Tvl. R. Jayaramakrishnan Vs Deputy State Tax Officer – 1 (Madras High Court)
Conclusion: In a dispute of taxable supplier’s discrepancy in the Goods and Services Tax Returns (GSTR) – 3B and the form 26AS under Section 203AA of Income Tax Act, 1961, High Court had granted final hearing on 25% pre-deposit after providing a reasonable opportunity for hearing.
Held: Assessee was registered under GST Act, had its original GSTIN cancelled in September 2018 and was later assigned a new GSTIN in September 2019. Assessee had filed its monthly returns in GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B through the common portal. Assessee argued that a show cause notice was issued on 22.08.2023, followed by a personal hearing on 22.09.2023, but assessee neither filed a reply nor attended the hearing. Assessee submitted that neither the show cause notices nor the impugned order of assessment had been served on assessee by tender or sending it by RPAD, instead it had been uploaded under the field “Additional Notices and Orders” tab on the GST Portal, thereby, assessee was unaware of the initiated proceedings and was thus unable to participate in the adjudication proceedings. Assessee was provided with an opportunity, they would be able to explain the alleged discrepancies that there has been significant differences in the comparison of taxable suppliers reported by assessee through GSTR-3B monthly to compare with Form 26AS – Annual statement under section 203AA of the income tax Act, 1961 for the financial year 2019-2020. It was also contended that there were discrepancies between the taxable suppliers reported in the GSTR-3B returns and the Form 26AS under Section 203AA of the Income Tax Act, leading to a difference of Rs.77,10,000 in turnover for 2019-2020. This resulted in taxes of Rs.6,93,900 under CGST and Rs.6,93,900/- under SGST besides interest and penalties. It was held that assessee was required to deposit 25% of the disputed tax within two weeks of receiving the order. On compliance with the pre-deposit, the impugned assessment order was directed to be treated as a show cause notice, and assessee must submit objections within four weeks, along with supporting documents. The GST department was required to consider these objections and pass orders in accordance with the law after providing a reasonable opportunity for hearing.
