2020 (12) TMI 1301 - AAR - GST

Entitlement to take GST Credit - service provider has filed GSTR-1 within the time limit of section 39, but he has amended only invoice number after time limit provided under section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017 - restriction in terms of Section 16 (4) of the CGST Act, 2017 - If the Service receiver can not avail ITC on these invoices, then can we get refund of the tax paid on these from the government or issue credit notes against these amended invoices to the service receiver and claim the credit back? HELD THAT - The procedure to prepare invoices and for filing of returns is mentioned in the Section 31 and section 39 of the CGST Act, 2017. Further in respect of refund of ITC, the circumstances under which the refund is to be claimed has been mentioned under the provision of Section 54/55 of CGST Act, 1944. Hence, the question raised before this authority is purely a procedural and not covered under any of the provisions of Section 97(2) of the CGST Act. It is observed that the question (i) and (ii) raised for admissibility of itc to service receiver by the applicant before the authority is not for the applicant but is related to service receiver who receive the services from the Applicant. As per the Section 103 of the CGST Act, 2017, the applicability of advance ruling should be binding only on applicant whereas in this case applicant wants reply for the problem raised/faced by the service receiver not applicant. This Authority is of the view that based on the detailed reading and understanding of Section 97 of the CGST Act, an application for Advance Ruling can only be made to determine the admissibility of input tax credit on any goods or services or both. Therefore, no application can be made to admissibility of Input tax credit on the procedural issue.

Summary

Issues:
1. Admissibility of input tax credit on amended invoices filed after the time limit under the CGST Act.
2. Refund of tax paid on amended invoices.
3. Applicability of advance ruling on service receiver's issue.

Analysis:
1. The applicant, engaged in engineering and works contract services, filed GSTR-1 with wrong tax invoice numbers compared to original invoices. The service receiver could not avail ITC due to this discrepancy. The question raised was whether the service receiver can claim GST credit if the service provider amends only the invoice numbers after the time limit specified under the CGST Act.

2. The Department's view was that amendments can be made in later tax periods, but the amended invoice date must be the last date of the original invoice tax period. The last date for availing ITC related to invoices issued during a specific period was also highlighted. Refund was stated to be admissible only under specific circumstances mentioned in Section 54 of the CGST Act.

3. During the personal hearing, the authorized representative reiterated the application's submissions. The Authority discussed the issues raised by the applicant, focusing on the admissibility of input tax credit and the legality of the questions proposed before the Advance Ruling Authority.

4. The Authority found that the questions raised were related to procedural issues regarding the rectification of invoices, filing of returns, and refunds on amended invoices. It was concluded that the questions did not fall under the provisions of Section 97(2) of the CGST Act, which governs the admissibility of input tax credit.

5. The ruling stated that the application was not within the scope of Section 97 of the CGST Act, and therefore, the Advance Ruling Authority could not provide comments on the questions posed. The ruling was valid subject to the provisions under Section 103(2) until declared void under Section 104(1) of the GST Act.