Neelgiri Machinery Vs Commissioner Delhi Goods And Service Tax (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court heard a writ petition filed by Neelgiri Machinery, through its proprietor, challenging a Show Cause Notice dated 11 December 2023 and a consequential adjudication order dated 30 April 2024 passed for the tax period April 2018 to March 2019. The petition also challenged the validity of three notifications: Notification No. 9/2023–Central Tax dated 31 March 2023, Notification No. 56/2023–Central Tax dated 28 December 2023, and Notification No. 56/2023–State Tax dated 11 July 2024.
The Court noted that the challenge to these notifications was not unique and formed part of a larger batch of writ petitions, with DJST Traders Private Limited v. Union of India being the lead matter. In that batch, the primary ground of challenge was that the notifications extending statutory timelines were issued without following the procedure mandated under Section 168A of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, particularly the requirement of prior recommendation of the GST Council. Different High Courts across the country had taken divergent views on the validity of these notifications: Notification No. 9/2023 was upheld by the Allahabad High Court, Notification No. 56/2023 was upheld by the Patna High Court, while the Guwahati High Court quashed Notification No. 56/2023 (Central Tax).
