Orissa High Court Allows Rectification of Clerical GST ITC Error of Over ₹1 Crore Instead of Actual ₹1 Lakh, Emphasizing Corrective Measures

The Orissa High Court addressed a case where a clerical mistake while filing GST returns caused the petitioner, Gautam Pattnaik, to claim an inflated Input Tax Credit (ITC) of over ₹1 crore instead of the actual ₹1.07 lakh. The error occurred due to a decimal misplacement by a new staff member while filing November 2021 returns, resulting in the ITC figure being recorded as ₹1,07,91,648 instead of ₹1,07,916.48 under CGST and SGST heads. Upon noticing the error, the petitioner reversed the excess ITC in GSTR-3B for January 2022-23 and sought rectification under Section 161 of the GST Act, which was initially rejected on limitation grounds. The Division Bench of Chief Justice Harish Tandon and Justice Murahari Sri Raman found prima facie evidence of genuineness and concluded that such human errors must be allowed for rectification. Consequently, the court set aside the rejection order and remitted the matter to the Assistant Commissioner of State Tax, Cuttack-I, directing the authority to permit correction of the ITC figures under Section 73 within four weeks. This judgment reinforces the principle that clerical or arithmetical errors should be rectifiable to prevent undue hardship to taxpayers.