High Court
Suspension Of State Tax Officer For Delayed Report Unjustified When Authority Failed To Act In GST Fraud Case: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that where loss is caused to the State, a State Tax Officer may not be suspended for mere delay in submitting a report. Justice Vikas Budhwar held that this would be especially impermissible in a case where the authority to act on the report in time chooses not to do so.He held that, despite the fact that the petitioner submitted the report with delay, the authority to take action was the Assistant Commissioner. It was held that the petitioner could not be...
GST Authorities Cannot Assume Jurisdiction For Passing Adverse Orders For Work Concluded Under VAT Regime: Allahabad High Court
The Allahabad High Court has held that GST Authorities cannot claim jurisdiction for levying tax, penalty, and interest on work that was concluded prior to the implementation of the GST Act. Notices were issued to the petitioner, a work contractor, for the Financial Year 2018-19 under the GST Act. The petitioner was unable to reply to the notices in time. Consequently, an ex-parte order was passed, levying tax, penalty and interest on him. Aggrieved, he sought relief before the High...
GST Department To Re-Inspect Changed Place Of Business Before GST Registration Cancellation: Delhi High Court
The Delhi High Court, in a matter concerning retrospective cancellation of registration despite having amended place of business, directed “The GST Department may re-inspect the new premises of the Petitioner and obtain a physical inspection report.” The Division Bench, comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain stated that the officials of the GST Department ought to have re-inspected the new premises for Show Cause Notice proceedings to continue. It was also noted...
CGST Act | Bombay High Court Stays GST Demand Order Over Delayed Service Of Showcause Notice
The Bombay High Court granted ad-interim relief to the assessee by staying the operation of a GST Demand Order The Bench of Justice B.P. Colabawalla & Amit S. Jamsandekar was hearing a writ preferred by the assessee seeking to quash the GST demand order challenging the Show Case Notice to be time barred per Section 73(2) and 73(10) of the Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST) Act, 2017. The Petitioner argued that the Show Cause Notice did not follow the mandatory provisions...
Use Of Word 'Determined' In SCN Shows Pre-Determination; S.74 Invocation Unsustainable: Madras High Court Quashes GST Demand
The Madras High Court has held that using the word 'Determined' in the show cause notice (SCN) betrays an element of pre-determination on the part of the authority. The bench highlighted that the show cause notice must clearly specify whether the assessee is being charged with fraud, suppression or wilful misstatement to invoke section 74 of the Tamil Nadu Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The bench stated that the authority has used the word “determined”. There is an ocean of...
Delhi High Court Grants Interim Relief To Aadhar India Over Non-Issuance Of Pre-Show Cause Notice Intimation In GST Case
The Delhi High Court, while examining whether pre-consultation prior to a GST Show Cause Notice was mandatory or discretionary, granted interim relief to Aadhar India by permitting the proceedings arising from the Show Cause Notice dated 29 November 2024 to continue, but directing that any final order passed pursuant thereto should not be given effect without further orders of the Court.The Division Bench, comprising Justice Prathiba M. Singh and Justice Shail Jain, heard a writ petition...
Affidavit Of Cost Accountant In Personal Hearing Cannot Be Ignored When Facts Are Admitted By State Tax Officer: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has held that an affidavit by professionals, such as a cost accountant, given during a personal hearing, cannot be ignored, especially when a state tax officer admits facts referred therein. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. stated that when a professional swears an affidavit before this Court, highlighting the matters that transpired during the course of the hearing, the same cannot be simply ignored, particularly in a situation where, to some extent, there is an...
Cancelled GST Registration Cannot Be Restored Solely To Claim ITC Benefit U/S 16(6) CGST Act: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has held that a cancelled GST registration cannot be restored solely to claim the ITC (Input Tax Credit) benefit under Section 16(6) CGST Act (Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017). Section 16(6) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, enables the taxpayer to claim the input tax credit available in the ledger, in case the order cancelling the registration is revoked by any order, either under Section 30 or pursuant to any order made by the appellate...
Centre Cannot Retain Wrongly Paid IGST Once Correct Tax Is Paid To State GST Authorities: Karnataka High Court
The Karnataka High Court has held that the Centre cannot retain wrongly paid IGST (Integrated Goods and Services Tax) once the correct tax is paid to the State authorities. Justice S.R. Krishna Kumar observed that since the assessee had wrongly paid IGST and later paid the correct tax to the State GST, the Central government must refund IGST to the assessee. The assessee/appellant is a Science and Technology Company operating across healthcare, life science and electronics and has...
Contractor Can Claim Increased GST During Work, Even If Bills Were Paid Before Rates Increased: Kerala High Court
The Kerala High Court has held that a contractor can claim increased GST (Goods and Services Tax) during work, even if bills were paid before the rate increase. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. opined that at the time of execution of the contract, the rate was only 5% and the increase took place during the execution of the work. Thus, the assessee is entitled to a differential amount of tax. In this case, the assessee/petitioner is a partnership firm and is engaged in the construction...
Kerala High Court Directs GST Department To Ensure No Tax Evasion In Frozen Chicken Sale
Disposing of a writ petition alleging that frozen chicken was being sold at 0% GST instead of the applicable 5%, the Kerala High Court recently directed the GST department to ensure that no tax evasion takes place. Justice Ziyad Rahman A.A. also noted that the State GST Department was already investigating the matter. Hence, the Court disposed of the writ petition filed by the petitioner, who is a chicken meat dealer, who alleged that tax evasion was taking place in the sale of...
GST Audit | Delhi High Court Sets Aside Show Cause Notice Issued Before Deadline To Reply To Pre-SCN, Says It Violates Natural Justice
The Delhi High Court has quashed the Show Cause Notice (SCN) issued to a company before conducting audit, holding that the authorities violated principles of natural justice by issuing the SCN before expiry of time granted to respond to the pre-SCN.A Division Bench of Justices Prathiba M. Singh and Shail Jain observed,“the Petitioner was given time to file submissions till 28th November, 2024…However, surprisingly, the authority has decided to issue the SCN itself one day before the said day...