GST Officers Cannot Keep Tax Consultant's Office Sealed After Search Ends: Gauhati High Court

The Gauhati High Court on 10 August held that GST authorities cannot keep business premises sealed after completing a search when the owner had not denied them access. Justice Devashis Baruah directed the Assam GST Department to de-seal the office of Sri Surendra Sharma, a tax consultant operating under the name Sharma and Associates in Bokajan, Assam. The Bench held: “...the goods mentioned in the Annexure to the Order of Prohibition in FORM GST INS-03 can under no circumstances be said to be...

Central & State GST Proceedings Not On 'Same Subject Matter' Merely Because Both Concern ITC For Same FY: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has recently held that Central and State GST proceedings cannot be treated as being on the 'same subject matter under Section 6(2)(b) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, merely because both proceedings concern Input Tax Credit for the same financial year.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain said that determining whether proceedings initiated by Central and State GST authorities concern the same subject matter requires an examination of...

GST | Party Contesting Notice On Merits, Challenging Jurisdiction After Adverse Order Hit By Doctrine Of Election: Allahabad HC

The Allahabad High Court at Lucknow has recently held that a taxpayer who appeared before the tax officer and contested a show cause notice on merits and raised the objection of want of jurisdiction only after the penalty order went against him is hit by the doctrine of election and ought to be relegated to the statutory appellate remedy. The bench of Justice Shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Abdhesh Kumar Chaudhary held “We are conscious of the settled legal position that a...

Karnataka High Court Quashes GST Recovery Against Company For Deceased Proprietor's Business' Dues

The Karnataka High Court has quashed GST recovery notices issued against a private limited company for dues of a proprietary concern run by a deceased proprietor. It observed that the company was a distinct and separate entity from the proprietary concern and could not be proceeded against for its GST dues. Justice B. M. Shyam Prasad was hearing a writ petition filed by BKR Services Private Limited along with the son and wife of late Rudraswamy B K, who died on May 25, 2023. The dispute arose...

Gujarat High Court Declares Pre-October 2023 GST Levy On Related Persons' Corporate Guarantees Unconstitutional

The Gujarat High Court has declared unconstitutional the levy of GST on corporate guarantees furnished by one related company on behalf of another before October 26, 2023, holding that the retrospective levy violates fundamental rights.However, the court held that GST can be levied from that date where such corporate guarantees continue.While upholding the constitutionality of Rule 28(2) of the CGST Rules read it down by removing the expression “whichever is higher” from the prescribed valuation...

Section 74(10) GST Act | Starting Point For GST Demand Limitation 'Debatable': Delhi High Court Declines Writ

The Delhi High Court has refused to exercise its writ jurisdiction to examine a dispute regarding the starting point for computation of limitation period under Section 74(10) of Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar held that it was “debatable” as to which limb of Section 74(10) would apply in the facts of the case and relegated the petitioner to the alternative remedy of appeal.Petitioner-company had challenged an...

GST Audit File Transfer Between Wings Is Administrative, Cannot Be Challenged In Writ Petition: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that the transfer of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) audit file from the Audit Wing to the Anti-Evasion Wing is essentially an administrative exercise. It further held that in the absence of any statutory prohibition under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 against such transfer, the transfer by itself cannot be a ground for interference in writ jurisdiction.The division bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar was dealing with a...

GST Appellate Authorities Presumed To Know Government Notifications, Can't Ignore Them: Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court has held that a taxpayer who filed a GST appeal before the January 31, 2024 cut-off cannot be denied the benefit of a special procedure introduced to allow appeals affected by limitation. The procedure permitted eligible taxpayers to file appeals against orders under Sections 73 and 74 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act by January 31, 2024, subject to prescribed payment conditions.The Division Bench of Justice A.S. Supehia and Justice Vaibhavi D. Nanavati made the...

GST Demand Order Served Only On Portal: Delhi High Court Allows Appeal To Be Filed Without Limitation Objection

The Delhi High Court has allowed a GST assessee who participated in the show cause notice proceedings to file a statutory appeal against a subsequent demand order within four weeks after finding that the order had been served only by uploading it on the Common Portal.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain held that while the assessee could not seek restoration of the proceedings to the stage of issuance of the show cause notice since it had filed a reply and participated...

Delhi High Court Declines To Rule On GST Penalty For Non-Taxable Persons Amid Proceedings Before Supreme Court

The Delhi High Court has recently declined to examine the question of whether a person who is not a “taxable person” can be penalised under Section 122(1) of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, noting that the issue is pending consideration before the Supreme Court.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Shail Jain disposed of twelve connected petitions filed by directors and other individuals against penalties imposed under Sections 74, 76(2) and 122(1) of the CGST...

Delhi High Court Rejects Plea Against GST Registration Cancellation Over Failure To Reply To Show Cause Notices

The Delhi High Court has refused to entertain a writ petition challenging the cancellation of a firm's GST registration, noting that the assessee had failed to respond to show cause notices issued to it.Petitioner had approached the Court challenging the order cancelling its GST registration, the subsequent order rejecting its application for revocation of cancellation, and the appellate order passed under Section 107 of the CGST Act.The GST registration was cancelled after the firm was found to...

Delhi High Court Sets Aside Ex Parte Order Based On Show Cause Notice Uploaded Only On GST Portal

The Delhi High Court recently set aside an ex-parte order passed against a taxpayer under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act 2017, noting that the show cause notice had been uploaded only on the GST portal.The Division Bench of Justices Anil Kshetarpal and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar remitted the matter to the Adjudicating Authority for fresh adjudication in terms of the directions passed by the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Luxmi Traders v. Union Territory of Chandigarh &...