GSTN has released an important advisory for taxpayers experiencing technical difficulties while filing amnesty applications under Section 128A of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act. This guidance comes as the June 30, 2025 deadline for claiming waiver benefits looms.
Over 3 Lakh Amnesty Applications Filed
As of June 8, 2025, over 3.02 lakh amnesty applications have been successfully submitted using the SPL-01/02 forms on the GST portal. However, numerous taxpayers and trade associations have reported glitches preventing them from completing their submissions. In response, GSTN has introduced a temporary manual filing alternative.
Navigating Portal Glitches with Manual Filing
If you’re facing technical issues, GSTN advises the following workaround:
- When starting your application, select “No” when asked “Whether the demand order is issued through the GST Portal.”
- In the “Details of demand order” field, manually enter the order number, preceding it with “ONL” (e.g., ONLABCDE12345X1Z2 if the online order number is ABCDE12345X1Z2).
- Proceed to manually enter all editable details in the Basic Details table, followed by the order and payment information.
- If your duty payments were made via DRC-03, you can input those details in Table 4. However, payments made using the ‘Payment towards demand’ option cannot be entered in Table 4 and must be uploaded separately.
Key Details of the Amnesty Scheme
The GST amnesty scheme under Section 128A offers a waiver of interest, penalty, or both, for tax demands under Section 73 of the CGST Act for fiscal years 2017-18 to 2019-20, primarily covering non-fraudulent cases.
Eligibility and Conditions:
- Who’s eligible? Taxpayers who’ve received a notice/statement under Section 73(1)/73(3) (without a final order), or an order under Section 73(9) or subsequent appellate orders. It also applies to cases initially flagged under Section 74 (fraudulent) but later reclassified under Section 73.
- What are the conditions for waiver? The full demanded tax must have been paid by March 31, 2025, and any pending appeal or writ petition against the demand order must be withdrawn. You can upload a screenshot of your appeal withdrawal application as proof.
- Which forms to use?
- GST SPL-01: For waiver applications related to notices or statements where no final order has been issued.
- GST SPL-02: For waiver applications when a demand order or order in appeal has been issued.
- What’s the deadline? Applications must be submitted by June 30, 2025. For reclassified Section 74 cases, the deadline is six months from the communication date of the re-determination order.
If you continue to face difficulties with this alternative filing method, you’re encouraged to raise a complaint on the GST Self-service portal.