GST Officers Issuing Summons/Arrest Memo Not Required To Be Cross-Examined By Assessee: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court held that GST officers issuing summons/arrest memo are not required to be cross-examined by assessee. Justices Bhargav D. Karia and Pranav Trivedi observed that the assessee wants to cross-examine the persons who belongs to the department who have either issued the summons or arrest memo. Such persons are not required to be cross-examined by the assessee. The assessee/petitioner a proprietor of M/s. KSEG India International was accused of availing the input...

Bombay High Court Directs GST Council To Develop Mechanism For Cross-State ITC Transfer In Mergers/Amalgamations

The Bombay High Court has directed the GST Council and GST Network to develop a mechanism for cross-state ITC transfer in Mergers/amalgamations. Justices Bharati Dangre and Nivedita P. Mehta permitted the IGST and CGST amount lying in the electronic credit ledger of the Transferor Company to be transferred to the Petitioner Company by physical mode for the time being, subject to the adjustments to be made in future. The petitioner/Umicore Autocat India Private Limited has raised a...

S. 161 CGST Act | Adjudicating Authority Can Dismiss GST Rectification Application Without Personal Hearing: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court stated that the GST authority can dismiss the rectification application without a personal hearing. The issue before the bench was whether the third proviso to Section 161 of the TNGST Act, 2017, requires complying with the principles of natural justice even for dismissing a rectification petition. Section 161 of the Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 talks about the rectification of errors apparent on the face of the record. The third proviso to Section 161...

Gujarat High Court Upholds Validity Of GST Advisory On Interest For Delayed Tax Payment

The Gujarat High Court has upheld the validity of the GST advisory on interest for delayed tax payment. Justices Bhargav D. Karia and Pranav Trivedi stated that the reference to Section 79 of the GST Act in the advisory is only to put the assessee on guard as to such outstanding liability as per the record of the Authority so that the assessee can either make the payment of such liability if agreed or may oppose the same when the notice in Form GST DRC-01D is received by the assessee...

Penalty U/S 122(1A) GST Act Can Be Imposed Retrospectively Even If SCN Was Issued After Its Enactment: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has made it clear that Section 122(1A) of the Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 can be imposed retrospectively, provided the show cause notice had been issued to the assessee when the provision was introduced.Section 122 contemplates penalties for certain offences under the GST Act, including fraudulent availment of input tax credit.Section 122(1A) was introduced by the Finance Act 2020 and came into effect on 1 January 2021. It prescribes that any person who retains the...

[S.69 CGST Act] Fake Supplier Addresses Indicate Prima Facie GST Evasion: Himachal Pradesh High Court Refuses To Quash Complaint

The Himachal Pradesh High Court stated that fake supplier addresses indicate prima facie GST evasion and refused to quash complaint under Section 69 of CGST Act. “When the officials went to the addresses mentioned in the invoices and found that no such entity existed, it was sufficient to infer that the invoices were fake, and the material shown to have been supplied as per the invoices could not have been supplied since no such person existed at the given address”, stated the bench. ...

S.107 GST Act | Impugned Order “Automatically Stayed” Once Appeal Is Filed & Pre-Deposit Is Made; No Attachment Of Bank Account: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court has observed that once an appeal is filed by the assessee under Section 107 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017 and pre-deposit is made, there is “automatic stay” of the impugned order raising demand.A division bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta thus interdicted the bank from attaching the account of an assessee, who had preferred an appeal against demand. It observed,“A perusal of Section 107(7) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act,...

GST Order Can't Be A Copy-Paste Of Showcause Notice, Independent Reasoning Must Be Present: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court held that a GST order can't be a copy-paste of the show cause notice and that independent reasoning must be present. Justices M.S. Sonak and Jitendra Jain stated that “simply cutting and pasting the allegations in the show cause notice or mechanically reciting them verbatim does not inspire confidence that due consideration has been shown to the cause, and the decision is made after its due consideration. Ultimately, these are aspects of natural justice principles...

GST TRAN-I Credit Can Be Revised Based On Manually Filed Excise Return: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court held that GST TRAN-I credit can be revised based on manually filed ER-1 Return. Justices M.S. Sonak and Jitendra Jain stated that “there were technical issues with respect to revising TRAN-1 and non-availability of electronic mode to revise excise return and it is only after directions issued by the Supreme Court in the case of Union of India vs. Filco Trade Centre Pvt. Ltd. 2022 that the assessee was able to revise its TRAN-1/TRAN-2 by filing manual revised...

GST Notice U/S 79(1)(c) Can't Be Issued Directly To Bank; Must Be Served To Actual Taxpayer: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court held that a GST notice under Section 79(1)(c) of the CGST Act can't be issued directly to the bank. Justices M.S. Sonak and Jitendra Jain observed that the notice under Section 79(1)(c) of the CGST Act was not addressed to the assessee but directly to the bank. “Where such notice is served on a person, he can prove to the satisfaction of the officer issuing the notice that the money demanded or any part thereof was not due to the person in default or that he...

GST Payable On Rent For Hotels Hired By Govt For Security Forces, Liability Of Home Dept To Reimburse: J&K High Court

The Jammu and Kashmir High Court has held that the Department of Home is liable to reimburse GST in addition to the fixed rent to hotel owners whose accommodations have been requisitioned for housing security forces.The petitioner had filed the petition seeking a direction that the tax amount be paid or reimbursed separately by the Home Department over and above the fixed rent. A bench of Justices Sanjay Parihar and Sanjeev Kumar observed that while the rental rates were fixed much earlier, the...

Department Serving Notice Via WhatsApp Post-COVID Is Not Valid U/S 169 CGST Act: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court stated that notice via WhatsApp was permitted only during COVID-19 pandemic and is not a valid mode of service under Section 169 CGST Act. Section 169 of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017, outlines various methods for serving notices, orders, or communications under the GST law. Justices Nitin Jamdar and Basant Balaji was addressing the case where the department had served the detention and confiscation order to the assessee through...