Page 40 - GSTL_13th August 2020_Vol 39_Part 2

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GSTN glitch frets taxpayers, vanished data being restored

A technical glitch at the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) portal
led to a scramble among taxpayers and tax consultants to save data related to
monthly returns on their own storage systems after the designated portal
stopped showing tax returns details for July, 2017. GSTN on 3-8-2020 clarified
that it was a technical glitch, which would be resolved in a day, and not a delib-
erate removal of data, as was being feared.
However, before the clarification was issued, taxpayers bad construed
the missing July, 2017 data as a sign that GSTN would start deleting any details
older than three years. On August 1, the July, 2017 data came into this category.
A tax consultant said that while the law and rules do not allow GSTN to
remove data older than 3 years, the impression that this was being done was cre-
ated because a taxpayer viewing the electronic liability register on the portal
could see the message ‘maximum period for viewing ledger is 3 years’.
When FE contacted GSTN, its CEO Prakash Kumar said : “July, 2017 is
not appearing in the dropdown of FY18. This is a tech glitch which is getting re-
solved Tech team is working on it.”
The portal had also started flashing the message on 3-8-2020 : “Dear tax-
payer, the team is working to restore the facility to file and view GSTR-3B and
GSTR-1 return for July, 2017. We expect it to be available in a day.” The message
is still visible as the glitch is yet to be resolved.
Another tax consultant said that they started advising businesses to start
taking data backup for earlier period as it would be quite helpful during the as-
sessment stage. They said that it appeared that GSTN may have taken the action
for lack of storage space.
“Removal of taxpayer data from the user dashboard would signal either
a technical snag or limited space in data centres of GSTN, both of which would
raise questions on maturity of the Government’s digital initiatives ,” Rajat Mo-
han, Senior Partner at AMRG & Associates, said.
[Source : The Financial Express, New Delhi, dated 5-8-2020]

GST LAW TIMES  13th August 2020  40