Permission to rectify the GSTR-3B filed for the months of July, 2017 and March, 2018

M/s. Orient Traders Vs Deputy Commissioner of Commercial Taxes (Audit) -3 [Karnataka High Court]

Facts: The petitioner had imported certain goods. In July 2017 and March 2018 and due to oversight, the ITC amount was claimed in Column No. 4A(5) instead of claiming it under Column No. 4A(1) in Form GSTR-3B.

The error committed was that the petitioner had considered import IGST of July 2017 as local IGST and import IGST of March 2018 as local CGST and SGST. This error resulted in a mismatch between the GSTR-3B and GSTR-2A forms.

Department observed in its audit report that the ITC which had accrued to the Petitioner was liable to be disallowed. The files and details submitted by the petitioner shows the innocuousness of the errors committed by the petitioner, he was not allowed by the department to rectify this error belatedly.

Held: The respondents have, in the absence of a prescribed GSTR 2-A for the relevant tax periods referred to the IGST import figures reflected in the ICE GATE portal of the Customs Department for all the months except those in which the errors have been committed. This clearly indicates that the respondents are aware of the actual figures and also that there is an error committed by the petitioner, but has chosen to selectively ignore the IGST import amounts reflected in the ICE GATE portal for the tax periods in dispute. The petitioner is entitled for the limited relief of being permitted to make the necessary changes to its GSTR 3-B returns for the months of July 2017 and March 2018, particularly, since doing so would not cause any prejudice to the respondents-Revenue nor would it upset the chain of credit under the GST scheme and liberty is to be reserved in favour of the revenue to proceed with the impugned show cause notice - petition allowed in part.