A number of taxpayers attempting to file their GSTR-1 returns on July 13 reported intermittent issues, including a recurring error message that stated “Return already under process.” The glitch, which appeared close to the deadline for filing returns, led to a flood of complaints on social media.
One such complaint was posted by user Siddharth Dhoot, who tagged the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the GST Council, and Infosys GSTN. He shared a screenshot of the error message “RET00009” and wrote, “How to file return from last 1 hour same error return already under process.”
Adding to the criticism, tax expert Rohit Jain posted a strongly worded comment on July 14, calling the GST Portal “Bahut Ghatiya” (very poor) and more. “Ab toh samjha do ‘Received but pending’ kya hota hain??” he wrote, questioning the ambiguity in return status messages and raising concerns about denial of Input Tax Credit (ITC) due to these glitches. He tagged CBIC, GST Council, and Infosys GSTN in his post, asking whether anyone was taking accountability.
In response, GSTN Tech (@Infosys_GSTN) acknowledged the problem and stated that the issue was identified and rectified promptly. They assured taxpayers that the system was quickly stabilised and pointed to the GSTR-1 filing numbers as evidence of successful resolution.
According to the data shared by GSTN:
- 13th July 2025 saw 80,35,313 GSTR-1 returns filed,
- Compared to 79,00,094 on 13th April 2025,
- And 78,87,679 on 13th July 2024.
“These numbers clearly indicate that the filing process was back on track, and users were able to submit their returns successfully,” said the official response from Team GSTN.
Despite the reassurances, users highlighted the inconvenience caused during peak filing hours. Several professionals called for better error-handling mechanisms and proactive communication to avoid such disruptions in the future.
GSTN reiterated its commitment to ensuring a smooth return filing experience for taxpayers and stated that it would continue to monitor system performance closely.
