In Brief
Bharti Airtel challenged a GST Circular preventing companies from correcting previously-filed GSTR-3B tax returns for past periods. The Delhi High Court had allowed the rectification, noting that technical glitches prevented Airtel from knowing its true tax credit position until months later. The Supreme Court reversed this, holding that taxpayers must perform self-assessment using their own records, not rely solely on government systems. The statutory mechanism only permits corrections in the return for the month/quarter when errors are discovered, not the original period. Allowing past-period corrections would disrupt other taxpayers' records and cause administrative chaos. The Circular was upheld as consistent with the law.
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