Bharti Airtel Ltd VS Union of India

This appeal arises from a judgment and order dated 05.05.2020 by the High Court of Delhi in W.P. (C) No.6345 of 2018, where the High Court allowed the writ petition filed by respondent No.1 and read down paragraph 4 of Circular No. 26/26/2017-GST dated 29.12.2017 issued by the Commissioner (GST), Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise and Customs, GST Policy Wing, to the extent that it restricted the rectification of Form GSTR-3B for the period in which the error had occurred, and allowed respondent No.1 to rectify.

This appeal arises from the judgment and order dated 05.05.2020 by the High Court of Delhi in W.P. (C) No.6345 of 2018, where the High Court allowed the writ petition filed by respondent No.1 and read down paragraph 4 of Circular No. 26/26/2017-GST dated 29.12.2017 issued by the Commissioner (GST), Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise and Customs, GST Policy Wing, to the extent it restricted the rectification of Form GSTR-3B in respect of the period in which the error had occurred, allowing respondent No.1 to rectify Form GSTR-3B for the period in which the error had occurred, from July to September 2017, and directed the appellant to verify and give effect to the rectified Form GSTR-3B within two weeks of its filing. This issue arose after the enactment of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which came into force on 01.07.2017, and the implementation of Notification No.10/2017 dated 01.07.2017, bringing into force Rules 59, 60, and 61 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, along with Forms GSTR-1, GSTR-2, GSTR-2A, GSTR-3, and GSTR-3B. It is relevant to consider Notification No.17/2017-Central Tax dated 27.07.2017, issued for amending Rule 61 by altering the wording of Rule 61(5) and introducing Rule 61(6). Rule 61(5) initially read that when the time limit for furnishing details in FORM GSTR-1 under section 37 and in FORM GSTR-2 under section 38 is extended, and circumstances so warrant, return in FORM GSTR-3B, in lieu of FORM GSTR-3, may be furnished as notified by the Commissioner.

This appeal arises from the judgment and order dated 05.05.2020 passed by the High Court of Delhi in W.P. (C) No.6345 of 2018, in which the High Court allowed the writ petition filed by respondent No.1 and modified paragraph 4 of Circular No. 26/26/2017-GST dated 29.12.2017 issued by the Commissioner (GST), Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise and Customs, GST Policy Wing, which had restricted the rectification of Form GSTR-3B to the period in which the error occurred The High Court permitted respondent No.1 to rectify Form GSTR-3B for the period July to September 2017 and directed the appellant to verify and effectuate the rectified Form GSTR-3B within two weeks of its filing This issue is a result of the enactment of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which came into force on 01.07.2017, alongside Notification No.10/2017 dated 01.07.2017 that introduced Rules 59, 60, and 61 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, and Forms GSTR-1, GSTR-2, GSTR-2A, GSTR-3, and GSTR-3B Relevant to this matter, Notification No.17/2017-Central Tax dated 27.07.2017 amended Rule 61 by altering the wording of Rule 61(5) and introducing Rule 61(6) Initially, Rule 61(5) stated that if the time limit for furnishing details in FORM GSTR-1 under section 37 and FORM GSTR-2 under section 38 was extended, FORM GSTR-3B could be furnished instead of FORM GSTR-3 in the manner and conditions notified by the Commissioner This rule was later substituted with a new sub-rule stating that the Commissioner may specify that FORM GSTR-3B be furnished electronically through the common portal if the time limits for FORM GSTR-1 and FORM GSTR-2 are extended Furthermore, Rule 61(6) introduced a provision that if FORM GSTR-3B was furnished after the due date for FORM GSTR-2, Part A of FORM GSTR-3 would be generated electronically based on information from FORM GSTR-1, FORM GSTR-2, and other liabilities of preceding tax periods.

