Rubicon Associates Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
The Madras High Court disposed of the writ petition at the admission stage with the consent of both parties. The petitioner challenged two orders: an assessment order dated 29.02.2024 issued in DRC-07 for the financial year 2018–19, and a subsequent order dated 29.10.2025 rejecting the petitioner’s rectification application filed on 06.09.2025. The assessment order followed a show cause notice in DRC-01, to which the petitioner did not submit a reply, resulting in confirmation of the demand.
Under the impugned assessment, a total demand of ₹85,49,104 was confirmed, comprising tax of ₹41,81,772, interest of ₹39,49,158, and penalty of ₹4,18,174. The demand arose from two components. An amount of ₹32,24,256 related to the alleged belated availment of Input Tax Credit under Section 16(4) of the respective GST enactments. The remaining tax amount of ₹9,57,476 pertained to mismatch in Input Tax Credit details between GSTR-2A and GSTR-3B filed by the petitioner.
With respect to the disallowance of Input Tax Credit on the ground of belated filing under Section 16(4), the Court noted that the issue stood settled in favour of assessees due to statutory intervention. Sections 16(5) and 16(6) were inserted into the GST enactments by the Finance (No.2) Act, 2024, with retrospective effect from 01.07.2017. In view of this retrospective amendment, the Court held that the matter required re-adjudication.
