The Himachal Pradesh State Taxes and Excise Department has issued Notification No. 13/2025-State Tax on October 10, 2025, introducing the Himachal Pradesh Goods and Services Tax (Third Amendment) Rules, 2025. These rules bring extensive changes to the HPGST Rules, 2017, affecting annual return forms (GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C), provisional refunds, and the appellate tribunal procedure. The amendments carry different commencement dates, including retrospective effect from April 1, 2025.
Key Commencement Dates for the Amendments
The new rules become effective on various dates, ensuring taxpayers are aware of the timeline for compliance:
- General Commencement: September 22, 2025 (Save as otherwise provided).
- Retrospective Effect (April 1, 2025): Amendment to Rule 39 concerning the insertion of a reference to the Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
- Prospective Effect (October 1, 2025): Changes to Rule 91, which governs the grant of provisional refunds.
- General Effect (October 10, 2025): Changes to Appellate Rules (110, 110A, 111, 113) and the forms GSTR-9 and GSTR-9C, unless otherwise specified within their clauses.
Streamlining Provisional Refunds (Rule 91)
Effective from October 1, 2025, Rule 91 concerning provisional refunds has been significantly revised to expedite the process:
- The proper officer is now required to issue an order in FORM GST RFD-04 within a period not exceeding seven days from the date of acknowledgement.
- This provisional refund grant will be based on the identification and evaluation of risk by the system.
- A crucial time-saving provision states that the order issued in FORM GST RFD-04 shall not be required to be revalidated by the proper officer.
Major Overhaul of Appellate Procedures
The amendments introduce a new framework for filing and hearing appeals before the Appellate Tribunal, aiming for better case management.
New Forms and Summary Order
- Rules 110 and 111 mandate the use of the new FORM GST APL-02A for filing appeals. Part A will be used for provisional acknowledgement, and Part B for the appeal application.
- The Appellate Tribunal’s order under Section 113(1) must now be accompanied by a summary of the order in FORM GST APL-04A, which clearly indicates the final confirmed demand amount (Rule 113).
Introduction of Single Member Bench (New Rule 110A)
A new Rule 110A establishes the procedure for appeals to be heard by a Single Member Bench:
- The President or Vice-President can transfer an appeal to a Single Member Bench if it does not involve a question of law.
- If the Single Member Bench later concludes that the appeal may involve a question of law, it must send the appeal back for reconsideration.
- Cases involving the same issue for the same or a different tax period, which have already been heard by a Technical Member and a Judicial Member Bench, shall be heard by a similar composite bench.
- The threshold of fifty lakh rupees for Section 109(8) will now be calculated based on the cumulative tax or input tax credit involved, or the amount of fine, fee or penalty, determined with reference to all issues and tax periods covered in the order appealed against.
Extensive Changes to Annual Return Forms (GSTR-9 & GSTR-9C)
The most comprehensive changes have been introduced in the annual return forms, particularly to provide clarity on Input Tax Credit (ITC) reporting and transactions declared in the subsequent financial year.
Amendments to FORM GSTR-9 (Annual Return)
Several new fields and modifications have been introduced in Part III and Part V of GSTR-9:
- Detailed ITC Reporting (Part III): New rows A1 and A2 are inserted in Table 6 to clearly separate ITC of the preceding financial year availed in the current financial year and to arrive at the Net ITC for the current year. Specific lines are added for ITC reclaimed under Rules 37 and 37A (Table 7A1 and 7A2).
- ITC Availment from Forms: Table 6M is substituted to specifically track ITC availed through FORM ITC-01, FORM ITC-02, and ITC-02A (excluding GSTR-3B and TRAN Forms).
- Tax Payment Details (Part IV): Table 9 is entirely substituted with a new, detailed table requiring reporting of Tax Payable versus Paid through Cash and Paid through ITC, along with the calculated difference.
- Next Financial Year Transactions (Part V): Tables 10 to 14 have been substituted to clearly define and report supplies/tax declared or reduced, ITC reversed, and ITC availed in the subsequent financial year’s return (filed up to November 30th).
- Instructions for FY 2024-25 Onwards: The instructions are updated to provide specific guidance for the Financial Year 2024-25 and onwards, particularly for the reporting of reclaimed ITC (Rules 37/37A) and the revised due date for considering next financial year’s transactions (April to October returns filed until November 30th).
Amendments to FORM GSTR-9C (Reconciliation Statement)
GSTR-9C is also modified to accommodate E-commerce transactions and clarify additional liabilities:
- E-commerce Operator Tax (Section 9(5)): New serial numbers (D1 in Table 7, K2 in Table 9) are inserted to reconcile and report supplies on which the E-commerce operator is required to pay tax under sub-section (5) of Section 9.
- Late Fee Reporting: A new Part V, Serial 7 is inserted to report the Late fee payable and paid separately for Integrated Tax, Central Tax, and State/UT Tax.
- Payment of Additional Liability: The payment method for additional liability in Table 11 and Part V is expanded from “Cash” to “cash or ITC”.
These amendments are critical for taxpayers and tax professionals in Himachal Pradesh to ensure proper compliance, especially when preparing for annual return filings for FY 2024-25 and beyond.