HC directs dept to not to saddle Petitioner with interest & penalty for GST wrongly paid to Railways

Arun Krishnachandra Goswami Vs Union of India (Bombay High Court)

The fact is Petitioner has paid the SGST and CGST, but has paid those amounts to Railways instead of paying it directly to the concerned tax authorities. In the Affidavit-in-Reply of Respondent No.5 it is stated that the amount mentioned can be refunded to Petitioner or if Petitioner wishes the amounts can be paid directly to the concerned authorities in the proportion mentioned in the invoice within such period as the Court may direct.

We have to note that this is a case where Petitioner has not attempted to evade any tax. This is a clear case where Petitioner has made a mistake and instead of paying the Government of India through the CGST authorities and the State of Maharashtra through the SGST authorities, the entire amount has been paid to Government of India, through Indian Railways. In the Affidavit-in-Reply, Respondent No.5 admits that Petitioner has paid the amount wrongly to Railways and due to huge Railway network, Railway was not in an immediate administrative position to check and react to such wrongful deposits.

We, therefore, direct Respondent No.5 to ensure that the amounts which have been wrongly paid by Petitioner to Railways should be paid to the CGST authorities and SGST authorities within two weeks from today.

We also hope that in view of the unusual facts and circumstances of this case, the CGST authorities and SGST authorities would consider Petitioner’s case sympathetically when it comes to interest and penalty. Unless they have some other reason, Petitioner should not be saddled with interest and penalty.

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