Tax Credit Restoration: GSTR-1 Amendment Approved, Manual Filing Permitted Despite Limitation Period Expiry

HC allowed appeal challenging rejection of GSTR-1 Form amendment for 2017-2018. The court directed manual filing of corrected form and mandated department to upload details within specified timeframe, enabling appellant to avail legitimate Input Tax Credit despite expired limitation period. Precedents from Jharkhand and Orissa HCs were considered in reaching this decision.

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Issues involved: Appeal against rejection of request for amendment of GSTR-1 Form for financial year 2017-2018 due to expired limitation period.

Summary:
The appellant filed a writ petition challenging the decision of GSTN Authorities rejecting the request for amendment of the GSTR-1 Form for the financial year 2017-2018. The petition was dismissed by the learned Single Bench citing expiration of the limitation period for rectification. The appellant appealed to the High Court against this decision.

The High Court considered two judgments, one from the Jharkhand High Court and the other from the High Court of Orissa, which granted relief to the assessee in similar cases. The Court emphasized that the correction of relevant returns would not impact tax revenue and would allow the rightful availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC). The Court directed that the necessary correction in the GSTR-1 form should be allowed within a specified period, either online or through manual mode.

Furthermore, the High Court noted that an enabling mechanism was absent for rectification of errors in the absence of notified Forms GSTR-2A and GSTR-1A. The Court emphasized that the appellant should not be prejudiced from availing legitimate credits due to inadvertent errors. In line with previous judgments, the High Court allowed the appeal, set aside the previous order, and directed the appellant to file corrected GSTR-1 Form manually. The respondent department was directed to receive and upload the corrected details within a specified timeframe.

In conclusion, the High Court allowed the appeal, directed the manual filing of corrected GSTR-1 Form, and mandated the uploading of requisite details by the respondent department within a specified period to ensure the appellant's entitlement to legitimate credits.

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