Meethal Thotty Ahamedali Vs State Tax Officer & Others (Kerala High Court)
Summary: The Kerala High Court dismissed W.P.(C) No. 9901 of 2026 filed by Meethal Thotty Ahamedali, declining to interfere with an order demanding Rs.2,89,932/- towards excess Input Tax Credit for assessment year 2017-2018. The Court found serious lapses and gross delay on the petitioner’s part in pursuing the available remedies.
The petitioner, an assessee under the CGST/SGST Act, challenged the order dated 16.11.2022 passed under Section 73(9) of the CGST Act. The proceedings originated with a FORM GST ASMT-10 notice dated 26.06.2020 for the assessment year 2017-2018, which pointed out discrepancies in the returns, including a difference between figures reported in FORM GSTR-3B and FORM GSTR-2A. On that basis, excess ITC was alleged to have been availed.
The petitioner sought one month’s time to reply to the ASMT-10 notice but, according to the respondents, did not thereafter submit a reply. A show cause notice dated 17.09.2021 was subsequently issued. The petitioner again did not furnish a proper reply or the details of the invoices. The adjudicating authority thereafter passed the order dated 16.11.2022 demanding Rs.2,89,932/- towards the excess ITC claimed.
Before the High Court, the petitioner contended that tax had in fact been paid in respect of the transactions. According to the petitioner, the discrepancy arose because the suppliers, after collecting tax along with the value of the supplies, had failed to upload the necessary details relating to payment with the statutory authorities. The petitioner subsequently obtained certificates from the suppliers, marked as Exts.P5 to P11, certifying that the suppliers had paid tax in respect of the transactions and specifying the payment details.
