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Section 128A of the CGST Act, 2017

From the IndiaAuditLens Law Library

GST›CGST Act, 2017›Chapter XIX, Offences and Penalties

At a glance

Entitlement and conditions

  • 128A(1)The mechanism covers 1 July 2017 to 31 March 2020 or part thereof: a notice or statement before determination, a determination before appeal or revision order, or an appeal or revision order before Tribunal order. Full tax payment by the notified date and prescribed conditions lead to interest and penalty waiver and conclusion.
  • 128A(1) first provisoA section 74 notice or resulting order redetermined under section 75(2) on appellate, Tribunal or court directions is treated as the specified section 73 notice or order.
  • 128A(1) second provisoWhere departmental appeal, application or revision challenges the relevant order or directions, conclusion requires payment of any additional tax within three months of the resulting order.

Bars, duties and time limits

  • 128A(1) third provisoInterest and penalty already paid are not refundable under this mechanism.
  • 128A(2)–(3)Erroneous-refund amounts are excluded. A taxpayer’s pending appeal or writ must be withdrawn by the notified date.
  • 128A(4)After payment and deemed conclusion, no taxpayer appeal under section 107(1) or section 112(1) lies against the specified orders, notwithstanding the Act.

Procedure, powers and definitions

  • 128AThe law does not settle whether the refund bar applies when only interest or only penalty, rather than both, was paid.

The waiver mechanism concerns specified section 73 demands for the stated tax periods, subject to full tax payment by the notified date and prescribed conditions. It overrides ordinary interest and penalty requirements and bars specified further appeals after conclusion. Erroneous refunds and unwithdrawn taxpayer challenges are excluded. Additional tax arising from departmental challenges must be paid within the stated period.[1]

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 128A, verbatim (show)

Section 128A

1[Section 128A. Waiver of interest or penalty or both relating to demands raised under section 73, for certain tax periods.-

(1) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in this Act, where any amount of tax is payable by a person chargeable with tax in accordance with,––

(a) a notice issued under sub-section (1) of section 73 or a statement issued under sub-section (3) of section 73, and where no order under sub-section (9) of section 73 has been issued; or

(b) an order passed under sub-section (9) of section 73, and where no order under sub-section (11) of section 107 or sub-section (1) of section 108 has been passed; or

(c) an order passed under sub-section (11) of section 107 or sub-section (1) of section 108, and where no order under sub-section (1) of section 113 has been passed, pertaining to the period from 1st July, 2017 to 31st March, 2020, or a part thereof, and the said person pays the full amount of tax payable as per the notice or statement or the order referred to in clause (a), clause (b) or clause (c), as the case may be, on or before the date, as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council, no interest under section 50 and penalty under this Act, shall be payable and all the proceedings in respect of the said notice or order or statement, as the case may be, shall be deemed to be concluded, subject to such conditions as may be prescribed:

Provided that where a notice has been issued under sub-section (1) of section 74, and an order is passed or required to be passed by the proper officer in pursuance of the direction of the Appellate Authority or Appellate Tribunal or a court in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 75, the said notice or order shall be considered to be a notice or order, as the case may be, referred to in clause (a) or clause (b) of this sub-section:

Provided further that the conclusion of the proceedings under this sub-section, in cases where an application is filed under sub-section (3) of section 107 or under sub-section (3) of section 112 or an appeal is filed by an officer of central tax under sub-section (1) of section 117 or under sub-section (1) of section 118 or where any proceedings are initiated under sub-section (1) of section 108, against an order referred to in clause (b) or clause (c) or against the directions of the Appellate Authority or the Appellate Tribunal or the court referred to in the first proviso, shall be subject to the condition that the said person pays the additional amount of tax payable, if any, in accordance with the order of the Appellate Authority or the Appellate Tribunal or the court or the Revisional Authority, as the case may be, within three months from the date of the said order:

Provided also that where such interest and penalty has already been paid, no refund of the same shall be available.

(2) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall be applicable in respect of any amount payable by the person on account of erroneous refund.

(3) Nothing contained in sub-section (1) shall be applicable in respect of cases where an appeal or writ petition filed by the said person is pending before Appellate Authority or Appellate Tribunal or a court, as the case may be, and has not been withdrawn by the said person on or before the date notified under sub-section (1).

(4) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, where any amount specified under sub-section (1) has been paid and the proceedings are deemed to be concluded under the said sub-section, no appeal under sub-section (1) of section 107 or sub-section (1) of section 112 shall lie against an order referred to in clause (b) or clause (c) of sub-section (1), as the case may be.]

