The recent notices sent to traders after scrutinizing their GST returns have caused great distress and sleepless nights.
Shockingly, these notices, amounting to crores of rupees, were sent to small traders with turnovers in lakhs. Even those who did not claim Input Tax Credit (ITC) were asked to account for it. Acknowledging the numerous complaints, State Tax Commissioner Ministi S has instructed the withdrawal of such notices.
An online module was introduced for downloading and sending notices to taxpayers through the portal. Unfortunately, the software became confused and erroneously sent a large number of incorrect notices. Traders with turnovers of only 40-50 lakhs received notices demanding crores of rupees.
These traders are not required to file GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C, yet notices were issued to them, outlining discrepancies between sales and taxes. Similarly, GSTR-9C does not apply to traders with turnovers below Rs 2 crore, yet they were unfairly targeted with notices demanding crores of rupees.