Look into issue of limited GST Server capacity & find solution: SC

UOI Vs Tax Bar Association (Supreme Court of India)

In the matter of UOI vs Tax Bar Association, Hon’ble Supreme Court through its bench comprising of Hon’ble Justice R F Nariman & Hon’ble Justice Ravinder S Bhatt, at the outset, refused to interfere in order as passed by Hon’ble Rajasthan High Court and also clarified that there would be no penal consequences for delayed filing due to problems of GSTN Server.

Ld. Solicitor General stated that extension in due date requires entire modification in Software and therefore it creates ambiguity and choas. Therefore, Hon’ble Supreme Court said that no further extension would be given post 12th February 2020 through interim order. Ld. Counsel Mr. Sanjay Jhanwar, Mr. Rishabh Sancheti, Mr. Prateek Gattani  and Mr Rajat Sharma appearing for Respondents association demonstrated bottlenecks and technical errors at GSTN portal. Pursuant to which Ld. SG assured that no penal consequences shall be taken on account of delayed filing. Further, Hon’ble Supreme Court directed the UOI to file detailed reply to address the bottlenecks especially lower capacity of the server of GSTN before Hon’ble High Court and the High Court to decide issue finally on the basis of facts without getting influnced by this ad-hoc order.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has stayed Rajasthan High Court order which had extended the deadline of GSTR-9 (GST Annual Return) and GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement) to 12.02.2020.

Further, Supreme Court directed the UOI to file a detailed reply to address the bottlenecks especially the lower capacity of the server of GSTN before High Court and the High Court to decide issue finally on the basis of facts without getting influenced by this ad-hoc order. Earlier, the Rajasthan High Court had directed the GST Department to accept the filing of GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C till February 12th 2020 without late fees.

The Hon’ble Supreme Court has stayed Rajasthan High Court order which had extended the deadline of GSTR-9 (GST Annual Return) and GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement) to 12.02.2020.

Further, Supreme Court directed the UOI to file a detailed reply to address the bottlenecks especially the lower capacity of the server of GSTN before High Court and the High Court to decide issue finally on the basis of facts without getting influenced by this ad-hoc order. Earlier, the Rajasthan High Court had directed the GST Department
to accept the filing of GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C till February 12th 2020 without late fees.

The court after taking into consideration screenshots submitted by the Petitioner regarding the unsuccessful attempts of the tax professionals time and again during the extended period was satisfied that GSTN portal does not have the requisite capacity to handle the filing of pending returns within the deadline.

While Staying the part of the Rajasthan High Court order which extended the deadline for submitting the returns, the Apex Court has said that-

We do not intend by this ad-hoc order to at all interfere with what the High Court may ultimately do on the facts of this case.

FULL TEXT OF THE SUPREME COURT JUDGMENT

Order Dated 10th November 2019 rectified by Hon’ble Supreme Court on 11th November 2019

We do not intend to interfere with the order passed by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Jodhpur. However, we only stay that part of the order which has extended the deadline for submitting the returns. This is on the basis of Mr. Tushar Mehta,learned Solicitor General’s statement to this Court that only Rs. 200/- per day is being charged for the filing of late returns, which subject to the outcome of the writ petition will be refunded. He has also assured us that the authorities, both under the Central as well as State Acts, will not invoke any penal powers in this behalf.

We have been informed by learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents that the capacity for on-line processing of GST applications is extremely limited. The applications being far more in number, we direct the petitioner to look into this problem and come out with a solution in accordance with the aforesaid capacity as soon as is practicable.

We do not intend by this ad-hoc order to at all interfere with what the High Court may ultimately do on the facts of this case.

The Special Leave Petition is disposed of accordingly.

Pending applications also stand disposed of.

Download Rectified order

ORDER Passed on 10th November 2019

We do not intend to interfere with the order passed by the High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan, Jodhpur. However, we only stay that part of the order which has extended the deadline for submitting the returns. This is on the basis of Mr. Tushar Mehta, learned Solicitor General’s statement to this Court that only Rs. 200/- per day is being charged for the filing of late returns beyond 12.02.2020. He has also assured us that the authorities, both under the Central as well as State Acts, will not invoke any penal powers in this behalf.

We have been informed by learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondents that the capacity for on-line processing of GST applications is extremely limited. The applications being far more in number, we direct the petitioner to look into this problem and come out with a solution in accordance with the aforesaid capacity as soon as is practicable.

We do not intend by this ad-hoc order to at all interfere with what the High Court may ultimately do on the facts of this case. The Special Leave Petition is disposed of accordingly. Pending applications also stand disposed of.

Download Original Order dated 10.02.2020

Accept GSTR 9 / GSTR 9C returns without any late fees till 12th Feb 2020: Rajasthan High Court