Indian Spices Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court directed petitioner to deposit 15% of the disputed tax amount and granted time to furnish reply to the GST show cause notice. Accordingly, writ petition disposed of.
Facts- An inspection was conducted at the petitioner’s premises on 09.06.2022, which led to issuance of above notices. The petitioner has replied to the respective notices that preceded the respective impugned orders in respect of the Assessment Years 2017-18, 2019-20 to 2021-22. The petitioner has, however, not replied to the notice that preceded the impugned order for the Assessment Year 2022-23.
The petitioner made an attempt in filing appeals against the respective impugned orders with delay of 68 days beyond the condonable period of limitation u/s. 107 of the respective GST enactments and thus, the Appellate Commissioner has rejected in limine vide orders, dated 15.11.2024 29.11.2024. Left with no other remedy, the petitioner has now approached this Court.
Conclusion- Held that this Court is inclined to come to the rescue of the petitioner partially on terms, subject to the petitioner depositing 15% of the disputed tax over and above 10% already deposited at the time of filing of appeals. The entire amount shall be paid in cash from the Electronic Cash Register of the petitioner within a period of thirty (30) days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. If the petitioner complies with the same, the respective impugned orders shall stand quashed, in which case the petitioner has to file a reply to the respective notices that preceded the respective impugned orders, by treating the respective impugned orders as addendum to the respective show cause notices within the time stipulated above.
