Manjunatha Exports Vs Deputy Commissioner of Central Tax (Karnataka High Court)
The Karnataka High Court considered a petition seeking the setting aside of an Order-in-Original and an Order-in-Appeal passed under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The petitioner also sought a refund of the statutory pre-deposit made under Section 107(6) of the CGST Act.
The dispute arose in relation to the filing of Form GSTR-3B for the month of March 2019. The petitioner filed the return online on 28.10.2019, though belatedly. Subsequently, the tax authorities issued a show cause notice proposing to demand Input Tax Credit (ITC) amounting to ₹27,21,200. The allegation was that the ITC had been availed in contravention of Section 16(4) of the CGST Act.
The petitioner contended that the Assessing Authority rejected the ITC claim solely on the ground that the credit was claimed beyond the time limit prescribed under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act. According to the petitioner, the Finance (No.2) Act, 2024 introduced sub-section (5) to Section 16 with a non-obstante clause overriding the restriction contained in Section 16(4). Under this provision, the time limit for claiming ITC for invoices or debit notes relating to financial years 2017-18, 2018-19, 2019-20, and 2020-21 was extended until 30 November 2021.
