Correction in GSTR-1 Return for the month of January, 2019  —–- The petitioner sought to allow it to carry out amendment in its GSTR-1 for the month of January 2019 in order to rectify its mistake of mentioning wrong GSTIN number and sought a direction to the respondent to allow respondent No.5 purchaser of the petitioner to avail ITC pertaining to the said transaction. The Petitioner submitted that mistake was realized by it only in June 2021 during final settlement of accounts with Respondent No.5. The court observed that on account of an inadvertent error, the entry relating to Tax Invoice could not be reflected in the GSTR-1 filed by the petitioner. The Respondent No.5 availed of such ITC but reversed the entries in May 2022 as the same were not reflected in his GSTR-2A return. The said entries, though reflected in the GSTR-2A of Respondent No. 6 inadvertently, were not availed by Respondent No.6. The mechanism conceived under substituted Rule 59 specifically, sub rule (3) and (4) and Rule 60 (1) having not put into place by notification of form GSTR-2 and GSTR-1A the petitioner could not discover such error in the absence of GSTR-2. The relevant form GST-MIS 1 and GST-MIS 2 as conceived under section 70 and 71 read with section 42 (prior to its omission under notification no.19/2022 and 18/2022, also having not been prescribed, the online mechanisms for discovery and correction of such mistake either by the supplier or by the recipient or both, could not take place. The Petitioner has a valid reason in not being able to rectify the entries in the GSTR-1 returns of March 2019. The online portal did not permit such correction by any aggrieved registered person on its own. The rectification exercise would remain revenue neutral.

Held that:- The Hon’ble High Court allowed the petitioner to make the necessary correction in GSTR-1 form for January 2019 and further directed GSTN that such correction, if does not entail technical difficulties by the GSTN, may be allowed to be made online by GSTN by opening the portal for a limited period upon due communication to the petitioner and respondent no.5 and 6. If such a course is not possible to be done online for technical reasons, the GSTN could allow the petitioner to make such corrections through manual mode. Let such correction be allowed to be made within a period of 8 weeks.