B S Burraq Alumin Alloys Vs Commissioner Central Tax GST Commissionerate (Karnataka High Court)
The petitioner challenged the order-in-original passed by the adjudicating authority, which held that the taxpayer had wrongly availed input tax credit. The authority noted that the petitioner failed to submit a reply to the show cause notice and proceeded to decide the matter based on available records, resulting in an ex-parte order.
The petitioner subsequently filed an appeal. Although an opportunity for personal hearing was provided during appellate proceedings, the petitioner did not avail of it. As a result, the appellate authority upheld the original order, observing that no documentary evidence had been furnished to establish the bona fides of the petitioner’s claim.
Before the High Court, the petitioner contended that since the original order itself was passed ex-parte, the petitioner was unable to effectively substantiate its case during the appeal. It was argued that absence from earlier proceedings should be condoned and the matter should be remitted to the stage of replying to the show cause notice. The petitioner further submitted that remanding the matter only to the appellate authority would serve no purpose unless an opportunity was provided before the assessing authority.
The Revenue opposed the plea, contending that the petitioner had not been diligent in pursuing the proceedings and should be subjected to conditions if relief was granted. The petitioner, however, pointed out that an amount of Rs.32,40,896/- had already been deposited pursuant to the ex-parte order.
