Tvl. Vairam Agencies Vodafone Cell Vs State Tax Officer (Madras High Court)
Madras High Court has dismissed a petition challenging a tax demand order issued against a deceased individual’s business, ruling that the order was not barred by limitation. The judgment, delivered on February 5, 2025, in the case of Tvl. Vairam Agencies Vodafone Cell vs. State Tax Officer, upheld the tax liability while granting the petitioner an opportunity to file a statutory appeal.
The case involves a proprietary concern, Tvl. Vairam Agencies Vodafone Cell, which was engaged in the sale of Vodafone recharge coupons. The proprietor passed away on September 2, 2017. The petitioner, who is the son of the deceased proprietor, contended that following his father’s death, he had instructed the business manager to wind up the operations. However, the manager allegedly continued the business, leading to a tax liability under the TNGST/CGST Act, 2017. The tax demand, passed under Section 74 of the Act for the assessment year 2017-2018, amounted to over Rs. 3.45 crore in supplies, resulting in a proposed tax liability of approximately Rs. 68.38 lakh.
The petitioner’s primary arguments were twofold: first, that the impugned order, dated February 5, 2025, was time-barred under Section 74(10) of the GST Acts, as the deadline for passing the order had expired on February 4, 2025. Second, he argued that the tax liability had been wrongly fastened upon a deceased person.
