Interest on delayed payment of tax
Section 50, CGST Act
Straight from CBIC
Official source, not a summary of a summary
Full text included
Read the exact words of the law yourself
Amendment history
See what changed, and when
Free, always
No login, no paywall, no book to buy
In one line
Section 50 charges interest of up to 18% a year on tax paid late, from the day after the due date. For a belated GSTR-3B (before any demand proceeding) the interest applies only to the tax actually paid in cash, not the part set off by ITC. Wrongly availed ITC that has also been utilised carries interest up to 24%.
What this means in practice
The parts that actually decide cases — the things a practitioner checks first.
Notified rates (Notification 13/2017-Central Tax): 18 per cent under section 50(1) and 24 per cent under section 50(3) for credit wrongly availed AND utilised.
The net-cash proviso to 50(1) is retrospective to 01-07-2017 – interest on a belated GSTR-3B runs only on the portion discharged in cash, provided no proceeding under section 73 or 74 has begun for that period.
Rule 88B: where the liability is declared in a return filed late, interest runs on the cash portion for the period of delay; in every other case it runs on the whole unpaid tax from the due date.
Credit wrongly availed but NOT utilised carries no interest, and utilisation is judged by whether the credit ledger balance fell below the wrongly availed amount – a point worth arguing on facts.
Interest is automatic and needs no separate order, but it must still be computed correctly – a demand that applies 24 per cent to unutilised credit is wrong on its face.
Questions people actually ask
Real questions we get on this provision, answered straight.
We availed credit by mistake and reversed it before using it. Is interest payable?+
No. Section 50(3) applies only where the credit is wrongly availed AND utilised. If the ledger balance never fell below that amount before reversal, the credit was not utilised and no interest arises – keep the ledger extract proving it.
Our GSTR-3B for one month was three months late but we had enough ITC. What is the interest?+
Only on the part of the liability discharged in cash, at 18 per cent for the period of delay, by the proviso to section 50(1) read with Rule 88B – provided no section 73 or 74 proceeding had been initiated for that period.
How this provision is built
The skeleton, clause by clause — useful when a notice cites a specific sub-clause.
The exact words of the law
1,508 characters, uneditedReproduced from the CBIC text. We explain it above — but you should always be able to read it yourself.
Read the full provision+
(1) Every person who is liable to pay tax in accordance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made thereunder, but fails to pay the tax or any part thereof to the Government within the period prescribed, shall for the period for which the tax or any part thereof remains unpaid, pay, on his own, interest at such rate, not exceeding eighteen per cent., as may be notified by the Government on the recommendations of the Council: 1 [ Provided that the interest on tax payable in respect of supplies made during a tax period and declared in the return for the said period furnished after the due date in accordance with the provisions of section 39, except where such return is furnished after commencement of any proceedings under section 73 or section 74 3 [ or section 74A] in respect of the said period, shall be levied on that portion of the tax that is paid by debiting the electronic cash ledger.]
(2) The interest under sub-section
(1) shall be calculated, in such manner as may be prescribed, from the day succeeding the day on which such tax was due to be paid. 2 [
(3) Where the input tax credit has been wrongly availed and utilised, the registered person shall pay interest on such input tax credit wrongly availed and utilised, at such rate not exceeding twenty-four per cent. as may be notified by the Government, on the recommendations of the Council, and the interest shall be calculated, in such manner as may be prescribed]
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.
STATE BANK OF INDIA v. THE COMMISSIONER, CENTRAL GOODS AND SERVICE TAX AND CENTRAL EXCISE, SLG COMMISSIONERSTE AND ORS.
Read the judgment PDF →
Tvl Sri Balaji Traders v. The State Tax Officer,
Read the judgment PDF →
Tvl Sri Balaji Traders v. The State Tax Officer,
Read the judgment PDF →
Tvl. Veeralakshmi Electrical v. The Assistant Commissioner (ST)
Read the judgment PDF →
M/s.R.K Automobiles v. The Deputy State Tax Officer
Read the judgment PDF →
M/s.RK AUTOMOBILES v. The Assistant Commissioner (ST),
Read the judgment PDF →
M/s.RK AUTOMOBILES v. The Assistant Commissioner (ST),
Read the judgment PDF →
M/s.PRINCE SEAFOODS EXPORTS v. THE STATE TAX OFFICER (ROVING SQUAD 1)
Read the judgment PDF →
42 more on record. Search all GST case law →
What changed, and when
The amendment trail, newest first — because the version that applies to your case depends on the period.
2017-07-01 · Substituted
16/2021-Central
Substituted (w.e.f. 1st July, 2017) by s. 112 of The Finance Act, 2021 (No. 13 of 2021) dated 28th March, 2021 for "[Provided that the interest on tax payable i …
2017-07-01 · Substituted
9/2022-C.T
Substituted (w.e.f. 1st July, 2017 ) by s. 111 of The Finance Act 2022 (No. 06 of 2022) – brought into force w.e.f 05-07-2022 vide Notification No. 9/2022-C.T …
date not stated · Inserted
Inserted by section 126 of The Finance Act (No. 2) Act, 2024 No. 15 of 2024 dated 16.08.2024.
Read this with
A provision rarely works alone. These are the ones it points to.
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.
Reading is free. Getting it wrong isn’t.
Does this apply to your case, or not?
Reading the section is one thing. Knowing whether it bites on your facts, and what it costs if it does, is another. Send us the situation – we will tell you straight, and only take it on if we can genuinely help.
6+ years · 2,500+ GST registrations filed · Bhopal, serving all of India