Order date: 16 December,2022

Parties- M/s Orient Traders vs the Deputy commissioner of commercial taxes, Joint Commissioner of Commercial Taxes 

Facts:

• The Petitioner, M/S Orient Traders, is engaged in the supply of machinery, mechanical appliances, parts etc and their erection commissioning and installation.
• The petitioner noticed that it had claimed Input Tax Credit (for short “ITC”) relating to imports under integrated Goods and Services Tax, (for short “IGST’) in July 2017 and March 2018 due to oversight and inadvertence in Column No. 4A(5) instead of claiming it under Column No. 4A(1). The error resulted in  mismatch between the GSTR-3B and GSTR- 2A forms. 
• Petitioner sought the permission on rectify these error but the same was rejected. Based on audit report, the show cause notice dated 17.01.2022 was issued.

Issue:

• Whether the Petitioner is allowed to rectify GSTR-3B ?

Order-

• The Court observed that the petitioner appears to have entered certain figures in the wrong column of his GSTR 3-B returns for the months of July 2017 and March 2018 i.e. during the very first financial year after the introduction of GST. A perusal of the same makes it apparent that ITC, which is admittedly available to the petitioner has been entered under the wrong column; the material on record also discloses that the said errors are entirely bona fide and inadvertent and that a lenient view is required to be taken.
• Held that the petitioner is entitled for the limited relief of being permitted to make the necessary changes to its GSTR 3-B returns for the month of July 2017 and March 2018.
• Due to technical glitches/defects, if it is not possible for the respondent to permit such corrections online or on the portal, respondents are hereby directed to permit to carry out such corrections via manually/physically.
• Hence petition partly allowed.