GST Dept prescribes Time Bar on Scrutiny of GST Annual Returns for Taxpayers in Delhi

The Government of National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi has recently issued a circular on time-barring Scrutiny of GST Returns of Delhi taxpayers for the Financial Years 2017-18, 2018-19 & 2019-20.

The circular stated that, “Under the provisions of Section 73(10) of Delhi GST Act, the Proper Officer shall issue the order under sub-section (9) within three years from the due date for furnishing of annual return for the financial year to which the tax not paid or short paid or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilized relates to or within three years from the date of erroneous refund. The provision of scrutiny returns are specified under Section 61 of Delhi Goods and Services Tax act, 2017 and Rule 99 of Delhi Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017.”

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC), Ministry of Finance, Government of india. vide notification No. 9/2023 Central Tax dated 31.03.2023 has extended the time limit specified under Section 73(10) for issuance of order under Section 73(9) of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 for recovery of tax not paid or short paid or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilized for any reason other than reason of fraud or any willful misstatement or suppression of facts to evade tax relating to the period as specified below:-

The circular further stated that the whole process of scrutiny of return u/s 61 and rule 99 of Delhi Goods and Services Tax Act takes around 5 to 6 months, hence, all Ward Incharges/Proper Officers are hereby advised to ensure timely issuance of order under Section 73(9) for the scrutiny of returns for periods as mentioned in the CBIC vide Notification No. 9/2023 Central Tax dated 31.03.2023.

Notably, to improve taxpayer services and compliance in India, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has directed the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) to introduce automated Goods and Services Tax return scrutiny by this week. She has also instructed CBIC to increase the taxpayer base using technology-based solutions and take strict action against fake billing and Input Tax Credit (ITC) fraud.

To help with the crackdown on fraud, the FM had asked CBIC to conduct a comprehensive root cause analysis of cases already booked and provide recommendations for technology-based solutions to prevent future occurrences.

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