Multireach Media Private Limited And Another Vs Deputy Commissioner of State Tax (Calcutta High Court)
The petitioners challenged an adjudication order dated February 5, 2025, passed under Section 74 of the West Bengal Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 read with the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The adjudication order arose from a show-cause notice dated June 14, 2024, which invoked the extended period of limitation under Section 74 in respect of alleged issues relating to the period from July 2017 to March 2018.
On behalf of the petitioners, it was contended that the initiation of proceedings under Section 74 was without jurisdiction. It was argued that the allegations pertained to a period immediately following the transition from the service tax regime to the GST regime, and that the authorities could not investigate matters relating to service tax under the guise of scrutinising the TRAN-1 return filed during the transition. According to the petitioners, the authorities lacked jurisdiction to reopen service tax issues through GST proceedings.
It was further submitted that the show-cause notice was fundamentally vague. The notice alleged that certain documents had not been furnished by the petitioners despite repeated requests from the Central GST authorities. However, the notice did not specify which particular documents were allegedly missing, nor did it clarify whether the documents already submitted by the petitioners in response to earlier communications were considered insufficient. The petitioners argued that such vagueness deprived them of a fair opportunity to respond effectively to the allegations.
