Parag Vinimay Pvt. Ltd. Vs Assitant Commissioner (Calcutta High Court)
The writ petition challenged an order dated October 23, 2024 passed by the appellate authority under Section 107 of the WBGST Act, 2017/CGST Act, 2017, whereby the petitioner’s appeal against an order dated September 22, 2022 passed under Section 73 of the said Act was rejected.
The proceedings originated from a notice to show cause dated December 28, 2020 issued to the petitioner. The notice alleged excess availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC) on the ground that the petitioner’s supplier had not filed its return in Form GSTR-3B for the period August 2019 to October 2019. This was the sole ground forming the foundation of the proceedings under Section 73(1) of the Act.
The petitioner submitted a reply to the show cause notice. During the pendency of the adjudication proceedings, the supplier uploaded its returns in Form GSTR-3B for August 2019 and September 2019. However, the return for October 2019 was not uploaded during that stage. The adjudicating authority accordingly granted credit for August and September 2019 but confirmed the demand for October 2019.
The petitioner preferred an appeal under Section 107 of the Act. During the pendency of the appeal, the supplier uploaded the return in Form GSTR-3B for October 2019 as well. Despite this, the appellate authority dismissed the appeal. In doing so, it questioned the genuineness of the petitioner’s transactions and held that the petitioner failed to produce evidence demonstrating actual receipt of goods. These grounds were not part of the original notice to show cause.
