2024 (2) TMI 57 - HC - GST

Amendment of GSTR-1 returns allowed for FY 2018-19 despite GST number mismatches being bona fide mistakes

M/s. Railroad Logistics (India) Pvt. Ltd. Versus The Union of India & Ors.

The Bombay HC allowed a petition seeking amendment of GSTR-1 returns for FY 2018-19 to enable Input Tax Credit claims. The court found that notices were ... Amendment of form GSTR-1 for the period from April 2018 to March 2019 which involves Input Tax Credit - primary prayer of the petitioner is that the respondents need to permit the petitioner to amend its form GSTR-01 for financial year 2018-19 so that its client is able to claim the Input Tax Credit - HELD THAT:- The notices were issued purely on the mistakes which had happened at the petitioner’s end in submitting the returns in form GSTR-01 in which the mismatch had occurred in the GST in numbers. It appears to be not in dispute that this is not a case where any loss of revenue would be caused to the department as already tax has been paid. Once a bona fide mistake of such nature has occurred, it needs to be rectified and more particularity, considering the observations as made by this Court in Star Engineer India Pvt. Ltd. [2023 (12) TMI 729 - BOMBAY HIGH COURT] as there is no loss of revenue, in the event such rectification is permitted to the petitioner. This petition is disposed off by directing the respondents to permit the petitioner to amend and rectify form GSTR-1 for the period in question for financial year 2018-19, either through online or manual means, within a period of four weeks from the date a copy of this order is placed before authorities. Issues involved:The primary issue in this case is whether the petitioner should be permitted to amend its form GSTR-1 for the financial year 2018-19 to claim Input Tax Credit due to an inadvertent error in submitting the GST number. Another issue is whether the provisions of the Central Goods and Service Tax Act 2017 allow for rectification of such errors without causing any loss of revenue to the exchequer.Details of the Judgment:1. The petitioner sought relief under Article 226 of the Constitution of India to amend its form GSTR-1 for the period from April 2018 to March 2019, involving Input Tax Credit of Rs. 25,11,084.2. The petitioner, registered under the Central Goods and Service Tax Act 2017, made an inadvertent error in submitting the GST number of Mahindra & Mahindra (Rajasthan) instead of Mahindra & Mahindra (Orissa).3. The petitioner requested to amend the form GSTR-1 after Mahindra & Mahindra (Orissa) received notices due to the mismatch in GST numbers.4. The petitioner argued that Section 37(3) and 38(5) of the CGST Act do not prohibit correcting inadvertent errors that do not cause revenue loss, citing previous court decisions.5. The Court referred to a previous judgment where a similar error was rectified to prevent any loss of revenue.6. The Court held that the petitioner should be allowed to rectify the error in the form GSTR-1 for the financial year 2018-19 within four weeks to enable the client to claim Input Tax Credit.7. The judgment emphasized the importance of rectifying inadvertent errors to maintain accurate tax records and prevent any undue prejudice to the assessee or third parties.8. The decision highlighted that the GST regime requires correct data in tax returns to avoid cascading effects and ensure compliance with the law.9. The Court directed the respondents to permit the petitioner to rectify the form GSTR-1 to ensure the rightful claim of Input Tax Credit without causing any loss of revenue.10. The judgment concluded by stating that once the rectification is done, the client would be entitled to claim Input Tax Credit, and all contentions of the parties were kept open for further consideration.