The appeal arises from a judgment and order dated 05.05.2020 by the High Court of Delhi in W.P. (C) No.6345 of 2018, where the High Court allowed the writ petition filed by respondent No.1 and read down paragraph 4 of Circular No. 26/26/2017-GST dated 29.12.2017 issued by the Commissioner (GST), Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise and Customs, GST Policy Wing, to the extent it restricted the rectification of Form GSTR-3B in the period in which the error occurred, allowing respondent No.1 to rectify Form GSTR-3B for the period from July to September 2017, and directing the appellant to verify the claim set forth by respondent No.1 within two weeks of filing the rectified Form GSTR-3B. The case follows the enactment of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, which came into effect on 01.07.2017, along with the introduction of Rules 59, 60, and 61 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, and Forms GSTR-1, GSTR-2, GSTR-2A, GSTR-3, and GSTR-3B. The Notification No.17/2017-Central Tax dated 27.07.2017 amended Rule 61 by changing the wording of Rule 61(5) and adding Rule 61(6). Rule 61(5), as initially enforced, allowed the return in Form GSTR-3B to be furnished in lieu of Form GSTR-3 under specific conditions. The amendment made Rule 61(5) read that the Commissioner could specify that the return be furnished in Form GSTR-3B electronically. Rule 61(6) introduced conditions for furnishing Form GSTR-3B after the due date for furnishing details in Form GSTR-2, including the generation of Part A and Part B of Form GSTR-3 based on information from Forms GSTR-1 and GSTR-2, and discrepancies between Form GSTR-3B and Form GSTR-3 to be modified in Part B, and where the input tax credit in Form GSTR-3 exceeds that in Form GSTR-3B, the additional amount would be credited to the electronic credit ledger. This was followed by Notification No.18/2017-Central Tax dated 08.08.2017, extending the time to file Form GSTR-1 for July and August 2017 to 05.09.2017 and 20.09.2017 respectively, and Notification No.21/2017-Central Tax specifying that the return for July and August 2017 be furnished in Form GSTR-3B electronically through the common portal by 20.08.2017 and 20.09.2017 respectively.

This appeal arises from the judgment and order dated 05.05.2020 by the High Court of Delhi in W.P. (C) No. 6345 of 2018, where the High Court allowed the writ petition filed by respondent No. 1 and read down paragraph 4 of Circular No. 26/26/2017-GST dated 29.12.2017 issued by the Commissioner (GST), Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board of Excise and Customs, GST Policy Wing, to the extent it restricted the rectification of Form GSTR-3B for the period in which the error occurred. The High Court permitted respondent No. 1 to rectify Form GSTR-3B for the period of July to September 2017 and directed the appellant to verify and give effect to the rectified Form GSTR-3B within two weeks. This matter is a result of the enactment of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, effective from 01.07.2017, with Notification No. 10/2017 bringing into force Rules 59, 60, and 61 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017, along with Forms GSTR-1, GSTR-2, GSTR-2A, GSTR-3, and GSTR-3B. Notification No. 17/2017-Central Tax dated 27.07.2017 amended Rule 61 by altering Rule 61(5) and introducing Rule 61(6), where Rule 61(5) initially read that if the time limit for furnishing details in Form GSTR-1 under section 37 and Form GSTR-2 under section 38 was extended, the return in Form GSTR-3B could be furnished instead of Form GSTR-3, as notified by the Commissioner. Rule 61(5) was later substituted to specify that if the time limit for furnishing details in Form GSTR-1 under section 37 and Form GSTR-2 under section 38 was extended, the Commissioner could notify that the return be furnished in Form GSTR-3B electronically. Rule 61(6) detailed that if Form GSTR-3B was furnished after the due date for Form GSTR-2, Part A of Form GSTR-3 would be generated electronically based on Form GSTR-1 and Form GSTR-2, and Part B would be based on Form GSTR-3B. The registered person would modify Part B of Form GSTR-3 based on discrepancies between Form GSTR-3B and Form GSTR-3 and discharge any tax and liabilities, with excess input tax credit credited to the electronic credit ledger. Notification No. 18/2017-Central Tax dated 08.08.2017 extended the time to file Form GSTR-1 for July and August 2017 to 05.09.2017 and 20.09.2017 respectively. Notification No. 21/2017-Central Tax on the same day specified that the return for July and August 2017 should be filed in Form GSTR-3B electronically by the dates in the corresponding entry in the provided table, with 20.08.2017 and 20.09.2017 as the respective dates for July and August 2017. Notification No. 23/2017-Central Tax dated 17.08.2017 extended the time for filing Form GSTR-3B for July 2017 for those filing Form GST TRAN-1 by 20.08.2017 to 28.08.2017, with conditions including tax payment and interest. Respondent No. 1 filed Form GSTR-3B for July 2017 on 31.08.2017. The Commissioner (GST) issued Circular No. 7/7/2017-GST dated 01.09.2017 regarding system-based reconciliation of information in Forms GSTR-1, GSTR-2, and GSTR-3B and correction mechanisms for errors in Form GSTR-3B. On receiving business community representations, Notification No. 35/2017-Central Tax dated 15.09.2017 was issued under Section 168 of the 2017 Act, Rule 61(5) of the 2017 Rules, and other provisions, on the Goods and Services Tax Council’s recommendations, specifying the dates for filing the return.

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