After a lot of confusion, the Government has clarified and extended the filing of GST TRAN 1 to October 31. The Government has issued a notification under rule 117 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Rules, 2017 to make the changes.

Confusion arose when the GST Council after its 21st meeting said in a press note that date to file TRAN 1 has been extended to October 31. However, a subsequent government notification was worded in such a manner that it meant taxpayers could file their TRAN 1 only till September 28th and only revisions to what was originally filed would be allowed till October 31.

This created a lot of confusion among taxpayers who relied on the press note and did follow the notification. As taxpayers were taken by surprise, GST's official Twitter handle stated there has been no extension to file the original TRAN 1. For many it suddenly became a last minute rush in the face of upcoming holidays in the many parts of India to get TRAN 1 filed. This happened because the first notification was only issued under rule 120(A), which only extended the deadline for revisions and not original filing. The government seems to have now rectified that anomaly by making changes to rule 117.

ET.com was first to report on the issue and it seems the government has now taken notice. "On the recommendation of the Council, the period for submitting the declaration in Form GST TRAN-1 is extended till October 31st, 2017," said the notification.

Government extends deadline to file GST TRAN 1 till October 31
"This is aligned with the decision made by the Council and has brought relief to many taxpayers who otherwise would had to do a rush filing in a week's time with festivals coming up during next week," says KPMG, Partner, Priyajit Ghosh
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However, there are three more rules - 118, 119, 120, which have not seen any change through a notification. These pertain to credit for transition stock lying with job workers and principal manufacturer and sale on approval. It is expected an extension of timelines will soon be announced by the government.

TRAN 1 is a very important document for taxpayers as it allows them to calculate the tax benefits and input credits that were available to them under the previous indirect tax regime - VAT, Service Tax, Excise Tax etc. Till June 30th, every aspect of a taxpayers business had some tax implications and businesses can now claim credit on the taxes they have already paid through TRAN 1.