This circular provides a structured mechanism to address difficulties faced by taxpayers due to technical glitches on the GST common portal, and to grant appropriate relief where such glitches have prevented timely compliance.

It introduces an IT Grievance Redressal Mechanism to deal with cases where a class of taxpayers could not file returns or forms, or could not amend already filed returns, within the prescribed time due to portal-related issues. Relief may include allowing late filing, amendment of returns, or other corrective actions, provided there is evidence of a bona fide attempt to comply with the law.

The mechanism is applicable only to issues arising from the GST portal that affect a large number of taxpayers and does not cover individual or local issues such as internet or power failures. The GST Implementation Committee acts as the IT Grievance Redressal Committee, with GSTN playing a key role in identifying system-level issues and proposing solutions. Nodal officers are to be appointed by GSTN and tax administrations to receive and process applications from affected taxpayers.

The circular also empowers the committee to recommend waiver of late fee or penalty where non-compliance is directly attributable to technical glitches. Specific relief is provided for taxpayers whose TRAN-1 forms were stuck due to system errors, allowing identified taxpayers to complete filing within a prescribed timeframe without altering the originally declared credit amounts.

Overall, the circular aims to provide a transparent and uniform process for resolving genuine GST compliance issues arising from technical limitations of the GST portal.