Tvl.Sri Padma Constructions Vs Deputy Commercial Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
Conclusion: Assessee’s petition against the under declaration of ineligible Input Tax Credit ( ITC ) would be heard when assessee would deposit 10% of the disputed tax within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
Held: Assessee claimed to have filed GST returns and paid appropriate taxes for the relevant period. However, discrepancies were noted between the details furnished in GSTR-01, GSTR-2A, and GSTR-3B returns, stating under-declared ineligible ITC. Subsequently, the GST authorities issued an intimation in Form DRC-01 along with multiple personal hearing dates, none of which assessee attended. According to assessee, neither the show cause notices nor the impugned order was served through Registered Post Acknowledgement Due (RPAD). Instead, they were uploaded under the “view additional notices and orders” section of the GST portal, leaving assessee unaware of the proceedings. Assessee requested a chance to explain the discrepancies and cited a similar judgment by the High Court, which remanded a matter upon payment of 10% of the disputed tax. It was held that assessee should deposit 10% of the disputed tax within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. On complying with the above condition, the impugned order of assessment should be treated as show cause notice and assessee should submit its objections within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order along with supporting documents/material. If any such objections were filed, the same should be considered by the respondent and orders should be passed in accordance with law after affording a reasonable opportunity of hearing to assessee.
