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Audit define in Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017 under section 2(13), the term "audit" means the examination of records, returns and other documents maintained or furnished by the registered person under this Act or the rules made there under or under any other law for the time being in force to verify the correctness of turnover declared, taxes paid, refund claimed and input tax credit availed, and to assess his compliance with the provisions of this Act or the rules made there under.

A) GST Audit by Taxable Person
GST Audit shall be conducted by the Chartered Accountant (CA) or Cost Accountant, if the Turnover of taxable person crosses the threshold limit.

B) Annual GST Audit
According to Section 35(5) of the CGST Act, Every registered person whose turnover during a financial year exceeds the prescribed limit (presently 2 crores rupees) shall get his accounts audited by a Chartered Accountant or a Cost Accountant and shall submit

a copy of the audited annual accounts, the reconciliation statement under sub-section (2) of section 44 and such other documents in such form and manner as may be prescribed.

Reconciliation statement reconciling the value of supplies declared in the return furnished for the financial year with the audited annual financial statement and such other particulars as may be prescribed. As per Rule 80(3) of the CGST Rules, 2017, every registered person whose aggregate turnover during a financial year exceeds two crore rupees shall get his accounts audited as specified under sub-section (5) of section 35 and he shall furnish a copy of audited annual accounts and a reconciliation statement, duly certified, in FORM GSTR-9C, electronically through the common portal either directly or through a Facilitation Centre notified by the Commissioner.

GSTR 9C should be filed by the taxpayers whose annual aggregate turnover exceeds Rs 2 crores during the financial year.

For the purposes of this section, the expression Aggregate Turnover includes value of supplies of goods & services, value of all exempt supplies of goods & services and exports of goods & services and interstate supplies under the same PAN, on all India basis.

C)GST Audit by Tax Authorities / Department
Section 65 of GST Act 2017 states the GST audit by Tax Authorities and Departments.

• The Commissioner of CGST/SGST (or any officer authorized by him) may conduct an audit of a taxpayer. The frequency and manner of an audit will be prescribed later.
• The registered person shall be informed by way of a notice not less than 15 working days prior to the conduct of audit in such manner as may be prescribed.
• The audit will be completed within 3 months from the date of "commencement of the audit"
• The Commissioner can extend the audit period for a further six months with reasons recorded in writing.
• The Taxable person required to provide necessary facility to verify the books of accounts/ other documents and give information & assistance for timely completion of audit;
• Result of audit to be intimated within 30 days [Form GST ADT-02] and further action will be taken.
• On conclusion of an audit, the officer will inform the taxable person within 30 days of the findings, their reasons, and the taxable person's rights and obligations If the audit results in detection of unpaid/short paid tax or wrong refund or wrong input tax credit availed, then demand and recovery actions will be initiated.

For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression "commencement of audit" shall mean the date on which the records and other documents, called for by the tax authorities, are made available by the registered person or the actual institution of audit at the place of business, whichever is later.

D) Special Audit
Under section 66 of CGST Act 2017, The Assistant Commissioner may initiate the special audit, considering the nature and complexity of the case and interest of revenue. If he is of the opinion during any stage of scrutiny/ inquiry/investigation that the value has not been correctly declared or the wrong credit has been availed then special audit can be initiated.

• A special audit can be conducted even if the taxpayer's books have already been audited before.
• Prior approval of the Commissioner of CGST / SGST is required;
• Direct registered person to get his records and books of a/c audited [Form GST ADT-03];
• Audit to be carried out by a Chartered Accountant (CA) / Cost Accountant (CWA) nominated by the Commissioner of CGST / SGST;
• Audit Report to be submitted within 90 days, this further can be extended by the tax officer for 90 days on an application made by the taxable person:
• Opportunity of hearing given to registered person and further action taken by proper officer;
• Expenses of audit including remuneration to be determined and paid by the Commissioner.

Disclaimer
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances; before making any decisions do consult your Professional / tax advisor. For misrepresentation or interpretation of act or rules Author does not take any responsibility. Neither the author nor the firm accepts any liability for the loss or damage of any kind arising out of information in this document or for any action taken in reliance there on. This blog can be found at http://www.jsba.in/jsblogs/GST-AUDIT . For any query you can write to Jugraj@coeictindia.com or vikas@coeictindia.com . Hope the information will assist you in your Professional endeavors. For query or help, contact: office@coeictindia.com or call at 011-27652310, 09810272652, and 08375058630.

Vikas Jain
JSBA Consulting Private limited