-19 pandemic has left no choice for the government but to provide substantial tax relief for businesses as procedural relief would only help them manage the compliance burden