Svaksha Distillery Limited & Anr. Vs Assistant Commissioner of WBGST (Calcutta High Court)
Svaksha Distillery Limited and another (“the petitioners”) filed a writ petition challenging an order dated June 30, 2025, in which the Appellate Authority under Section 107 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (WB GST Act), rejected their request for rectification of an earlier order dated June 14, 2024. The rectification request was made under a notification dated October 8, 2024 issued by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) under Section 148 of the Act, allowing registered persons to rectify orders relating to wrongful availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC).
The petitioners are engaged in the manufacture and supply of ethanol. During the financial years (FY) 2018-19 and 2019-20, they deferred availing ITC because their output tax liability was negligible. The ITC for these years was ultimately claimed in GSTR-3B returns filed for the quarter January–March 2020-21. Upon scrutiny, GST authorities issued a pre-show cause notice alleging excess ITC claimed in FY 2020-21. The petitioners explained that the ITC related to earlier years (2018-19 and 2019-20), and was reflected in their GSTR-2A for those periods. The adjudicating authority did not accept this explanation, issued a show cause notice for reversal of ITC with interest and penalty, and subsequently rejected their appeal before the Appellate Authority under Section 107.
