Dj Constructions Vs Assistant Commissioner (ST) (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court addressed a writ petition challenging an Assessment Order dated 28 December 2023 passed under Section 73 of the respective GST enactments. The order followed a Show Cause Notice in GST DRC-01 dated 24 September 2023, relating to the tax period between July 2017 and March 2018, which the petitioner had not responded to. The petitioner contended that the limitation period under Section 73 had expired on 7 February 2023 and therefore both the notice and the impugned order were issued without jurisdiction.
The respondent, represented by the Government Advocate, argued that the demand was valid because of the extensions granted in view of the COVID-19 pandemic. Both parties relied on the decision of the High Court in M/s. Tata Play Limited vs. Union of India & Ors., which clarified the application of limitation under Sections 73 and 74 of the GST enactments. According to the court, authorities could exclude the period from 15 March 2020 to 28 February 2022 when reckoning limitation under Section 73, in line with the Supreme Court’s order dated 10 January 2022 under Article 142 of the Constitution.
The court in Tata Play also found Notification Nos. 9 and 56 of 2023 to be vitiated and illegal for diminishing the limitation period without complying with statutory mandates and GST Council procedures. These notifications were deemed arbitrary, extinguishing vested rights and issued without proper examination of relevant materials, in contravention of the purpose of Section 168A of the CGST Act.
