Ichais Productions Limited Liability Partnership Vs Assistant Commissioner (Kerala High Court)
Summary: Kerala High Court considered a writ petition filed by Ichais Productions Limited Liability Partnership challenging denial of input tax credit pertaining to March 2019. The impugned order had been passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act and declined the ITC on the ground that the petitioner failed to submit the relevant return within the period specified under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act. The petitioner challenged the denial primarily by relying upon Section 16(5), contending that the return for the relevant month had been filed within the special statutory cut-off prescribed by that provision.
The High Court noted that Section 16(5) of the CGST Act permits the benefit of ITC where the relevant return is filed within the cut-off date of 30.11.2021. Significantly, Ext.P1 show cause notice itself disclosed that the petitioner had submitted the monthly return for March 2019 on 23.10.2019. Since the return was therefore furnished well before 30.11.2021, the Court held that the petitioner was entitled to the benefit flowing from the statutory stipulations contained in Section 16(5) of the CGST Act.
Accordingly, the Kerala High Court disposed of the writ petition by quashing Ext.P1 to the extent it declined input tax credit for March 2019 on account of non-filing of the return within the period stipulated under Section 16(4). The assessing authority was directed to reconsider the matter and pass an order granting ITC for March 2019 on the strength of Section 16(5) of the CGST Act, provided the petitioner was otherwise entitled to such credit. Thus, the Court granted the benefit of the retrospective statutory relaxation where the relevant return had admittedly been furnished before the prescribed cut-off date of 30.11.2021.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF KERALA HIGH COURT
The petitioner is a registered tax payer under the provisions of the CGST Act. The challenge raised in this writ petition is against Ext.P2 order passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act, by which, the input tax credit claimed by the petitioner pertaining to the month of March 2019 was declined, on the reason that, the petitioner failed to submit the returns within the period specified under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act. The challenge is raised mainly on the ground that, by virtue of Section 16(5) of the CGST Act, the petitioner is entitled to get the input tax credit, as the petitioner had submitted return for the relevant month within the cutoff date contemplated under Section 16(5) of the CGST Act, which is 30.11.2021. It is discernible from Ext.P1 show cause notice itself that, the petitioner had submitted the monthly return for March 2019 on 23.10.2019 and thus, the return is submitted within the cutoff date contemplated under Section 16(5) of the CGST Act. Therefore, in the light of the statutory stipulations in Section 16(5) of the CGST Act, the petitioner is entitled to get the benefits. Therefore, an interference is required.
Accordingly, this writ petition is disposed of quashing Ext.P1, to the extent it declines the input tax credit for the month of March 2019 for non-filing the returns within the period stipulated in Section 16(4) of the CGST Act, with a direction to the assessing authority to reconsider the matter and pass an order granting the input tax credit for the month of March 2019 on the strength of Section 16(5) of the CGST Act, if the petitioner is otherwise entitled.
