Refund procedure changes: new rules allow exclusion of deficiency period, withdrawal of refund applications, and release of withheld refunds.
Amendments exclude the period between filing a refund claim and communication of deficiencies from the two year limitation, allow withdrawal of refund applications before provisional or final sanction by filing FORM GST RFD 01W, and mandate crediting back any electronic ledger debits on such withdrawal. They further revise withholding and release mechanics by substituting FORM GST RFD 07 with a two part form (Part A for withholding with reasons and Part B for release), and permit officers to release withheld refunds when withholding conditions no longer exist.

Time limit extension under GST law prolongs compliance deadlines while specifying exclusions and targeted relief measures.
Where any time limit for completion or compliance of any action under the CGST, IGST or UTGST Acts falls between 15 April 2021 and 29 June 2021 and such action is uncompleted, the time limit is extended to 30 June 2021, covering proceedings, orders, notices, filings and related submissions, subject to specified exclusions; rule 9 actions falling between 1 May 2021 and 30 June 2021 are extended to 15 July 2021; refund rejection orders extended to fifteen days after reply or 30 June 2021, whichever is later; effective 15 April 2021.

Cumulative input tax credit adjustment must be reported in May GSTR 3B; April details may be filed via IFF in May.
The amendment requires cumulative application of the condition in rule 36(4) for April and May, 2021, and mandates that FORM GSTR 3B for May, 2021 be furnished with the cumulative adjustment of input tax credit for those months. It further allows a registered person to furnish April, 2021 details using the Invoice Furnishing Facility from 1 to 28 May, 2021.

Extension of GSTR-1 filing deadline: outward supplies reporting for monthly return filers moved to a later date.
The time limit for furnishing the details of outward supplies in FORM GSTR-1 for registered persons required to furnish return under the statute, for the tax period April 2021, is extended until a later day in the month succeeding that tax period by amendment to the earlier notification.

Extension of ITC-04 filing deadline granted, allowing extra time to submit job-worker declarations under GST.
Extension granted for furnishing FORM GST ITC-04 for goods dispatched to or received from a job worker for 1 January to 31 March 2021, with the filing deadline extended to 30 June 2021 and the notification made effective from 25 April 2021; an earlier reading of the extension to 31 May 2021 was substituted.

Extension of GSTR-4 filing deadline permits eligible taxpayers to submit annual returns under amended notification.
The notification inserts a proviso requiring persons covered by the principal notification to furnish the return in FORM GSTR-4 for the financial year ending 31st March, 2021, up to the 31st day of May, 2021, and states the amendment is deemed to have come into force on the 30th day of April, 2021.

Late fee waiver for delayed GSTR-3B filing: specified turnover classes granted limited additional grace periods for fixed tax months.
The amendment waives the amount of late fee payable for failure to furnish FORM GSTR-3B by the due date for specified tax periods and specified classes of registered persons, with differing additional grace periods tied to aggregate turnover categories and filing liability; the waiver is inserted into Notification No. 76/2018-Central Tax and is declared to have effect from an earlier deemed date.

Interest rate relief: reduced delayed GST interest slabs for specified taxpayers for select tax periods, easing compliance burden.
Amendment provides reduced delayed-payment interest slabs for March and April 2021: taxpayers with aggregate turnover above rupees 5 crores face 9 per cent for the first fifteen days from the due date and 18 per cent thereafter; taxpayers with aggregate turnover up to rupees 5 crores and specified return-filing categories face nil for the first fifteen days, 9 per cent for the next fifteen days, and 18 per cent thereafter. The amendment is deemed effective from 18th April, 2021.

Reduced GST interest rates for delayed returns in March and April 2021 with staged lower rates by turnover and filing category.
The notification amends the Union Territory GST interest provisions for March and April 2021 by inserting staged interest slabs tied to aggregate turnover and return-filing category: taxpayers with turnover above rupees five crores pay nine per cent for the first fifteen days from the due date and eighteen per cent thereafter; taxpayers with turnover up to rupees five crores and specified return-filing categories pay nil for the first fifteen days, nine per cent for the next fifteen days, and eighteen per cent thereafter. The amendment is effective from 18 April 2021.

