Tuskers Associates Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court has granted Tuskers Associates permission to file an appeal against an assessment order that confirmed tax, interest, and penalty under GST provisions. This permission comes despite the expiry of the statutory period for filing an appeal. The court’s decision is contingent on the petitioner depositing 15% of the disputed tax amount. The demand against Tuskers Associates arose from discrepancies, specifically the non-reflection of credit note values and corresponding Input Tax Credit (ITC) reversal in their GSTR-2A annual return.
The assessment order, dated August 29, 2024, was issued by the State Tax Officer. Prior to this, a show cause notice (SCN) had been issued on May 30, 2024, to which the petitioner had submitted a detailed reply on June 25, 2024. The petitioner’s counsel argued that the demand in the assessment order was “wrong and unsustainable” due to the aforementioned issues related to credit notes and GSTR-2A and sought the High Court’s intervention to set aside the order.
Conversely, the learned Government Advocate, representing the State Tax Officer, opposed the petitioner’s request. She asserted that the assessment order was issued after providing Tuskers Associates “sufficient opportunities,” including a personal hearing. The Government Advocate maintained that the appropriate legal remedy for the petitioner, if aggrieved by the original order, was to file an appeal with the designated appellate authority.
