Fix tech glitches with GSTN at earliest: Govt tells Infosys

Considering the difficulty being faced by taxpayers on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) portal, the government has said the tax payment deadline for the month of April could be extended. It has also asked domestic IT services provider Infosys Ltd, which maintains the government's GSTN portal, to resolve the technical glitch issue at the earliest.

The tech glitches on the GSTN portal could delay the tax filing process for scores of taxpayers in the current month, say industry players.

The main problem is occurring in the generation of April 2022 GSTR-2B and GSTR-3B, says the government. "A technical glitch has been reported by @Infosys_GSTN in the generation of April 22 GSTR-2B and auto-population of GSTR-3B on the portal. Infosys has been directed by Govt for early resolution. Technical team is working to provide GSTR-2B and correct auto-populated GSTR-3B at the earliest," says the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC).

The CBIC further said that a proposal to extend the due date of filing GSTR-3B is being considered since the tech glitch has caused inconvenience to the taxpayers.

"Considering the difficulties faced by taxpayers in filing their GSTR-3B for the month of April 2022, a proposal to extend the due date of filing GSTR-3B for April 2022 is under active consideration. Inconvenience caused to the taxpayers is regretted," adds the CBIC tweet.

GSTR-2B is an auto-drafted input tax credit statement, which provides eligible and ineligible ITC for each month. It's similar to GSTR-2A but remains unchanged for each month. All casual and SEZ taxpayers can generate GSTR-2B. It allows them to reconcile ITC with their account books. The GSTR-2B statement is usually available to taxpayers on the 12th day of the succeeding month. Based on GSTR-2B, taxpayers claim their ITC and file GSTR-3B.

GST-3B, a self-declared tax summary form, is filed three times a month by different categories of taxpayers. This GST form comprises details regarding sales, ITC claimed and net payable tax.

In its advisory regarding GST-2B, GSTN on Sunday said that it observed that in a few cases, certain records are not reflected in the GSTR-2B statement for April 2022. "However, such records are visible in GSTR-2A of such recipients," it adds.

The authority said the technical team is working to resolve this issue for the impacted taxpayers and generate fresh GSTR-2B at the earliest. "In the interim, affected taxpayers interested in filing GSTR-3B are requested to file the return on a self-assessment basis using GSTR-2A. Inconvenience caused in this regard is deeply regretted," says GSTN.

Infosys had been awarded the contract worth ₹1,380 crore to build and maintain the GSTN platform. Meanwhile, GST revenue for March hit an all time high of ₹1,42,095 crore. The collection during the month is up 15% year-on-year from ₹1,23,902 crore in March last year.