2023 (3) TMI 111 - HC - GST

Seeking permission to Petitioner to rectify the GST Return filed in Form- B2B instead of B2C as was wrongly filed under GSTR-1 in order to get the Input Tax Credit (ITC) benefit by the principal contractor - evasion of tax or not - HELD THAT - The fact remains that by permitting the Petitioner to rectify the above error, there will be no loss whatsoever caused to the Opposite Parties. It is not as if that there will be any escapement of tax. This is only about the ITC benefit which in any event has to be given to the Petitioner. On the contrary, if it is not permitted, then the Petitioner will unnecessarily be prejudiced. In similar circumstances, the Madras High Court in M/S. SUN DYE CHEM VERSUS THE ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER (ST) , THE COMMISSIONER OF STATE TAX 2020 (11) TMI 108 - MADRAS HIGH COURT accepted the plea of the Petitioner and directed that the Petitioner in that case should be permitted to file the corrected form. This Court permits the Petitioner to resubmit the corrected GSTR-1 for the aforementioned periods and to enable the Petitioner to do so, a direction is issued to the Opposite Parties to receive it manually. Once the corrected Forms are received manually, the Department will facilitate the uploading of those details in the web portal - Petition disposed off.

Summary

Issues:
- Rectification of GST Return filed under wrong category
- Deadline for rectification
- Request for rectification after deadline
- Stand of Opposite Parties on rectification
- Benefit of rectification to the Petitioner
- Precedent set by Madras High Court
- Court's decision on rectification and directions to Opposite Parties

Rectification of GST Return filed under wrong category:
The Petitioner sought permission to rectify the GST Return filed for specific periods in the wrong category to avail Input Tax Credit (ITC) benefit by the principal contractor. The error was in filing under B2C instead of B2B in GSTR-1.

Deadline for rectification:
The last date for filing the return was 31st March, 2019, and the deadline for rectification was 13th April, 2019, as per the law.

Request for rectification after deadline:
The Petitioner claimed that the error was noticed after the principal contractor withheld payment due to the error. Despite repeated requests, the Opposite Parties did not permit the Petitioner to correct the GSTR-1 Forms.

Stand of Opposite Parties on rectification:
The Opposite Parties argued that no indulgence could be granted to the Petitioner once the deadline for rectification had passed.

Benefit of rectification to the Petitioner:
Allowing the Petitioner to rectify the error would not cause any loss to the Opposite Parties and was necessary for the Petitioner to receive the ITC benefit, preventing unnecessary prejudice.

Precedent set by Madras High Court:
The Madras High Court, in a similar case, directed that the Petitioner be allowed to file the corrected form, setting a precedent for such rectifications.

Court's decision on rectification and directions to Opposite Parties:
The Court permitted the Petitioner to resubmit the corrected GSTR-1 for the mentioned periods and directed the Opposite Parties to receive it manually. The Department would then facilitate uploading the corrected details on the web portal within four weeks. The writ petition was disposed of with these directions.