GST - Audit, assessment and litigation

Under GST a taxpayer is required to self-assess the tax liability, pay taxes and file returns. Thus, there is a need to ensure that the taxpayer has correctly assessed the tax liability. Assessment can be undertaken either by the taxpayer themselves, which is called self-assessment, or by the tax authorities, which can be in the form of provisional assessment, summary assessment and best judgment assessment. In this module, you will learn about the different types of assessments by the taxpayer as well as the tax authorities, the situations when each of these are invoked and key considerations pertaining to them. You will also learn about the basic framework of audits under GST.

Any non-compliance or contravention of provisions of GST law can attract scrutiny, assessment, audit, demand and recovery proceedings. Demand and recovery provisions are invoked against the taxpayer if there is any short payment or wrong utilisation of input credit. If the taxpayer is unhappy with the order or decision passed by the Tax Officer, such taxpayer has a statutory right to file an appeal. In this module, you will learn the circumstances under which demand can be raised and the timelines for the issuance of notice and conclusion of proceedings.

The Government introduced provisions in the GST legislation that any reduction in the tax incidence, i.e. GST should be passed on to consumers through a commensurate reduction in prices. This measure of the Government is commonly known as 'anti-profiteering'. 'Anti-profiteering', as the name suggests, means that one cannot 'profiteer' from GST. In this module, we shall discuss the legal framework for anti-profiteering regulations in India and the authorities constituted by the Government to check the cases of anti-profiteering.