GST Adjudication Set Aside for Ignoring Annual Return Reconciliation

Pioneer Co-operative Car Parking Servicing and Construction Society Ltd. Vs State of West Bengal & Anr. (Calcutta High Court)

The intra-court appeal before the Calcutta High Court arose from an order of a Single Bench which had granted liberty to the appellant to file a statutory appeal against an adjudication order while keeping open the challenge to the constitutional validity of amendments to Rule 61 of the WBGST Rules, 2017. The appellant initially questioned both the adjudication order dated 5 June 2023, passed under Section 73(9) of the CGST/WBGST Act, 2017, and the retrospective amendment and omission of Rule 61(6). At the appellate stage, the appellant chose not to press the constitutional challenge and sought examination of the correctness of the adjudication order on merits.

The dispute originated from scrutiny proceedings for the financial year 2017–18. A notice in ASMT-10 was issued on 21 June 2022 highlighting discrepancies in returns, including short payment of tax and ineligible or excess input tax credit (ITC). The appellant responded by submitting explanations and a reconciliation statement. The appellant claimed that it rendered parking collection services primarily to Indian Railways and had paid licence fees including GST, but the Railways did not file GSTR-1 returns in time, leading to mismatch in ITC reflected in GSTR-2A. According to the reconciliation, ITC claimed in GSTR-3B was lower than what appeared in GSTR-2A, and the appellant sought adjustment of the balance ITC against outward tax liability.