Power to waive penalty or fee or both
Section 128, CGST Act
Straight from CBIC
Official source, not a summary of a summary
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Amendment history
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Section 128 empowers the Government to WAIVE, in whole or part, penalty or late fee for any class of taxpayers – the basis for amnesty schemes.
What this means in practice
The parts that actually decide cases — the things a practitioner checks first.
The Government’s general power to waive penalty or late fee for a class of taxpayers by notification – the source of the recurring late-fee amnesties. It is exercised by notification only; no officer can waive under it.
The exact words of the law
360 characters, uneditedReproduced from the CBIC text. We explain it above — but you should always be able to read it yourself.
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High Court cases on this section
Judgments in our index that cite this provision. Being listed does not make a case good law — it may have been appealed or distinguished since. Read it before relying on it.
What changed, and when
The amendment trail, newest first — because the version that applies to your case depends on the period.
2017-07-01 · Commenced
Provision as originally enacted in the CGST Act, 2017 (Act 12 of 2017) and brought into force w.e.f. 01-07-2017.
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Where this comes from
Text reproduced from the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs, as available on 2026-09-05. The explanation and practice notes above are GSTZone’s own, written for this hub. If you spot anything out of date, tell us and we’ll fix it — this hub is checked daily against CBIC.
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