Govt moves SC against Bharti Airtel in Rs 923 cr GST refund case

The central government has moved the Supreme Court challenging a Delhi High Court (HC) order that allowed Bharti Airtel to claim goods and services tax refund worth Rs 923 crore.

The case pertains to under-reporting of input tax credit in the GST summary return form, GSTR-3B, between July and September 2017 because of the absence of purchase-related return form, GSTR-2A, at that time. In May, the Delhi HC had allowed the telecom major to seek a refund by rectifying GST returns filed between July and September 2017.

The government has held that the Sunil Mittal-led company under-reported input tax credit, while the company argued that it paid excess tax on inputs, as the GSTR-2A form was not operational at the time. The form allows for validation before uploading.