Prema Sadanandan Anand Vs Assistant State Tax Officer (Kerala High Court)
The petitioner, a taxpayer registered under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 and the Kerala State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, filed a writ petition challenging a recovery notice issued for realization of tax arrears along with interest and penalty for the assessment year 2019–20. The recovery notice demanded payment of ₹2,45,819/-. The petitioner contended that the admitted tax liability had already been paid prior to the assessment order, and this fact was also reflected in the assessment order itself. However, despite payment of the tax, the recovery notice was issued.
The petitioner also argued that the assessment order had not been served on her and that she became aware of it only upon receiving the recovery notice. According to the petitioner, due to the absence of proper service, she could not challenge the assessment order through the statutory appellate remedy, as the time limit for filing an appeal had already expired. The petitioner further contended that because the assessment order was not communicated to her, she lost the opportunity to settle the dispute under the Amnesty Scheme introduced by the Government in 2024.
Upon examining the recovery notice, the court observed that although the notice described the amount as arrears of tax, the figure mentioned actually corresponded to the interest and penalty payable by the petitioner. This was evident from the assessment order, which specifically recorded ₹2,45,819 as the amount payable towards interest and penalty. Therefore, the court held that the recovery notice did not warrant interference, as the discrepancy related only to the description of the amount and did not affect the petitioner’s liability.
