Asian Lifts And Escalator Private Limited Vs Assistant Commissioner of CGST & Central Excise (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court disposed of the writ petition at the admission stage with the consent of both parties. The petitioner challenged an order dated 08.08.2024, by which the respondent had confirmed a demand arising from a show cause notice and denied Input Tax Credit (ITC) claimed belatedly under Section 16(4) of the GST enactments. The impugned order confirmed GST demand of Rs. 30,57,362/-, along with applicable interest under Section 50(3), and imposed a penalty of Rs. 3,05,736/- under Section 122(2)(a) for contravention of statutory provisions.
The dispute centered on denial of ITC solely on the ground that it was claimed beyond the prescribed time limit under Section 16(4). The Court noted that the issue of belated availing of ITC was no longer res integra and had been settled in favour of the petitioner due to statutory changes introduced by the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024. By insertion of Sections 16(5) and 16(6), effective from 27.09.2024 and applied retrospectively from 01.07.2017, the law recognized entitlement to ITC beyond the earlier time limits in specified circumstances.
In light of this statutory intervention, the Court held that the substantive benefit of ITC already availed by the petitioner could not be denied merely on account of delay. However, the Court clarified that the petitioner must still satisfy other statutory conditions for availing ITC, apart from the time limitation.
