Rajive And Company Vs Deputy Commissioner (Audit) (Kerala High Court)
Kerala High Court held that commencement of GST audit u/s. 65 means date on which records and documents are made available by registered person. Hence, GST audit ought to be completed within 3 months from the said date.
Facts- Petitioner is conducting a jewellery by the name ‘Chungath Jwellery’ and is an assessee under the GST Act. For the period between 2017-18 to 2021-22, petitioner’s establishment was subjected to an audit u/s. 65 of the GST Act. The statute prescribes that the audit should be completed within three months from the date of its commencement. The contention raised by the petitioner revolves around the non-compliance with the period stipulated for completing the audit. According to the petitioner, the show cause notices now issued and the final audit report filed based on an audit that was not completed within the time prescribed, has no legal basis and is therefore liable to be quashed.
Conclusion- Held that it is necessary to refer to the Explanation to Section 65 which stipulates that the expression ‘commencement of audit’ shall mean the date on which the records and documents called for by the Tax Authorities are made available by the registered person’. Viewed in the above perspective, the documents called for by the Tax Authorities were made available by the petitioner on 09.04.2024 and the audit ought to have been completed within three months from the aforesaid date. Since the final report was filed within time, the contention raised by the petitioner on the basis of limitation stipulated in Section 65(4) of the GST Act has no application.
