Cosmopolitan Solar Energizer Vs State of West Bengal & Ors. (Calcutta High Court)
Summary: The Calcutta High Court heard a writ petition under Article 226 challenging an order dated August 22, 2024, passed by the Assistant Commissioner, State Tax, Jalpaiguri Charge, under Section 73(9) of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 (WBGST Act). The petitioner, engaged in the business of solar panel installation, had received a show-cause notice dated May 16, 2024, under Section 73(1) of the WBGST Act. The notice alleged discrepancies in the petitioner’s GSTR-3B filings vis-à-vis GSTR-1/GSTR-9 and claimed input tax credit (ITC) reported by suppliers, directing the petitioner to explain why tax, interest, and penalty should not be levied for the financial year 2019–2020. Subsequently, the impugned order under Section 73(9) determined the tax, interest, and penalty liability.
The petitioner contended that no effective opportunity was provided to respond to the show-cause notice. The petitioner had initially entrusted the matter to a former consultant who did not act or participate in the proceedings. After changing consultants, the petitioner sought an opportunity to contest the proceedings from the stage of filing a reply to the show-cause notice. The Revenue opposed, arguing that as a sole proprietor, the petitioner should have exercised vigilance over the financial matters and could not rely entirely on the consultant.
