Vellaram Kunnumal Prabeesh Vs Superintendent (Kerala High Court)
The petitioner, a registered taxpayer under the CGST and SGST Acts, challenged an order passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act that denied input tax credit (ITC) relating to December 2021, January 2022, and February 2022. The denial was based on the ground that the returns were not filed within the time limit prescribed under Section 16(4) of the CGST Act.
The petitioner contended that ITC was available under Section 16(5) of the CGST Act because the returns had been filed before the cut-off date specified in that provision. The Kerala High Court noted that the impugned order itself recorded that the relevant returns had been filed on 26.02.2021, 26.02.2021, and 01.03.2021. The Court held that the returns were filed within the cut-off date contemplated under Section 16(5). It further observed that Section 16(5) contains a non obstante clause overriding Section 16(4), and therefore the timeline under Section 16(4) loses significance once the conditions of Section 16(5) are satisfied. The Court quashed the assessment order and recovery notice and directed reconsideration of the matter.
FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF KERALA HIGH COURT
The petitioner is a registered tax payer under the provisions of the CGST and SGST Act. This writ petition is submitted by the petitioner challenging Ext.P1 order passed under Section 73 of the CGST Act by which the input tax credit claimed by the petitioner pertaining to the months of December 2021, January 2022 and February 2022 were declined on the reason that the petitioner failed to submit the returns within the period stipulated in Section 16(4) of the CGST Act.
