Technical issues combined with minor errors in their tax returns have resulted in thousands of business people experiencing an unusual situation where they received tax refunds credited to their electronic ledgers. Initially delighted by this unexpected windfall, many traders were soon informed via email by tax authorities that they needed to rectify their returns and repay their taxes accordingly. Experts have identified a glitch in the GSTR-3B returns from the 2017-18 period as the root cause of the problem, posing significant challenges for numerous traders. Per guidelines, the tax must be reimbursed through revised returns by April 30.
A tax expert remarked, “This marks the first instance where traders have received tax refunds only to be instructed to re-file their returns thereafter. Numerous taxpayers received emails containing advisories on resetting and re-filing their GSTR-3B for a portion of the 2017-18 fiscal year. Credits were made to GST taxpayers’ electronic credit ledgers and cash ledgers for their input tax credit and tax payments, respectively. Those receiving these emails are now required to update their details. While some taxpayers may have made errors in their returns, the emergence of this situation can be attributed to discrepancies and technical glitches on the department’s end.”
The GST department issued an advisory stating, “Regarding the re-filing of GSTR-3B for certain taxpayers, it was observed that discrepancies existed between saved data in the GST system and filed data in the fields concerning input tax credit and tax liability payments during the filing process. After examination and deliberation by the grievance redressal committee of the GST council, it was decided to reset these returns, allowing affected taxpayers the opportunity to rectify discrepancies. Only those affected have been contacted via email, and the affected returns are now visible on their dashboards for re-filing.”