MMIL Vs Commercial Tax Office (Karnataka High Court)
Karnataka High Court has set aside tax recovery orders issued against MMIL for delayed filing of Goods and Services Tax (GST) returns and Input Tax Credit (ITC) claims relating to the financial year 2018–19. The Court remanded the matter back to the stage of the show cause notice in light of recent amendments introduced through the Finance Act, 2024. The amendment, particularly Section 118, extends the permissible time for filing GST returns and claiming ITC, significantly impacting the case.
The petitioner had been issued a show cause notice by the Commercial Tax Office due to delay in compliance under the CGST and KGST Acts. Orders dated April 29, 2023, and June 9, 2023, were subsequently passed against the petitioner. In its writ petition, MMIL argued that the new legislative amendment had extended the deadline for claiming ITC and sought relief on that basis. The petitioner also cited precedents where similar matters had been remanded for fresh consideration by a coordinate bench of the same High Court.
The State Government, represented by its counsel, did not object to the petitioner’s request. Acknowledging that earlier cases—namely W.P. No. 6138/2020 and W.P. No. 29139/2024—had been similarly dealt with, the High Court found it appropriate to pass an identical order in this case. The Court noted that consistency in judicial orders is critical, especially where statutory amendments are applicable to multiple litigants under similar factual and legal matrices.
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