Incompressible Fluid Control System Vs Assistant Commissioner (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court considered a batch of writ petitions concerning denial of benefits under the GST Amnesty Scheme contained in Section 128A of the applicable GST enactments. The petitions involved waiver applications that were rejected, applications initially approved through Form GST SPL-05 but subsequently declared void, and cases where orders were not passed within the time limits prescribed under Rule 164. The principal issue was whether Section 128A impliedly excludes cases involving self-assessed tax under Section 75(12). The Court examined the genesis of Section 128A in the 53rd GST Council Meeting and noted that the provision was inserted with effect from 01.11.2024 to provide conditional waiver of interest and penalty relating to demands under Section 73 for the period from 01.07.2017 to 31.03.2020.
The Court held that initiation of proceedings under Section 73 is a sine qua non for filing an application under Section 128A. Where the Revenue proceeds directly under Section 75(12) and Section 79 without invoking Section 73, an application under Section 128A cannot be filed. However, once the Revenue elects to determine liability under Section 73, whether relating to self-assessed tax or otherwise, the taxable person can seek the Section 128A waiver, subject to the statutory conditions.
