Calcutta HC Stays Orders in Revenue-Neutral IGST Credit Error Case Without Conditions

Wilhelmsen Port Services India Private Limited And Anr. Vs State of West Bengal And Ors. (Calcutta High Court)

Calcutta High Court ruled in favor of Wilhelmsen Port Services India Pvt. Ltd. in an intra-court appeal against an interim order requiring a 10% payment of the disputed tax amount. The case involved an error in claiming Input Tax Credit (ITC), where the petitioners mistakenly claimed IGST credit of ₹19,12,857 instead of CGST and WBGST credits of ₹9,56,429.12 each. The court found this to be a revenue-neutral issue, as there was no actual loss to the government. Typically, appellate courts do not interfere with discretionary interim orders, but given the unique facts of this case, the court stayed the impugned orders without any conditions. The petitioners were thus exempted from making the 10% tax payment until the writ petition’s final disposal. However, the court clarified that this decision was based on the specific circumstances of the case and should not be treated as a precedent.

Appellants were represented by Mr. Himangshu Kumar Ray, Mr. Anup Dasgupta & Others

FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF CALCUTTA HIGH COURT

1. This intra court appeal by the writ petitioners is directed against an interim direction dated 24^th February, 2025 in WPA 406 of 2025.