Tvl Sakthi Sago Industries Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court addressed a Writ Petition filed by Tvl Sakthi Sago Industries (Petitioner) challenging an assessment order dated February 12, 2025, which confirmed a demand initially raised in a Show Cause Notice (SCN) in GST DRC-01 dated November 23, 2024, for the tax period between April 2020 and March 2021.
The impugned order confirmed the demand on the specific ground that the petitioner had not filed any supporting documents, such as bills, e-way bills, or bank statements, in response to the SCN. The relevant portion of the order explicitly stated that the taxpayer filed a reply but “no supporting documents… were attached.”
The petitioner’s counsel submitted that the petitioner had, in fact, sent a reply on December 26, 2024, which specifically mentioned the enclosure of an e-way bill screenshot and a reconciliation statement of relevant documents. Conversely, the learned Government Advocate for the respondent argued that no records substantiate that the petitioner filed the referred-to documents.
The High Court, after perusing the records, took a prima facie view that the form in GST DRC-06 uploaded under Rule 142(4) of the respective GST Rules appeared to indicate that the petitioner had given a reply with supporting documents. The Court thus found that the observation in the assessment order—that the petitioner had not given any documents—cannot be countenanced. The Court noted that even if the documents were not immediately available for download, the petitioner should have been put to notice before the final order was passed.
