Text
The text below is the section as served by the CBIC tax information portal on 17 September 2026, with the portal's own amendment footnote markers (shown as small numerals before a bracket) and its footnotes.[1] The Act as published in the Gazette of India is the legal source.
Section 123, verbatim (show)
* Section 123. Penalty for failure to furnish information return.- If a person who is required to furnish an information return under section 150 fails to do so within the period specified in the notice issued under sub-section (3) thereof, the proper officer may direct that such person shall be liable to pay a penalty of one hundred rupees for each day of the period during which the failure to furnish such return continues:
Provided that the penalty imposed under this section shall not exceed five thousand rupees.
*Enforced w.e.f. 1st July, 2017 .
Questions to answer on the file
Questions a reviewer answers from the engagement file, grouped by the part of the section they come from. They describe what the section asks; they do not decide it.
Scope the section as a whole
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
The person required to furnish an information return the words "a person who is required to furnish an information return under section 150"
Questions to answer on the file3 questions
The notice under sub-section (3) of section 150 the words "the period specified in the notice issued under sub-section (3) thereof"
Questions to answer on the file5 questions
The failure and the period during which it continues the failure limb
Questions to answer on the file5 questions
The direction of the proper officer the direction limb
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
One hundred rupees for each day the quantum limb
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
The ceiling of five thousand rupees the proviso
Questions to answer on the file2 questions
Amendment history
The CBIC text carries 1 footnote. The table gives each in the source's own terms. Effective dates are as the footnotes state them.[1]
| Note | Change | Instrument | Effective from |
|---|---|---|---|
| records the commencement of the section; it does not change its words | the notification enforcing the section | w.e.f. 1st July, 2017 |
Relationship with other provisions
| Provision | Connection | Words that tie them |
|---|---|---|
| Section 150 | this provision requires Section 150 | "a person who is required to furnish an information return under section 150" |
| Section 150 | this provision requires sub-section (3) of Section 150 | "within the period specified in the notice issued under sub-section (3) thereof" |
| Section 150 | this provision defined by sub-section (1) of Section 150 | 150(1) "Any person, being- (a) a taxable person; or... (p) any other person as may be specified... shall furnish an information return" |
| Section 150 | the notice under sub-section (3) of Section 150 requires a period not exceeding ninety days | 150(3) "requiring furnishing of such information return within a period not exceeding ninety days from the date of service of the notice" |
| Section 150 | "fails to do so" in 123 defined by sub-section (2) of Section 150 | 150(2) "such information return shall be treated as not furnished and the provisions of this Act shall apply" |
Circulars and notifications
Circulars and notifications in the CBIC repository that cite this section, newest first, by number, date and subject. A listing here does not say what an instrument decides; read the instrument.
Circulars (2)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Circular No. 224/18/2024-GST | 11 July 2024 | Guidelines for recovery of outstanding dues, in cases wherein first appeal has been disposed of, till Appellate Tribunal comes into operation. |
| Circular No. 3/03/2017-GST | 5 July 2017 | Proper officer relating to provisions other than Registration and Composition under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017-Reg. |
Notifications (3)
| Number | Date | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| Notification No. 12/2024-Central Tax | 10 July 2024 | Seeks to make amendments (Amendment, 2024) to the CGST Rules, 2017. |
| Notification No. 27/2023-Central Tax | 31 July 2023 | Seeks to notify the provisions of section 123 of the Finance Act, 2021 (13 of 2021). |
| Notification No. 16/2019-Central Tax | 29 March 2019 | Seeks to make Second Amendment (2019) to CGST Rules. |
Unsettled questions
The words of section 123 do not answer these questions. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.
- On what day does "the period during which the failure to furnish such return continues" end: the day the return is furnished, the day before it, the day of the direction, or some other day? The section fixes a daily rate and no terminal day.
- What does the ceiling of five thousand rupees attach to: one information return, one notice, one of the periods section 150(1) speaks of, or the person for all his failures under this section? The proviso names no unit, and section 150(1) requires a return "in respect of such periods", so several returns may be in issue at once.
See also
- Section 150 of the CGST Act, 2017: obligation to furnish information return
- Section 128 of the CGST Act, 2017: power to waive penalty or fee or both
References
- Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 123. Penalty for failure to furnish information return". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
External links
- CGST Act, 2017, Section 123 on the CBIC tax information portal