Anmol Stainless Private Limited & Anr. Vs Deputy Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
Calcutta High Court has granted a stay on a demand notice issued to Anmol Stainless Private Limited, citing a prima facie case against the validity of notifications that extended the limitation period for issuing show cause notices (SCNs) under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime. The court observed that the extension of time, purportedly under Section 168A of the WBGST/CGST Act, 2017, appeared questionable given the absence of “force majeure” circumstances at the time the SCN was issued.
The petitioner, Anmol Stainless Private Limited, challenged the show cause cum demand notice issued on April 30, 2024, in respect of the tax period April 2019 to March 2020. This notice led to an adjudication order dated August 27, 2024, and a consequential demand. The central thrust of the petitioner’s argument, as presented by learned advocate Mr. Kanodia, was the alleged improper reliance by the tax authorities on Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Notifications No. 31st March, 2023 (Notification 9/2023-CT) and 28th December, 2023 (Notification 56/2023-CT).
Mr. Kanodia explained that these notifications aimed to extend the time limit for issuing orders under Section 73(9) of the GST Act, which deals with the recovery of tax not paid or short paid, or input tax credit wrongly availed or utilized, by extending the time limit specified in Section 73(10).
