Correction of uploaded stock statement allowed where annual return papers contained an obvious clerical mistake under VAT rules.

Rule 22(4A) of the Kerala Value Added Tax Rules, 2005 permits revision where an omission or mistake is detected in a return filed under Rule 22(1), and that correction should not be read narrowly so as to exclude accompanying documents uploaded with the return. Because Rule 22(3) requires supporting documents such as the stock inventory to be filed as part of the annual return process, an obvious error in the uploaded closing stock statement could also be corrected. The court treated the mistaken upload of stock inventory for 28-05-2015 instead of the required 31-03-2015 statement as a rectifiable error and held that the dealer was entitled to correction, with the assessing authority directed to permit it.

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Issues: Whether a dealer who uploaded an incorrect closing stock statement along with the annual return could be permitted to correct the uploaded document under Rule 22 of the Kerala Value Added Tax Rules, 2005.

Analysis: Rule 22(4A) permits a dealer to file a revised return when an omission or mistake is detected in the return submitted under Rule 22(1). Rule 22(3) requires certain documents to be uploaded along with the return, including the stock inventory. A narrow reading that confines correction only to the return and not to the accompanying uploaded documents would produce an anomalous result, because a dealer could rectify the return but not an obvious mistake in a document filed as part of the same return process. The mistake in this case was the upload of stock inventory as on 28-05-2015 instead of 31-03-2015, which was the required statement for the annual return.

Conclusion: The dealer was entitled to correct the uploaded closing stock statement, and the assessing authority was directed to permit such correction.

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