Caussa Tec Solutions Pvt. Ltd. Vs Assistant Commissioner (ST) (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court considered a writ petition challenging an order dated 26.11.2025 by which a show cause notice issued in DRC-01 on 03.01.2025 had been confirmed due to the petitioner’s failure to submit a reply or appear for multiple personal hearings. The department had issued the original notice and subsequently sent three reminders along with opportunities for personal hearing. Since no response was received from the taxpayer, the authority concluded that there was no contention to be raised and passed an order under Section 73 of the TNGST Act, 2017.
Under the impugned order, a general penalty of ₹25,000 each under CGST and SGST and late fees of ₹95,498 each under CGST and SGST were imposed, resulting in a total demand of ₹1,20,498 under each Act.
The Court observed that the issue was covered by its earlier decision in Kandan Hardware Mart v. Assistant Commissioner (ST) (FAC). In that decision, the Court had held that taxpayers who had filed annual returns before 01.04.2023 were entitled to the benefit of the amnesty notifications and could not be subjected to late fees exceeding ₹10,000 under each GST enactment. The Court had further held that where a specific penalty or late fee is provided under the GST enactments, a general penalty under Section 125 cannot be imposed. Section 125 applies only in situations where no other penalty is prescribed.
