The Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) on X (Twitter) has acknowledged that the GST portal is experiencing technical issues and is hence under maintenance. GSTN expects the portal to be operational by 12 PM on January 10, 2025 however, an incident report is being sent to CBIC to consider an extension in filing date. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) is yet to come out with any notification in this regard. However, several chartered accountants on social media and with whom we spoke voiced their concerns about being unable to file GSTR-1 return, the deadline for which is January 11, 2025 for the December 2024 tax period. The deadline is January 13, 2025 for QRMP filers for December 2024 tax period.
GSTN said on X: “The GST portal is currently experiencing technical issues and is under maintenance. We expect the portal to be operational by 12:00 noon. CBIC is being sent an incident report to consider extension in filing date. Thank you for your understanding and patience!”
GSTN said on the portal: “Scheduled Downtime! GSTN are enhancing the services on the site. The services will not be available from 10th Jan’25 12:00 AM to 10th Jan’25 03:00 PM.”
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What is the issue with GSTR-1 return filing
Chartered Accountant Himank Singla, partner, SBHS & Associates explains that since the past two days he has:
- Not able to download DRC-01 SCNs
- Not able to file GSTR-1 as summary is not being generated
- Not able to download old data
- Not able to open RFD-01 Form
- Not able to reply to SCNs
- Not able to open Core Field
Singla says, the GST Portal has been facing significant technical issues over the past two days and have caused widespread frustration among businesses and tax professionals as the deadline for filing approaches.
Singla says: “This is not the first time the GST portal has encountered such issues. Recurring technical glitches have led to calls for a more robust and reliable system to handle the high volume of transactions and filings, especially during peak periods.
Many tax professionals have also highlighted the need for contingency measures to prevent such disruptions from affecting compliance. “The CBIC is expected to issue a formal statement soon regarding any possible extension and measures to mitigate the impact of the glitch. In the meantime, taxpayers have expressed concerns over potential penalties and late fees due to the delay in filing,” says Singla.
Ordinarily, the deadline for filing GSTR-1 falls on the 11th of each month, with businesses typically filing their returns on the 10th and 11th to ensure timely compliance. Chartered Accountant Hunny Munjal says since January 11, 2025, is a Saturday, a designated holiday for many MNCs operating across India. “This scheduling anomaly requires businesses to file their GSTR-1 by 10th January, 2025. The current technical issues plaguing the GSTN portal significantly hinder their ability to comply within this accelerated timeframe.”
How buyers input tax credit may get delayed if suppliers don’t file GSTR-1 on time
According to Munjal, “The consequences of delayed GSTR-1 filing extend far beyond missed deadlines. GSTR-1 forms the foundation for generating GSTR-2B, a crucial document enabling buyers to claim Input Tax Credit (‘ITC’) as mandated under Section 16 of the CGST Act, 2017. Typically, GSTR-2B is auto-populated on the 14th of each month, providing buyers with sufficient time to reconcile purchases and claim ITC in their GSTR-3B returns by the 20th of every month i.e., effectively 6 days to reconcile the purchases booked in the books of accounts with the GSTR2B available on the GST portal.
Munjal says if businesses fail to file GSTR-1 on time due to GSTN portal issues, GSTR-2B generation will be delayed, potentially depriving buyers of the ability to claim ITC in the current tax period. “For companies with significant input purchases, particularly MNCs, this could lead to a substantial working capital blockage, as GST liabilities would need to be discharged in cash until ITC is available in subsequent months,” he says.
Munjal suggests that to address these challenges, the government may consider extending the GSTR-1 filing deadline by 2-3 days, potentially until January 13, 2025. While this extension could provide immediate relief to sellers, it would likely delay GSTR-2B generation by a similar margin. This would compress the reconciliation period available to buyers, further complicating compliance processes. “For large corporations managing transactions worth crores of rupees, the inability to claim ITC promptly could have severe financial repercussions, straining cash flows and disrupting routine business operations,” he says.
Who needs to file a GSTR-1 return?
According to the GST website, “Form GSTR-1 is a monthly/quarterly Statement of Outward Supplies to be furnished by all normal and casual registered taxpayers making outward supplies of goods and services or both and contains details of outward supplies of goods and services.
Every registered taxable person, other than an input service distributor/ composition taxpayer/ persons liable to deduct tax u/s 51 / persons liable to collect tax u/s 52 is required to file Form GSTR-1, the details of outward supplies of goods and/or services during a tax period, electronically on the GST Portal.”
Who can opt for quarterly GSTR-1 filing?
According to the GST portal, “You can opt for Quarterly filing of Form GSTR-1 under following condition:
- If your turnover during the preceding financial year was up to Rs 5 crore or
- If you are registered during the current financial year and expect your aggregate turnover to be up to Rs 5 crore.
Note: In case you have chosen Opt-in for Quarterly Return option, you need to file both Form GSTR-1 and Form GSTR-3B quarterly only.”