1. Inserted by section 146 of The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024 No. 15 of 2024 dated 16.08.2024.

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 file4 questions
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The notice, statement or order and the stage the proceedings have reached 1(a), 1(b), 1(c)

Questions to answer on the file4 questions
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The full amount of tax and the notified date 1, the words following clause (c)

Questions to answer on the file5 questions
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What sub-section (1) provides 1, closing words

Questions to answer on the file2 questions
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The first proviso: a notice under section 74 and an order under section 75(2) first proviso

Questions to answer on the file2 questions
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The second proviso: the additional amount of tax second proviso

Questions to answer on the file4 questions
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The third proviso: no refund of interest and penalty already paid third proviso

Questions to answer on the file2 questions
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The amount payable on account of erroneous refund 2

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A pending appeal or writ petition 3

Questions to answer on the file4 questions
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No appeal against an order referred to in clause (b) or clause (c) 4

Questions to answer on the file3 questions
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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]

Amendments to section 128a as footnoted in the CBIC text
NoteChangeInstrumentEffective from
1Inserted the whole of section 128A, marked by 1[ before the heading and ] after sub-section (4). The source records no commencement notification of its own and no later amendment.section 146 of The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024 No. 15 of 2024[2]the source gives only the date of the inserting Act, 16.08.2024
Provisions connected to Section 128A
ProvisionConnectionWords that tie them
Section 73128A(1)(a) requires Section 731(a) "a notice issued under sub-section (1) of section 73 or a statement issued under sub-section (3) of section 73"
Section 73128A(1)(a) branches on Section 731(a) "and where no order under sub-section (9) of section 73 has been issued"
Section 107128A(1)(b) branches on Section 1071(b) "no order under sub-section (11) of section 107"
Section 108128A(1)(b) branches on Section 1081(b) "or sub-section (1) of section 108 has been passed"
Section 113128A(1)(c) branches on Section 1131(c) "and where no order under sub-section (1) of section 113 has been passed"
Rule 164 of the CGST Rules, 2017128A(1) prescribed by Rule 164 of the CGST Rules, 20171 "subject to such conditions as may be prescribed"
Section 50Section 50 overridden by 128A(1)1 "no interest under section 50 and penalty under this Act, shall be payable"
Section 74128A(1), first proviso requires Section 74first proviso "where a notice has been issued under sub-section (1) of section 74"
Section 75128A(1), first proviso requires Section 75first proviso "in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 75"
Section 112128A(1), second proviso branches on Section 112second proviso "or under sub-section (3) of section 112"
Section 117128A(1), second proviso branches on Section 117second proviso "an appeal is filed by an officer of central tax under sub-section (1) of section 117"
Section 118128A(1), second proviso branches on Section 118second proviso "or under sub-section (1) of section 118"
Section 107Section 107 overridden by 128A(4)4 "no appeal under sub-section (1) of section 107 or sub-section (1) of section 112 shall lie"
Section 112Section 112 overridden by 128A(4)4 "no appeal under sub-section (1) of section 107 or sub-section (1) of section 112 shall lie"

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)

NumberDateSubject
Circular No. 248/05/2025-GST27 March 2025Various issues related to availment of benefit of Section 128A of the CGST Act, 2017
Circular No. 238/32/2024-GST15 October 2024Clarification of various doubts related to Section 128A of the CGST Act, 2017. amended by a later instrument

Notifications (3)

NumberDateSubject
Notification No. 11/2025-Central Tax27 March 2025Seeks to notify Central Goods and Services Tax (Second Amendment) Rules 2025
Notification No. 20/2024-Central Tax8 October 2024Seeks to make amendments (Second Amendment 2024) to the CGST Rules, 2017
Notification No. 21/2024-Central Tax8 October 2024Seeks to notify date under sub-section (1) of Section 128A of CGST Act. made under this section

Unsettled questions

The words of section 128a do not answer this question. Where one decides a matter on the file, the answer depends on the position taken on it.

  1. The third proviso reads "where such interest and penalty has already been paid, no refund of the same shall be available", in the conjunctive. Does it bar a refund where only the interest, or only the penalty, has already been paid, or does it bar a refund only where both have? The proviso says neither, and nothing else in the section distributes the words.

See also

References

  1. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs. "Section 128A. Waiver of interest or penalty or both relating to demands raised under section 73, for certain tax periods". Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, CBIC tax information portal, with amendment footnotes 1 to 1. Retrieved 17 September 2026.
  2. The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024. Cited in CBIC footnote 1.

External links