In a recent decision, the High Court of Himachal Pradesh permitted Shivam Electric Corporation to file a manual GSTR-3B for the quarter ending in March 2021 to claim a missed Input Tax Credit (ITC) of ₹10,54,098/-. The petitioner had failed to claim this ITC due to an accounting error for the fiscal year 2020-21, which was discovered in 2022 during the filing of the annual return GSTR-9. Despite corrections, a discrepancy persisted in the departmental records, leading to a Show Cause Notice and a demand order for ₹11,21,351/- because of a mismatch between GSTR-3B and GSTR-1.
The petitioner sought relief through the court due to the absence of a statutory mechanism under the CGST Act, 2017 for manual filing of past returns. The court allowed the manual filing under its writ jurisdiction, emphasizing that this was an exceptional circumstance to prevent undue hardship from a procedural lapse, not an attempt to evade tax.
Read More: GST – Allahabad High court: Mere clerical error in mentioning the PIN code, where consignor and consignee addresses are otherwise correctly stated, does not warrant initiation of proceedings under Section 129 [Order attached]
The court clarified that the existing demand would remain enforceable unless modified or set aside by a competent authority in further proceedings. The relief was strictly procedural, allowing the petitioner to submit the corrected return without granting any automatic financial benefits. The writ petition and related applications were disposed of accordingly.
Order Date: 01.01.2026
Parties: Shivam Electric Corporation v. Union of India & Ors.
Facts -
- The petitioner failed to claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) of ₹10,54,098/- for the quarter ending March 2021 due to an accounting error during FY 2020–21.
- The error was noticed in 2022 while filing annual return GSTR-9, which was filed with corrections.
- However, the discrepancy continued in departmental records, leading to issuance of Show Cause Notice dated 23.11.2024 and a demand order dated 19.02.2025 for ₹11,21,351/- due to mismatch between GSTR-3B and GSTR-1. As the CGST Act does not provide any mechanism for manual filing of past returns, the petitioner invoked writ jurisdiction.
Issue -
- Whether the High Court can permit manual filing of GSTR-3B for a past tax period to enable claiming of missed ITC, despite absence of a statutory mechanism under the CGST Act, 2017?
Order -
- The High Court allowed the writ petition and directed the respondents to permit the petitioner to file manual GSTR-3B for the quarter ending March 2021 with the additional ITC claim.
- The Court observed that although the CGST Act does not expressly provide a mechanism for manual filing of returns after the prescribed period, writ jurisdiction under Article 226 can be exercised in exceptional circumstances to prevent undue hardship, particularly where the lapse was procedural and not intended to evade tax.
- It was clarified that the demand shall continue to remain operative and enforceable, subject only to any modification or setting aside by a competent authority in appropriate appellate or other proceedings.
- Accordingly, the relief was granted strictly as a procedural facilitation, enabling the petitioner to place the corrected return on record, without conferring any vested right or automatic financial benefit. The writ petition was disposed of in these terms, with pending applications also disposed of.
