Amar Nath Jaiswal Vs Assistant Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
In a significant development concerning GST assessments, the Calcutta High Court has granted an interim stay on an assessment order issued to Amar Nath Jaiswal for the tax period April 2019 to March 2020. The petitioner challenged the order, arguing it was passed beyond the statutory limitation period stipulated under Section 73(10) of the West Bengal/Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017.
The crux of the petitioner’s argument centers on the application of Section 168A of the GST Act, which allows the government to extend time limits in “force majeure” circumstances. According to the petitioner’s counsel, Ms. Agarwal, the original due date for furnishing annual returns for FY 2019-20 was extended by notifications to February 28, 2021, and subsequently to March 31, 2021, with no further extensions. However, the respondents, invoking Section 168A, issued two further notifications on March 31, 2023, and December 28, 2023, extending the deadline for passing orders under Section 73(9) for FY 2019-20 until August 31, 2024.
Ms. Agarwal contended that no “force majeure” conditions were prevailing to justify these later extensions. She argued that the notifications dated March 31, 2023, and December 28, 2023, are invalid, rendering the assessment order passed under Section 73(9) on August 28, 2024, unsustainable due to being time-barred.
