Section 128A Amnesty Turns on When You Claimed the Credit, Not When the Invoice Was Raised: GST Appellate Tribunal

The Bengaluru bench of the GST Appellate Tribunal has held that eligibility for the Section 128A waiver depends on the period in which the disputed input tax credit was actually availed, not the period of the underlying invoice or debit note.

The GST Appellate Tribunal's Bengaluru bench has read the Section 128A amnesty narrowly, and the reasoning matters to every Tamil Nadu business sitting on a Section 73 demand.

The debit notes in question had been issued in 2018-19, well inside the amnesty window. But the disputed input tax credit was actually taken for the first time in the GSTR-3B for December 2020, and the demand was raised for 2020-21. The appellant argued that because the underlying transaction fell in an eligible year, the demand should qualify. The Tribunal disagreed and dismissed the appeal. What decides eligibility is the period to which the demand itself pertains — the period in which the credit was availed, not the period of the underlying transaction. Credit first taken in December 2020 is not credit availed in 2018-19 and carried forward.

CBIC's own clarification runs the same way. Circular No. 248/05/2025-GST dated 27 March 2025 describes Section 128A as waiving interest or penalty for demands under Section 73 "for the period from 1st July 2017 to 31st March 2020", at https://gstcouncil.gov.in/sites/default/files/2025-04/circular-no-248-05-2025.pdf

What this means for you: before applying in Form SPL-01 or SPL-02, check which return period your credit was actually claimed in. An invoice dated inside the window does not make a later claim eligible. The Bengaluru bench does not bind Tamil Nadu, but every bench sits under the same GSTAT (Procedure) Rules, 2025, so expect the same reading here.

Topics:section 128AGST amnestyGSTATinput tax creditsection 73SPL-01SPL-02waiver of interest and penaltyGST appealChennai GSTTamil Nadu GST

Back to all GST updates