The Centre on Wednesday extended the due dates for filing of Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns for taxpayers in Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh affected by Cyclone Title and 11 districts of Tamil Nadu affected by Cyclone Gaza. The 11 affected districts in Tamil Nadu are Cuddalore, Thiruvarur, Puddukottai, Dindigul, Nagapattinam, Theni, Thanjavur, Sivagangai, Tiruchirappalli, Karur and Ramanathapuram.
"In view of the disturbances caused to daily life by Cyclone Titli in the district of Srikakulam, Andhra Pradesh and by Cyclone Gaza in 11 districts of Tamil Nadu...the competent authority has decided to extend the due dates for filing various GST returns," the Ministry of Finance said in a statement.
Over nine lakh people in Andhra Pradesh were affected by Cyclone Titli, revealed a report filed by the Andhra Pradesh Disaster Management Authority after taking stock of the damage. According to the report, 18 mandals in Srikakulam were affected. Mandansa, Polaki and Jalamuru mandals among others, many of these mandals remained flooded for weeks after the cyclone.
Taxpayers from Srikakulam (Andhra Pradesh) can file GSTR-3B for September and October by November 30, while the same can be filed by taxpayers of the 11 Tamil Nadu districts by December 20, the statement said.
Those having an aggregate turnover of more than Rs 1.5 crore and are from Srikakulam can file GSTR-1 for September and October by November 30, and those from the 11 districts in Tamil Nadu can file for October by December 20.
Filing of form GSTR-4 for the quarter can be done by November 30 by the Srikakulam taxpayers.
Further, the due date for filing GSTR-7 for all taxpayers have been extended till January 31, 2019.
Cyclone Titli landed in Orissa’s Gopalpur on October 12, which also badly affected the north coastal districts of Andhra – Srikakulam and Vizianagaram. The cyclone left eight persons dead and two fishermen went missing.
The heavy rainfall and wind damaged 290 km of road and disrupted power supply in over 4,000 villages have been affected as several electric poles were uprooted. 8,962 houses were also damaged.
Cyclone Gaja hit the Tamil Nadu coast between Nagapattinam and Vedaranyam on November 16, killing 63 people and rendering hundreds homeless. It left behind a trail of destruction with electrical lines becoming one of the biggest casualties. With over a lakh electric poles collapsing due to the cyclone, several areas still remain with power.