Abdul Mannan Khan Vs Goods and Services Tax Council & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Calcutta High Court, in a significant ruling in the case of Abdul Mannan Khan Vs Goods and Services Tax Council & Ors., has overturned a Single Bench order, directing GSTN authorities to permit the manual amendment of GSTR-1 Forms even after the prescribed due date. This decision, delivered in an intra-Court appeal, underscores the judiciary’s stance against prejudicing assessees from availing legitimate input tax credit due to technical or procedural impediments.
The appellant, Abdul Mannan Khan, had initially approached the High Court challenging the Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN) authorities’ refusal to allow an amendment to his GSTR-1 Form for the financial year 2017-2018. The authorities had rejected the request on the grounds that such amendments were permissible only up to the due date for filing Form GSTR-1 for March 2019, which was April 30, 2019. The learned Single Bench, concurring with the GSTN’s position, had dismissed the writ petition, stating that the period of limitation for rectification had expired, thus precluding any direction for amendment. Aggrieved by this dismissal, Mr. Khan filed the present intra-Court appeal.
During the extensive hearings, the Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court deliberated on the matter, ultimately concluding that the relief sought by the appellant was justified, drawing guidance from two pivotal judgments by other High Courts: the Jharkhand High Court and the Orissa High Court.
