Rethinsamy Mahalingam Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court today quashed a Goods and Services Tax (GST) order issued against Rethinsamy Mahalingam for the financial year 2017-18, ruling that the State Tax Officer failed to apply due diligence and consider the assessee’s reply. The decision, delivered by the High Court, remits the matter back to the respondent for a fresh adjudication on its merits.
The petitioner, Rethinsamy Mahalingam, had approached the High Court challenging an order dated February 3, 2025, issued under Reference No.ZD330225020958F. This writ petition was filed on June 5, 2025, reportedly two days after the expiry of the limitation period for filing an appeal under Section 107 of the TNGST Act, 2017.
The impugned order pertained to the tax period spanning from July 2017 to March 2018. It was preceded by a notice in Form GST DRC-01A, issued on September 19, 2023, under Section 73(5) of the Act, followed by a Show Cause Notice in Form GST DRC-01, dated December 31, 2023, issued under Section 74 of the Act. The petitioner stated they had submitted a reply to these notices.
However, the State Tax Officer’s final order indicated that the petitioner’s reply had not addressed the queries raised in the Show Cause Notice. The operative portion of the order stated, “On examination of the reply of the tax payer reveals that they have not filed reply as per query raised in the SCN. They have neither filed any original invoices and other related documents as per section 16(2) of the Act nor filed any certificate as per circular No. 183-2022 dt:27-12-2022.”
