Panaji: The Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), on Wednesday, flagged compliance challenges faced by Goan businesses in the timely filing of Goods and Services Tax annual returns (Form GSTR-9) and the Reconciliation Statement (Form GSTR-9C), the deadline for which is December 31.
The industry body has called for a waiver of late fees for filing the two forms.
Delay in submitting GSTR-9 attracts a late fee of Rs 200 per day, while late submission of GSTR-9C results in a general penalty of Rs 25,000. GCCI has also sought an extension of the deadline to January 31, 2026.
In a communication to Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) and the GST Council Secretariat, the industry body appealed for a waiver, stating that the two forms were released late and were made available on the GST portal only on October 15, and that too with significant structural changes.
“The changes, particularly in input tax credit (ITC) reporting and multiple disclosure requirements, left little time for taxpayers to complete the reconciliations. The transition to GST 2.0 with effect from September 2025 introduced substantial changes in the tax rates and compliance process. It further impacted the reconciliation timelines,” said GCCI director general Sanjay Amonkar in the memorandum to the government.
The memorandum pointed out that accurate preparation of GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C requires reconciliation with audited financial statements and tax audit reports. With audits and related compliance being extended into November or December for many taxpayers, the effective window for finalising the annual GST filings has been shortened, GCCI said.
The letter added that late December is also the peak tourism and festive period in Goa, which significantly affects the availability of staff for MSMEs to complete the online submission of annual GST returns.