Interest relief for delayed GST payments reduces interest obligations for specified taxpayers for designated months.
Inserts a table into the principal IGST notification prescribing temporary, staged reductions in interest for late IGST payment for the tax periods of March and April 2021: higher-turnover taxpayers face a reduced rate for the first fifteen days from the due date and the standard rate thereafter; lower-turnover and specified return-filing categories receive nil interest for the first fifteen days, a lower rate for the next fifteen days, and the standard rate thereafter. The amendment is effective retrospectively from 18 April 2021.

Return furnishing flexibility allows companies to file GSTR 3B and GSTR 1 using EVC within a notified window.
The amendment inserts a proviso in rule 26(1) permitting persons registered under the Companies Act, 2013 to furnish the return under GSTR 3B and details of outward supplies under GSTR 1 or via the Invoice Furnishing Facility, provided such filings are verified through Electronic Verification Code (EVC); the rule takes effect on publication in the Official Gazette.

Extension of GST notification timelines: effective dates shifted to end of June and start of July.
The Government substitutes the dates in the first paragraph of Notification No. 89/2020, replacing "31st day of March" with "30th day of June" and "01st day of April" with "1st day of July", thereby shifting the temporal applicability of the specified provision(s).

E-invoicing threshold reduced, expanding mandatory e-invoice obligations to more taxpayers from the April effective date.
Amends the principal March 2020 notification under the Central Goods and Services Tax framework to substitute the higher aggregate-turnover benchmark with a lower benchmark for mandatory e-invoicing, effective from the stated April date, thereby extending the e-invoicing requirement to a broader class of taxpayers and relying on the rule that empowers substitution in the original notification.

Extension of annual GST return filing deadline under section 44: notification substitutes the earlier deadline, extending filing time.
Extension of the statutory time limit for furnishing the annual return under section 44 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 is effected by substituting the earlier deadline in Notification No. 95/2020 - Central Tax with a later date; the Commissioner, acting on the Council's recommendations and read with rule 80, amends the principal notification to extend the filing period for the annual return for the specified financial year.

Aadhaar authentication exemption for certain classes: specified non-citizens and government entities exempted from Aadhaar verification for GST registration.
Exemption from Aadhaar authentication is prescribed for certain classes of persons seeking GST registration: non-citizens; Central or State Government departments or establishments; local authorities; statutory bodies; Public Sector Undertakings; and persons applying under sub-section (9) of section 25, with the notification superseding an earlier related notification and not affecting prior completed actions.

Jurisdiction of Commissioners (Appeals) clarified, reallocating appellate designations and territorial coverage under GST notification.
Amendment replaces column (4) entries in Table I to designate Commissioner (Appeals I) Delhi with Additional Commissioner (Appeals II) Delhi for Sl. No. 7, and Commissioner (Appeals II) Mumbai with Additional Commissioner (Appeals I) Mumbai for Sl. No. 14, and inserts two notes in Table III confirming that Commissioner (Appeals I) Delhi has jurisdiction over Delhi I and Delhi II and that Commissioner (Appeals II) Mumbai has jurisdiction over Mumbai I and Mumbai II.

GSTR-1 filing restriction: failure to file GSTR-3B bars furnishing outward supply details and use of invoice facility.
The amendment adds a filing eligibility condition barring a registered person from furnishing outward supply details in FORM GSTR-1 if the person has not furnished FORM GSTR-3B for the preceding two months; analogous bars apply to quarterly filers and to persons restricted in use of the electronic credit ledger, including prohibition on using the invoice furnishing facility where FORM GSTR-3B for the preceding tax period has not been furnished.