Shanker Impexx Vs Assistant Commissioner (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court addressed a writ petition filed by Shanker Impexx challenging an order dated April 19, 2023, which likely denied their Input Tax Credit (ITC) claim. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the issue was no longer unresolved, citing a previous decision of the same court in a batch of writ petitions (W.P.No.25081 of 2024, etc., dated October 17, 2024), and requested that the benefit of that order be extended to the present case. The Additional Government Pleader (T) for the respondent acknowledged that the legal issue in Shanker Impexx’s petition was indeed covered by the earlier decision.
The core of the earlier judgment, as cited by the court, concerned registered dealers who, despite filing GSTR-1 returns on time, faced difficulties (financial constraints due to Covid-19 lockdown, health issues, fire accidents) that prevented them from filing GSTR-3B returns within the stipulated time, thus impacting their ability to claim ITC before the deadline. The respondent department had issued show cause notices and confirmed orders proposing to reverse the ITC availed, along with tax, penalty, and interest. However, subsequent to the filing of these writ petitions, the GST Council recommended extending the ITC availment deadline under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act for GSTR-3B filings related to Financial Years 2017-18 to 2020-21, with a new deemed deadline of November 30, 2021. This recommendation was enacted through the Finance Act (No. 2) of 2024, and a corresponding notification and circular were issued. The High Court, recognizing the retrospective effect of this amendment (Section 16(5) of the CGST Act), quashed the impugned orders in the earlier batch of petitions insofar as they related to ITC claims barred by the original limitation under Section 16(4) but falling within the extended period under Section 16(5). Following this precedent, the Madras High Court allowed Shanker Impexx’s writ petition on the same terms, effectively quashing the order denying ITC due to late GSTR-3B filing, aligning with the retrospective amendment allowing ITC claims made on or before November 30, 2021, for the specified financial years.
