Central Board of Excise and Customs has issued Circular No. 26/26/2017 – GST dated 29th December, 2017 and has clarified various issues with respect to filing of returns under GST and also clarifies how mistakes in filing GSTR-3B and GSTR-1 can be rectified.

Key points of the circular are:

Four stages has been identified for the filing procedure of GSTR-3B:

Return filing
Offset liability
Cash Ledger updated
Submitting

The errors made in the first two stages can be edited and the last two stages are not editable and needs to be rectified through the return of the subsequent months.
The registered person needs to decide at which stage of filing of FORM GSTR-3B he is currently at and also the error committed by him.
FORM GSTR-3B do not contain provisions for reporting of differential figures for past month(s), the said figures may be reported on net basis along with the values for current month itself in appropriate tables i.e. Table No. 3.1, 3.2, 4 and 5, as the case may be.
While making adjustment in the output tax liability or input tax credit, there can be no negative entries in the FORM GSTR-3B. The amount remaining for adjustment, if any, may be adjusted in the return(s) in FORM GSTR-3B of subsequent month(s) and, in cases where such adjustment is not feasible, refund may be claimed.
Where adjustments have been made in FORM GSTR-3B of multiple months, corresponding adjustments in FORM GSTR-1 should also preferably be made in the corresponding months.
The taxpayer who had committed an error in submitting the information in FORM GSTR-3B before offsetting and filing, a provision for editing the same has been enabled.
The information furnished by the registered person in the return in FORM GSTR-3B would be reconciled by the departments system with the information furnished in FORM GSTR-1 and discrepancies, if any, shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Act and rules made thereunder.

The procedure for corrections of various kinds of common errors made in Form GSTR-3B and Form GSTR-1 has been enumerated in the following table:

Common Errors

GSTR- 3B

GSTR-1

Confirmed Submission

Cash Ledger Updated

Offset liability

Return Filed

Under Reporting of Liability

Use “Edit” facility to add under reported liability.

Use “Edit” facility to add such liability and additional cash, if required may be deposited in the cash ledger by creating challan in FORM GST PMT-06.

Liability may be added in the return of subsequent month(s) after payment of interest.

If such liability was not reported in FORM GSTR-1 of the month/quarter, then such liability may be declared in the subsequent month’s/quarter’s FORM GSTR-1 in which payment is made.

Liability was over reported

Use “Edit” facility to reduce over reported liability.

Use “Edit” facility to reduce over reported liability and cash ledger may be partially debited to offset such liability. Remaining balance may either be claimed as refund or used to offset future liabilities.

Liability may be adjusted in return of subsequent month(s) or refund may be claimed where adjustment is not feasible.

Where the liability was over reported in the month’s / quarter’s FORM GSTR-1 also, then such liability may be amended through amendments under Table 9 of FORM GSTR-1

Liability was wrongly reported

Use “Edit” facility to rectify wrongly reported liability.

Use “Edit” facility to rectify wrongly reported liability and cash ledger may be debited to offset new liability, where sufficient balances are not available in the credit ledger. Remaining balance, if any may be either claimed as refund or used to offset future liabilities.

Unreported liability may be added in the next month’s return with interest, if applicable.

Also, adjustment may be made in return of subsequent month(s) or refund may be claimed where adjustment is not feasible.

Such taxpayers will have to file for amendments by filling Table 9 of the subsequent month’s / quarter’s FORM GSTR-1.

Input tax credit was under reported

Use ‘Edit” facility to add un-availed input tax credit. Input tax Credit will be added to the credit ledger and may be used for offsetting this month or subsequent month’s liability