Sachu Sony Vs Superintendent (Kerala High Court)
Summary: The petitioner, an assessee under the CGST/KGST Act, challenged Ext.P2 Order-in-Original concerning multiple assessment years, namely 2018-2019, 2019-2020 and 2020-2021. The challenge was based on two grounds.
First, the petitioner contended that Ext.P2, being a composite order covering multiple assessment years, was legally unsustainable. Reliance was placed on Joint Commissioner (Intelligence & Enforcement) v. M/s. Lakshmi Mobiles Accessories [2025 KHC OnLine 149] and Tharayil Medicals (M/s.), Thrissur v. Deputy Commissioner, Thrissur [2025 KHC OnLine 467] in W.A. No.627/2025.
Second, the petitioner challenged the denial of input tax credit for certain months on the ground that the relevant returns had not been furnished within the period contemplated under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act. The petitioner relied on Section 16(5), contending that the relevant returns had been submitted before the cut-off date of 30.11.2021 and that the petitioner was therefore entitled to the benefit of input tax credit. The Court found merit in the submission.
The Kerala High Court held that the issue concerning composite notices/orders for multiple assessment years had already been settled by the Division Bench decisions in Tharayil Medicals and Lakshmi Mobiles. The Court also recorded that the petitioner would be entitled to relief under Section 16(5) if the relevant returns had been submitted on or before 30.11.2021.
